Meet the Team: Katie

We'd like to introduce ourselves-- the team behind Goldenrod! Here is a Q&A with Katie Hayden, our head of school.

How did you find Montessori?

I found Montessori when my oldest kiddo was about two.  We were looking for a school situation for her because she was in an in-home care meant for infants. She was ready for more community.  I fell in love with the respect and independence fostered in Montessori, so it was an easy decision to put her in that environment.

What made you want to open your own Montessori school?

I love the Montessori philosophy and I think that it can offer parents a beautiful way to approach engaging with their children and treating their children.  And I think that more parents and children deserve the opportunity to be exposed to the philosophy, which I view as quite counter-cultural to the way America treats children.  I am very community driven, so finding a group of women that had the same dreams, goals and vision was an exciting opportunity to take this philosophy to our community and build it together.

What are some Montessori moments that stand out to you, whether in classrooms you’ve been in or with your own children?

The Montessori moments that stand out to me are the ones in which children are acting in ways that are beyond the expectations for children their age.  For example, watching a 22 month old independently work to put on snow pants and boots.  Or watching that same 22 month old have a snack, then be responsible for cleaning up their place.  I love seeing the things that our kids are capable of doing, but we don’t expect them to do– so they don’t do it.  

In older classrooms, I always loved watching two students work together to build something or learn something.  I loved witnessing the chatter and the teamwork of that process.  I love when children are given the confidence and the freedom to explore their own learning.

What is something unexpected about the process of opening a school?

I never thought that it would be easy, but I think the pace that we’ve been forced to decelerate to and the issues that have come up is surprising.  Or the ways in which sheer force of will cannot make things happen. We need patience.  

But we are building a community and that is evident even in our work to build the school.  You hear people say “You can’t do these things alone,” but as a fiercely independent person (which I don't think is a compliment), it’s hard to ask for help. I think, “Oh everybody does this on their own and so we should be doing it on our own.” Which is not true! So I am continually surprised by the way in which our community has offered help and resources.  It never ceases to humble and encourage me, and reminds me that we are better and stronger when we work together.

Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?

I think although in the moments of doing the work they assigned I wouldn’t have said this, looking back, the teachers who had high expectations.  I appreciate the teachers who weren’t going to give you a good grade just for effort.  They really pushed people to work towards their potential– they pushed me to work toward my potential.  At the time it was hard, but it really pushed me to work towards what I could accomplish.

What are you most excited about for this school year?

I’m just so excited to have children and families be part of our community.  We've been working on this for so long, just in our group, dreaming about students and building curriculum and the structures to make this school thrive.  And I just can’t wait for them to actually come and for the school to be full of life!

When you’re not in the classroom, what are you most likely to be doing?

Hanging out with my kids, going to the yoga studio, thinking about gardening but not actually gardening.