The Montessori School of Fort Smith educates children ages 3 years to 15 years in an environment that builds independence, intrinsic motivation, critical thinking skills, and a love of learning. Developmentally appropriate programs are led by Montessori certified teachers. Mixed age classes allow children to be exposed to a wide range of learning possibilities. Younger students are able to imitate, absorb, and internalize skills before ever having the lessons. Older children provide leadership and reinforce their own learning by role modeling to younger students. Established in 1969, as St. Scholastica Montessori School, by Sister Kevin Bopp, the school operated for almost twenty years at St. Scholastica convent. When the sisters made the decision to close the school, a group of parents who understood the power of a Montessori education, incorporated the school as a nonprofit and reopened in a house on September 5, 1989. Three years later the school moved to its current location.