School History

The Montessori School of Tokyo (MST) was officially founded in 2003, with earlier iterations of the school (known as the Sunshine Montessori School and the Little People Montessori School) reaching as far back as 1993. Operating at first for students aged 2 to 12 years old, MST then added Japan’s first adolescent Montessori programme in 2014. 
 

The Forest Campus, our main building housing the majority of our classes and administration workspaces, is close to a number of local parks and in 2011, was further enhanced by the addition of a large garden, giving the children easy access to a natural outdoor environment.
 

In 2019, MST introduced a new building, now known as the Grove Campus, a comfortable 6-minute walk away. Our newest Lower Elementary class, along with our Upper Elementary class can be found there, along with our Middle School, whose adolescent community has established a flourishing urban rooftop farm and several micro-economy enterprises that are hubs of MST community life.
 

Our present model serves approximately 230 children aged 18 months to 3 years (Little People), 3~6 (Sunshine), 6~12 (Elementary) and 12~15 (Middle School /Adolescence).
 

MST is a thriving community of like-minded children, adolescents, and adults representing over 35 nationalities. We are a longstanding member of the Japan Council of International Schools (JCIS), as well as the first–and currently, only–Montessori school in Japan that is globally accredited by the International Montessori Council (IMC). 
 

Our faculty community is impressive in its pedagogical strength and collectively amongst one of the best-qualified in the Montessori world, with a predominance of Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Diplomas held by lead and co-lead teachers, and with many more professional certifications and qualifications amongst our support teachers, office, administrative, and custodial staff. A great many MST staff have been a part of our school community long-term. In this way, MST is a truly mission-driven school that provides an immersive, consistent, stable, and high-fidelity Montessori experience.  
 

The energy and vision of our Montessori community continues to be guided by Head of School James Moore. Having first joined MST in 2004 as MST’s Sports and Activities Coordinator, James progressed to a number of different roles within the school over the following two decades, including Director of Operations, and Assistant Head of School, until finally being appointed Head of School in the summer of 2020. James holds an American Montessori Society (AMS) Administrator Credential (2011), an AMI 6-12 Diploma (2020), and an AMI Administrators Certificate (2021).
 

In celebrating our history and as we look to the future, MST continues to honour its core values of confidence, respect, and compassion, and offers a truly vibrant vision of education to Tokyo’s internationally minded communuty.