Our School Campus

Mountain Pathways is located on Howard’s Creek Road, just off Highway 194 less than 2 miles north of New Market Center in Boone. Mountain Pathways School was founded in 1987 by a group of parents and educators who wanted our region’s children to have an opportunity for interdisciplinary education that met the needs of the whole child.

Currently, the campus has one building, the Children’s House, which houses our three classrooms and administrative offices. Each classroom has been carefully designed to introduce and support developmentally appropriate learning and movement. Additionally, each classroom has dedicated space for snack time, lunch, as well as rest time.

Children playing in a fenced outdoor area with trees and a grassy landscape under a partly cloudy blue sky.

Outdoor Play Happens Every Day

The campus is bordered by the gently rolling waters of Howard’s Creek and includes more than six beautiful acres of woodland and open fields. The pre-primary and primary classes have their own fenced playgrounds with state-of-the-art playground equipment, and students have loads of open grassy space near the creek to engage in planned and independent play each day.

A young girl riding a small, pink and yellow tricycle on a dirt hill outdoors, with a group of children and adults seated at a table in the background.
Two children play in a sandbox outdoors, with one boy in a striped shirt actively digging and a girl in a pink shirt observing, surrounded by various sand toys and set against a background of trees, a wooden railing, and a house.

MPS History

Mountain Pathways adopted the Montessori philosophy and curriculum in 1992. The Montessori classroom is built on personal responsibility and respect for the other individuals in the environment. Children who rise to these expectations — and whose parents take them home — typically go on to become successful, well-adjusted young adults who do not hesitate to make positive contributions to their community and world. 

Kids playing on a grassy field, with two boys running and hopping over plastic stepping stones, and a girl swinging on a swing set in the background under trees.