Why Child Care Is So Expensive — and What Montessori Educators Can Do About It

1907-2025 Welcome to the 119th Montessori School Year!

Inspired by Jordan McGillis, “Why child care costs so much — and how to fix it,” The Washington Post, August 18, 2025: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/08/18/childcare-cost-nannies-economy-labor/

Summary for Montessori Leaders

High-quality early childhood education (ECE) is structurally expensive because it is people-intensive, time-intensive, and resistant to automation. Prices are rising faster than inflation due to the Baumol cost disease, compliance expansion, facilities costs, and a shrinking domestic pipeline of qualified educators. Broad subsidies can shift who pays but often impose regulatory frameworks that conflict with Montessori principles (flexibility, mixed‑age groupings, uninterrupted work cycles). Sustainable affordability requires: (1) enlarging the educator workforce (including visas and apprenticeships), (2) right‑sizing credential rules to recognize Montessori pathways, (3) smart public co‑investment that protects pedagogical autonomy, and (4) stronger school‑level talent and finance strategies.

1) Why All Child Care Is Expensive (and getting more so)

People, not widgets. All child-care and early childhood education, including Montessori programs, depend on the presence of trained adults who observe, prepare, and connect with children when needed. Unlike traditional settings that assume a lower adult‑child ratio is always better, Montessori intentionally cultivates peer learning and independence. Guides must balance giving lessons, making space for autonomy, and investing time in children who need deeper connection. That still requires adequate staffing, not to overwhelm guides but to ensure they can observe, build relationships, and prepare the environment.

Baumol cost disease. When productivity rises in other sectors (software, manufacturing), wages increase economy‑wide. ECE productivity is intentionally flat—one adult can responsibly guide only so many children in a classroom community—so programs must raise pay to keep educators from leaving for higher‑paying fields.

Regulatory creep. Over time, well‑meant rules add paperwork, training hours, inspections, and record‑keeping. Each requirement may be reasonable; the cumulative cost is substantial, and the burden falls heaviest on small schools.

Facilities and insurance. Child‑sized fixtures, outdoor spaces, ADA compliance, security, and severe‑weather standards drive capital and operating costs. Premiums and deductibles have risen sharply in many regions.

Benefits and turnover. Inadequate salaries and benefits produce churn. Turnover creates hiring costs, onboarding time, and lost continuity for children—all of which are expensive and educationally harmful.

Montessori specifics. True mixed‑age communities, real materials, and uninterrupted three‑hour work cycles require prepared staff and ample space. You can cut corners, but you won’t have Montessori.

2) Why do so few Americans choose early childhood careers

• Compensation gap. Talented assistants can earn more in retail, health tech, or HR within a year. Lead guides often lack parity with K–12 teachers (and lack pensions/tenure).
• Status and career ladders. ECE is viewed as “babysitting” in the U.S. Clear advancement (assistant → associate guide → lead guide → program lead) is rare outside strong Montessori networks.
• Burnout risk. Demanding emotional labor with limited prep time, limited planning coverage, and scarce subs.
• Credential barriers. One‑size‑fits‑all degree mandates can exclude excellent practitioners and undervalue rigorous Montessori credentials (AMI, AMS, IMC, etc.). Coursework costs and time deter candidates.
• Friction costs. Background checks, fingerprinting, first‑aid, TB tests, food‑handler cards—each necessary, all time‑consuming. Without centralized onboarding support, good candidates drop out.

Implication for Montessori leaders: Without a bigger pipeline and better work design, tuition will keep climbing to maintain quality.

3) Subsidies: help with access, but watch the strings

Public funding can increase access, stabilize wages, and reduce family burden. But when dollars are tied to compliance frameworks that prioritize narrow inputs (seat time, scripted curricula, testing, short blocks), Montessori’s essential features—freedom within limits, individualized pacing, mixed ages, and long work cycles—are at risk. The goal is smart subsidies: fund outcomes and core quality elements while preserving pedagogical autonomy and multiple program models.

