Rooted in Kindness. Ready for the World.
Since 1981, AIA Montessori has helped children become confident, compassionate, and independent learners through an authentic Montessori education that nurtures both academic excellence and personal growth.
What began as one classroom.
What began as a single Montessori classroom has grown into one of North Atlanta’s most established Montessori communities. Today children begin their journey as young as 18 months and can continue through Grade 8, learning within a close-knit community where they are known, supported, and encouraged every step of the way.
For more than four decades our mission has remained the same: to inspire a lifelong love of learning while helping every child develop the confidence, character, and curiosity to thrive in school and in life.
Our Founder
A story that began with one teacher.
Dixie Oliver spent nine years in Vietnam during the war. What she saw there settled something in her: she wanted to build a place where kindness was not an afterthought but the organizing principle.
She discovered Montessori education in 1979, while observing a friend’s classroom. Already a trained educator, she went on to complete her Montessori training through an AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) program, and found in it a philosophy that matched what she already believed: that children flourish when they are respected, trusted, and given the freedom to learn in a thoughtfully prepared environment.
In 1981 she opened what is now Alpharetta International Academy with a handful of students. Forty-five years later, that same belief still guides every classroom, every lesson, and every decision we make.
“Montessori can bring out the wonderfulness in children, but it cannot happen without an atmosphere of kindness.”
“Grounded in our guiding principles of Kindness, Diversity, and Innovation, we prepare students to become thoughtful leaders, confident learners, and compassionate global citizens.”– Sarah Prosser, Head of School
A campus designed for childhood.
Our six-acre wooded campus is more than beautiful. It is an extension of the Montessori classroom. Children learn outdoors, explore nature, tend gardens, and observe wildlife, discovering that curiosity does not stop at the classroom door.
Every environment here is deliberately prepared to encourage independence, movement, and exploration. Whether children are reading beneath mature trees, working together on an outdoor project, or simply enjoying time with classmates, they experience a school built around childhood itself.
Wooded Trails & Nature Study
Trails winding through our six acres give children daily access to trees, seasons, and quiet outdoor observation, an extension of the Montessori classroom.
Community Garden
Students plant, tend, and harvest alongside teachers, connecting practical life lessons to the food they grow.
Age-Appropriate Playgrounds
Separate outdoor play spaces are scaled to each program, from Pre-Primary through Middle School, so gross-motor play matches each child's stage of growth.
A world of cultures. One community.
Families from more than 30 countries have called AIA Montessori home. That community enriches everyday learning by exposing children to different cultures, languages, traditions, and perspectives in authentic and meaningful ways.
Children do not simply learn about the world.They grow up in one.
Those daily experiences help students develop empathy, respect, confidence, and the ability to build relationships across cultures. It shows in the ordinary things, from daily Spanish learning to the International Day Festival, where families share the music, food, art, and heritage that make this school what it is.
Moments our community looks forward to.
Some of the best parts of the year are not on a report card. These are the mornings and evenings when families, students and staff are all on campus together.
Fall Festival
A festive fall morning on campus with activities, treats, and community for the whole family.
International Festival
A campus-wide celebration of the many countries and cultures represented in our community, with booths, food, dance, and flags from around the world.
Movie on the Green
A relaxed community evening outdoors: families, picnic blankets, and a movie under the trees.
Spring Festival
Blooming trees, lawn games, and a joyful morning celebrating spring as a school community.
AIA 5K Run
Students, families, and staff lace up for a fun run supporting our school community.
Student Performances
Throughout the year, our students take the stage together—singing and performing for families on campus.
Dates for this year are on our school calendar.
One continuous community, not a series of separate schools.
Many of our students begin at 18 months and continue through Grade 8. Along the way they are supported by experienced Montessori educators who understand child development, build lasting relationships with families, and help each child grow with confidence and independence.
Instead of starting over in a new environment every few years, children build meaningful friendships, develop trusting relationships with their teachers, and experience one consistent educational philosophy throughout their school years.
Recognized by Best of Georgia, 2022 through 2025.
AIA has been named a Best of Georgia winner four years running: a Regional Win in 2022, Statewide Wins in 2023 and 2024, and the Regional Award again in 2025.
A nonprofit, which changes where the money goes.
AIA Montessori is an independent nonprofit school, which makes our mission different from schools owned by individuals or investors. Every tuition dollar is reinvested into the people, programs, and environments that shape your child’s day: Montessori educators, prepared classrooms, materials, campus improvements, and student programs.
The school is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors made up of parents and community leaders, working alongside the Head of School and leadership team. Their job is long-term stewardship, so that every decision supports today’s students while strengthening the school for the families who come after them.
Leadership, faculty, and accreditation.
Accreditation
See the accrediting bodies and Montessori affiliations that recognize our program.
Learn More