Season 1 Ep. 11: Public Montessori in Italy
This episode is a conversation with Patrizia Mercuri, director of the Istituto Comprensivo San Donato in Sardinia, Italy. The school began as a traditional program until Mercuri was approached by parents with the request to begin a Montessori classroom. This public Montessori school, nestled within a larger public school, continues to grow each year and in the coming year will welcome 128 children.
Patrizia Mercuri began her life in education as a traditional English teacher. In 2008 she began working as a school principal for the Istituto Comprensivo San Donato in Sardinia, Italy. In 2016 she was approached by a group of parents who asked her if she would be willing to open a section of Montessori public nursery/primary in the Comprehensive school. The planning began from there and in 2017 the first public Montessori classroom was opened serving 15 children. Now the program has expanded to serve 92 children in both primary and elementary classrooms with plans to begin next year with 128 children.