4) System‑level ideas that actually improve affordability

Drawing on McGillis’s piece and lessons from ECE research:

1. Expand legal pathways for caregivers and teachers.
2. Apprenticeships and paid residencies.
3. Right‑size credential rules.
4. Tiered program options with safety as the non‑negotiable.
5. Shared‑services alliances.
6. Targeted public co‑investment.

5) What Montessori schools can do now (a practical playbook)

Talent pipeline

• Partner with local colleges and workforce boards to create Montessori assistant pipelines; host paid practicums.
• “Grow‑your‑own” scholarships for assistants to earn Montessori diplomas; add service commitments.
• Create compensation ladders tied to observable competencies (presentations mastered, classroom management, parent partnership) with transparent pay bands.
• Build a regional substitute consortium and shared calendar of observation days.
• Offer predictable planning time and classroom coverage; reduce burnout.

Finance and pricing

• Cost every classroom using zero‑based budgeting (salaries & benefits, relief staff, materials refresh, PD, admin allocation, facilities, insurance). Price tuition to cover true cost plus strategic reserves.
• Diversify revenue: extended day, summer Montessori, parent education, space rentals (when mission‑consistent), philanthropic scholarships.
• Be radically transparent with parents: publish what tuition funds (wages/benefits %, PD %, materials %, financial aid %). Transparency builds trust.

Operations and program integrity

• Protect the long extended work cycle; schedule specialists and pull‑outs after core work periods.
• Keep class sizes at Montessori‑appropriate ranges and invest in assistant training; this is cheaper than chronic turnover.
• Use tech only to reduce admin friction (enrollment, billing, parent comms), not to fragment the work cycle.

Parent partnership

• Offer recurring parent education: observation days, short “why we do it this way” videos, and Q&As on mixed ages, independence, and freedom within limits.
• Provide a clear comparison of Montessori vs. conventional daycare requirements and why Montessori looks different—and costs what it does.

Data and outcomes

• Track and share: child attendance, concentration indicators (normalized work blocks), executive function rubrics, retention to K/Elementary, and alumni narratives. Funders and parents respond to outcomes, not slogans.

6) Talking points you can use with boards and parents

• “You’re paying for people.” Quality ECE is a professional service, not a product. The largest line item is wages and benefits, and that’s appropriate.
• “Montessori encourages independence.” Our classrooms are designed so children learn from each other as well as adults. Ratios matter less than well‑trained guides who know when to step in and when to step back.
• “Montessori is prevention.” Strong early executive function reduces later remediation and behavior costs.
• “We welcome smart public support.” We support funding that preserves mixed‑age communities, long work cycles, and Montessori credentials.

Selected references & further reading

(Representative sources you can cite in parent education, grant writing, and board work.)

• Jordan McGillis (2025). Why child care costs so much — and how to fix it. The Washington Post (op‑ed).
• William J. Baumol & William G. Bowen (1966). Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma (origin of the cost disease concept; widely applied to labor‑intensive services like ECE).
• James J. Heckman & colleagues (2006–2019). Research on returns to early childhood investment and the “Heckman curve.” See Heckman’s synthesis papers and policy briefs.
• Angeline S. Lillard & Nicole Else‑Quest (2006). “Evaluating Montessori Education.” Science, 313(5795), 1893–1894.
• Angeline S. Lillard (2017, 2021). Peer‑reviewed studies and meta‑analyses on Montessori outcomes (executive function, academic and social benefits).
• National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The State of Preschool annual reports.
• OECD (various years). Starting Strong reports on ECE systems and workforce.
• District of Columbia OSSE (2016 onward). Early childhood credentialing regulations and subsequent commentary/litigation; debates on degree mandates for child‑care workers.
• Child Care Aware of America. Annual data on child‑care supply, deserts, and affordability.

Closing thought

Montessori can—and should—help lead the national conversation about affordability. Our task is twofold: tell the truth about why great care and education cost what they do, and build smarter systems that expand the educator workforce while protecting the essence of Montessori. If we do both, more families will be able to choose the environment we know changes lives.