History of Montecito

 Montecito Community School was founded in 1998 as a school for the surrounding community. The sweeping campus featuring a two-story building, a beautiful gymnasium, sprawling play area, and a central courtyard garden served its close-knit community for 10 years.

Thanks to community organizing and school board support, Montecito Community School's building was able to reopen as a non-profit space and a location for  special programs in 2016 after it had recently closed its doors.

In the 2019-2020 school year, Osborn School District reintegrated the program for students with emotional disabilities under district leadership at this site. The space was utilized in order to develop two programs which serve students with high needs. The program was then later shifted to one of our other campus schools allowing for the MCS campus to serve a new purpose. 

In the 2021-2022 school year, Osborn School District started another new program -- Montessori Education. While the program began with 3-5 year old's in the "Primary Casa", Montecito Community School  crafted a goal to expand the Montessori program over the next six years to serve elementary students of all ages. 

Starting in the Fall of 2023, Montecito Community School became the home to our growing Montessori Learning Program. Our goal is to continue to welcome new families into our school family who seek a Montessori education in both  English or bilingual English-Spanish for their child. It is  the only public school district to offer a dual language Montessori Program while still following the Arizona Early Learning Standards and the Arizona State Standards. We hope to demonstrate why this unique program sets us apart and why being a part of the Osborn School District sets your child up for success.

Starting in the 2025-26 school year, the school has been renamed Montecito Montessori School, and is undergoing some exciting structural changes in three phases.  The first phase will be complete for the start of the 2026-27 school year.