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Southeast Alaska Friends of Montessori (SEAFOM) is a non-profit organization, formed in 1994 by a small group of Montessori parents and teachers who wanted to ensure the continued availability of Montessori education for their children.
SEAFOM's mission is to make Montessori education available to all Juneau families with children from the ages of 15 months through adolescence. We hope to achieve this goal by promoting, developing, implementing, and maintaining Montessori education primarily in public school settings.
We believe that a Montessori education provides children with not only necessary physical skills and an essential body of knowledge, but also with self-respect and with respect for others, for the environment, and for the world. Among the abilities encouraged and valued in a Montessori environment are: the ability to be independent, self-motivated, and self-disciplined; the ability to interact effectively with others and within a community; the ability to appreciate and to care for the environment; and the ability to make meaningful contributions to society. SEAFOM believes that a Montessori education should be available at no charge to all who seek it.
Our vision, as Maria Montessori herself said, "is of individuals passing from one stage of independence to a higher, by means of their own activity, through their own effort of will, which constitutes the inner evolution of the individual." (From Childhood to Adolescence)
Juneau now has seven Montessori class rooms, serving approximately 130 students: three classes for preK and K housed in the Juneau Montessori School; and two classes for grades 1-3, one class for grades 4-6, and one class for grades 7-8 that are housed in the Juneau School District. SEAFOM is committed to the continued support of all of these classes and to the expansion of these classes to meet the growing demand for Montessori education in Juneau.
SEAFOM Board Meetings take place at 9:00am on the second Saturday of each month at the Silver Bow Back Room Restaurant.
