Montessori Schools in Phuket

The Development of Montessori Schools in Phuket

In 2004, van Benthum sold the Montessori school in Rawai to a parent who continues to run the school to this day. Following the sale, van Benthum relocated to the Northern Region. That same year, before the devastating tsunami hit the island, the new owner of the Rawai Progressive School organized a training program for professors and teachers at Rajabhat University. Over the subsequent years, the demonstration school of Rajabhat University Phuket acquired several complete Montessori material sets and began teaching the Montessori method. However, the project was short-lived due to the lack of a qualified teacher with a Montessori certificate.

Stuart Nuth, a relative newcomer to the Montessori education system, founded a Montessori kindergarten in Vichit, Phuket, nearly two decades after his introduction to the method. In October 2022, Nuth discovered an unoccupied kindergarten building and an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) trained teacher. With the support of Andi Becker, a former educational director of the Rawai Progressive School in 2004 and a long-term resident of the island, the kindergarten experienced rapid growth. Within a mere three months, the student body expanded from none to almost its full capacity of 40 students. During this period, the institution also garnered close to 20 five-star reviews.

Nuth adheres strictly to the authentic Montessori approach, which includes a strong emphasis on proper work ethics and legal compliance too. This includes ensuring that all operations are appropriately licensed by the Thai government. The process of obtaining a license in Thailand can be arduous and time-consuming, leading some establishments to attempt to bypass these legal requirements. However, it is highly recommended that kindergartens in Thailand are fully licensed and that their staff are not only qualified but also receive regular and good payment. Any deviation from these legal and ethical standards could potentially tarnish the reputation of all Montessori schools.

In Cherngtaley, the Greenhouse Kindergarten^[1] has been implementing the Montessori method since 2018 under highly qualified Thai leadership. Meanwhile, in Rawai, Kim Kilgore, another former educational director of the Rawai Progressive School, started "Scholars Of Unity and Light" (S.O.U.L)^[2] - a heavily Montessori-inspired learning center for students aged 3–15y.

The educational scene in Phuket appears to be thriving once more, with the emergence of three new authentic Montessori initiatives and the rapidly expanding UpSchool^[3]^[4] Phuket initiative, which is also based on the Montessori Method and caters to homeschoolers. These initiatives are inspiring others to establish Montessori nurseries for children aged 1–3 years, as well as kindergartens and schools. Ruamrudee School^[5] in Bangkok, which adheres to the Emilio Reggio Montessori approach, is also planning to open a new kindergarten in Phuket, close to the former zoo. It remains to be seen whether Phuket Island will transform into a major ASEAN hub for advanced, authentic Montessori educational practices and environments that prepares students and train teachers with an Education for the New World.