Understanding Grades/Years (Cycle Years)

In Montessori Compass, Grades/Years represent Montessori Cycle Years — the framework used to organize the Montessori Scope & Sequence for mixed-age classrooms.

New accounts that include our Scope & Sequence are pre-loaded with a standard Montessori alignment of Grades/Years, ensuring lessons are 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 is organized by these Grades/Years so staff can easily find developmentally appropriate lessons across a mixed-age classroom.
• This structure keeps planning, record keeping, and reporting consistent with Montessori best practices.

Default Montessori Alignment

Here is the default Grades/Years setup provided with Montessori Compass, aligned to common Montessori cycles:

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.

In short: You can rename Grades/Years to fit your school's terminology without issue. Be careful when making structural changes that shift age ranges — those changes can affect the Scope & Sequence. When in doubt, reach out to our support team before making significant changes.

How to Update Student Grade Levels

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

1. Log in as an Administrator.
   Only Administrator users can update grade levels. Select the Account Admin role in the upper right corner.
2. Navigate to Grades/Years.
   On the left-hand navigation panel, click Grades/Years.
3. 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.
4. Select Students to Update.
   • Select the checkboxes next to the students you want to move, or use Select All.
5. Change Their Grade/Cycle Year.
   • Use the dropdown to choose the new grade or cycle year (e.g., First Grade).
   • Click Update to confirm the change.
6. Verify the Update.
   • Return to your Classroom Profile and open the updated classroom.
   • You'll now see those students listed with their new cycle year or grade.

Note: Updating a student's grade level does not affect their classroom assignment — only their grade. You can move students between classrooms separately.

Questions? Reach out to our support team — we're happy to help.