Bisbee Community MS is the only Montessori school in Cochise County, Arizona.  Located about two miles from the Mexico border in a very rural area of southeastern Arizona, it is very difficult to recruit Montessori trained staff to this small community.  Yet the demand for Montessori education has grown. The community is mostly low income and Bisbee CMS offers all of its families a discounted rate.  Because parents asked for an elementary Montessori class, the school expanded into an Elementary classroom in addition to its Primary classroom.

Bisbee CMS had hired a young woman on a part-time basis to assist in the Primary class.  When the primary guide left Bisbee CMS several years later, this young woman became the lead guide for the primary classroom.  At the same time the school  paid for her to attend Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies in Phoenix, AZ.  She completed her first year much of it on-line while also continuing to be the lead guide in her own classroom. She excelled in the training program and the children thrived.. But for her to complete her primary certification course, she had to travel to Phoenix. MGGF enabled that.

This young woman completed her training and is now an AMI certified primary guide. Listen to her remarks made in February 2023 about her training education. The head of Bisbee also talks about the impact MGGF’s grant had on the entire school. Watch Hillary Culp explain the consequence of our grant.