The Wilmington Montessori School mission statement declares that:

We empower children to be knowledgeable and responsible contributors to the global community.

How does WMS empower children to contribute to the global community? It's a tall order, to be sure. From the toddlers to the sixth-graders, the WMS social curriculum incrementally assists children in understanding the crucial social skills needed to be collaborators and problem-solvers. First the children learn how to care for their classmates and teachers. As they grow, they come to care for the larger community - their school, their region and the world.

Having studied extensively what Montessori called "The Fundamental Needs of People," WMS sixth-graders are increasingly aware of the challenges people face when their needs are not met. Their keen sense of fairness nudges them to ask big questions about themselves and the world: How can I help the world to be a better place? How can I make the world a fairer place? What is my place in the world? In an effort to help them begin to answer these questions, each year the 9-12 teachers accompany the students on a very special trip to New York City for a remarkable program called the Global Citizenship Action Project (GCAP). Once there, they join forces with Montessori students from all over the United States to study a wide range of topics related to the challenges people are facing the world over.

GCAP provides a forum for spokespeople from a variety of non-profits to describe their respective organizations' visions and operations. This year, the inspirational program included representatives from Feeding America, Save the Rain, Vision for Children and by Children, and several other impressive and accomplished non-profits. The WMS students, conferring with mostly middle school students from states such as Colorado, Florida and California, weighed the strengths of each presentation. On the third day, all of the students voted and chose one group to support throughout the coming year; this year, they selected Save the Rain.

The WMS students also toured the United Nations and visited a mission to the U.N. - The Permanent Mission of Egypt - along with students from Florida and Ohio. The students learned about the role the UN plays in seeking solutions to the very same problems they had been wrestling with in the GCAP hotel conference room; they asked about the Egyptian educational system, the availability of healthcare and the struggle for a fair distribution of wealth among Egyptian citizens. 

At the conclusion of their adventures in the Big Apple, it was clear; the WMS sixth-grade students were forever changed - by the people they met, the ideas they considered and the new perspective they gained about the world and their place in it. They stand empowered and ready to contribute. Look out world - here they come.