In Montessori Compass, the term Grades/Years is used to represent Montessori Cycle Years. This is the framework we use to organize the Montessori Scope & Sequence for mixed-age classrooms.
By default, new accounts that include our Scope & Sequence are pre-loaded with a standard Montessori alignment of Grades/Years. This ensures lessons are properly organized to match typical Montessori developmental stages.
How Grades/Years Work
- Grades/Years = Cycle Years: They reflect the natural multi-age groupings used in Montessori classrooms.
- The Scope & Sequence in Montessori Compass is organized by these Grades/Years, so staff can easily find developmentally appropriate lessons across a mixed-age classroom.
- This structure keeps your planning, record keeping, and reporting consistent with Montessori best practices.
Default Montessori Alignment
Here’s the default Grades/Years setup provided with Montessori Compass (aligned to common Montessori cycles):
| Grade/Year | Classroom(s) | Typical Age Range |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | Infant | 0 – 18 months |
| Toddler | Toddler | 18 months – 3 yrs |
| Primary | PK1, PK2, K | 3 – 6 yrs |
| Lower Elementary | 1st, 2nd, 3rd | 6 – 9 yrs |
| Upper Elementary | 4th, 5th, 6th | 9 – 12 yrs |
Customizing Grades/Years
You can fully customize the Grades/Years in your account:
- Minor text changes are safe. For example, changing “Infant” to “Nido” will not affect your Scope & Sequence or curriculum alignment.
- Structural changes require caution. If you shift age groupings or reorganize the Grades/Years (for example, moving Kindergarten out of Primary), this will impact how lessons are organized in the Scope & Sequence.
Because restructuring can have negative effects on the curriculum, we recommend checking with our Support Team before making significant changes.
✨ In short: Montessori Compass provides a default Grades/Years setup that matches Montessori cycle years. You can rename them to fit your school’s terminology without issue, but be careful when making structural changes that shift age ranges—those changes can affect the Scope & Sequence.
You can update a student’s grade level (or cycle year) at any time—whether you're closing out the school year or making mid-year adjustments. This ensures accurate records and classroom placement as students progress through your program.
Steps to Update Grade Levels
- Log in as an Administrator.
Only Administrator users can update grade levels. Select the Account Admin role in the upper right corner. - Navigate to Grades/Years.
On the left-hand side navigation panel, click Grades/Years. - View Current Assignments.
You’ll see a breakdown of students by grade or cycle year.
Click on a grade to expand and view the list of students currently assigned. - Select Students to Update.
- In the example shown, four students who were previously Kindergartners in a Primary classroom are now moving into Lower Elementary.
- Select the checkboxes next to their names or use Select All.
- Change Their Grade/Cycle Year.
- Use the drop-down to choose the new grade or cycle year (e.g., First Grade).
- Click Update to confirm the change.
- Verify the Update.
- Return to your Classroom Profile.
- Open the updated classroom (e.g., Lower Elementary).
- You’ll now see those students listed with their new cycle year or grade.
Note: This update does not affect their classroom assignment—only their grade level. You can move students between classrooms separately.