The Suzuki School

Founded in Atlanta in 1976 by Marlene Lerer in collaboration with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki as The Suzuki International Learning Center, The Suzuki School incorporates the concepts developed for Suzuki music education into an early childhood curriculum. Our first campus, opened in 1977, initially offered Kindergarten and First Grade to an inaugural class of 8 students. Within the next few years, we expanded our programs, establishing the school at the vanguard of education for children birth through five. During the first 25 years, our school created a curriculum based on several established and respected traditional methods. From the beginning, we emphasized the Suzuki focus on a strong parent partnership, the Noble Heart and honoring each child’s natural talent and ability. In 2007, the Suzuki Learning Center was renamed as The Suzuki School in recognition of a heightened focus on early childhood education. That same year, we built a new campus in Buckhead to provide students and their teachers with an environment specifically designed to facilitate our collaborative teaching approach. We opened our Northside campus in 2008 and began the adaptation of important Montessori principles on self-mastery, creativity, and methodology. Because Dr. Suzuki and Dr. Maria Montessori shared many common values concerning the first five years of a child’s education, we recognized the strength of pairing Suzuki’s philosophies with the Montessori model. In 2009, The Suzuki School obtained accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and in 2010 the school received accreditation from the Pan American Montessori Society. In 2014, the school opened The Montessori Teacher Education Institute at the Suzuki School to provide Infant/Toddler (0-3 years) and Primary (3-6 years) training to Suzuki teachers and others seeking the American Montessori Society teaching credential. Our third campus in Midtown’s Ponce City Market will open in August 2014. The Suzuki School was founded on the belief that learning begins in the womb -- over the years, this premise has been continually validated by our observations of our students and through highly respected research on brain development in the first five years. We know that learning begins before birth and that every moment of a child’s day is an opportunity to engage and explore. We recognize that the first years of life are the most critical in the development of an inquisitive mind and a noble heart. We are The Suzuki School.