By: Allison Driver

I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and I moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Fisk University. I then obtained my Masters in Organizational Management and worked for over 14 years at the first charter school that was founded in Middle Tennessee. My initial school experience began in Montessori but from there I attended public and private schools. As a long-time educator, it is important to me for parents to have the opportunity to have school options and determine what setting is best for their child. The foundation that is laid is also equally important. The fact that 80% of a child’s brain development occurs in first three years of their life stresses the importance of providing a strong foundation and also how adequate sleeping patterns, proper nutrition, and limited screen time are to the foundation that is laid.

I now have the pleasure to be here in Chattanooga working as Head of School at a Montessori School that my two children attend and I truly feel my life has come full circle. I am able to continue to focus on laying the best foundation I can for my children and I also am able to encourage and work with parents of the students who attend The Montessori School to do so as well. Maria Montessori recognized the benefits of following the child and it is truly amazing to see firsthand the students interact in what is their own community of independence, freedom, and creativity. While I have a special place in my heart for Montessori, both through experience and how beneficial the Montessori principles have been for my own kids, my hope is that every parent finds the educational environment that allows their child or children to maximize their own fullest potential. Thank goodness for educational choice, platforms such as Chattanooga 2.0 and Chattanooga Basics that enhance our community, and for the opportunity for children to have freedom within limits as they work to transform the world in the manner in which is most ideal and fitting for them.