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Magnolia Montessori For All

Magnolia Montessori For All, nominated by Next Generation Learning Challenges, is an elementary/middle school in Austin, Texas, that describes itself as a public charter school serving learners from a primarily urban area.

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Location Austin, Texas

Governance Public Charter School

Grades Pre-Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle

Students 557

Locale Urban

Superintendent Sarah Kirby Tepera

Demographics

Percentage of students*

21%

English Learners

45%

Free/Reduced Lunch

13%

Students with Disabilities

African American or Black 11%

American Indian/Alaska Native —

Asian 3%

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander —

Hispanic or Latino 48%

White 33%

2+ Races —

Why Magnolia Montessori For All was nominated

Sara Cotner's vision for this school was to integrate three approaches that are too often defended as "churches" by their advocates: Montessori, no-excuses/standards-based, and digital/blended. Her idea was to take the most important and valuable elements from each approach and integrate them to create a new model. Our view is that she and her team have been able to do exactly that. Too often, educators and reformers see only a narrow set of pedagogical approaches supporting a commitment to high achievement on standards-based metrics. Montessori for All is attempting to demonstrate that you can generate high achievement on state-generated standards through approaches that are more whole-child oriented. The schools is very obviously a Montessori school, first and foremost. But unlike most Montessori schools, this one has mapped high-expectation standards against and within Montessorian approaches and is supporting the work with various forms of enabling technology. Montessori has long been understood to be a model that does an excellent job of preparing children in holistic ways. It is faulted, sometimes, for falling short in enabling its students to demonstrate high achievement across traditional curriculum areas. Montessori for All is a noteworthy effort to connect the strongest aspects of the model with high-expectation standards matched to 21st century needs.

Student experience design

We seek to help children from a very young age explore their own interests and capabilities, experience themselves as successful, and find purpose, joy, and meaning in their world.

Core Practices

Core Practices Length of Use

Culturally Responsive Practices
5+ years

Disaggregated Data On Student Participation
5+ years

Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics
5+ years

Multi-age Classrooms
5+ years

SEL Integration School-wide
5+ years

All Practices

Advancement On Mastery

Anti-racist Practices

Assessments For Deeper Learning

Assessments For Social-emotional Skills

Blended Learning

Community And Workforce Partnerships

Competency/mastery-based Education

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Grading Policies Focus On Mastery

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Individual Learning Paths

Mental Health Services

1:1 Mentoring

No Tracked Classes

Project-based Learning

High Quality Instructional Materials

Reallocation Of Resources For Students Most In Need

Restorative Practices

School-based Enterprises

SEL Curriculum

Service Learning

Student-led Goal Setting

Self-paced Learning

Students Develop Projects

Trauma-informed Practices

Tutoring

Career Prep

key reasons for innovating

Demonstrate what’s possible for other schools

Improve academic achievement

Increase student agency

Date Updated: 4/1/2026

*Canopy profile data is self-reported or sourced from NCES data, then verified by school leaders.