Montessori Australia Presents: Montessori & Artificial Intelligence

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  Kate Broughton

  Kate Broughton, M.Ed., is an educator, researcher, and strategic advisor working at the intersection of Montessori education, artificial intelligence, and the future of learning. With over 40 years of experience across the UK state system and US private Montessori schools, she has spent her life committed to the transformation of education by following each unique child. She currently advises the ZSchool Strategic AI Program at the University of San Francisco, working with business and education leaders on responsible, human-centered AI adoption. In 2007, Kate co-founded Kingwood Montessori School in Texas (US), was upper elementary lead, and then led as director until 2020, co-creating a nurturing and vibrant learning environment rooted in developmental theory and child-centered pedagogy. Since then, her journey has taken her into the heart of educational innovation. As a two-time fellow with the Innovation Fellowship Think Tank initiated by the American Montessori Society, she initiated award-winning research into how Montessori education naturally aligns with digital citizenship and AI competency development, and led an expert team to create Innovation Lab: The Future Montessori Classroom for the AMS 65th Anniversary Exhibit at The Montessori Event in Denver in March 2025, work recognized with the AMS Impact Medal. The exhibit demonstrated a pathway to inviting technology and artificial intelligence thoughtfully into the Montessori environment. In March 2026, Kate and Michelle Velho, M.S., presented UNBOUND: Mapping, Flow, and the Future of Montessori in the Age of AI at The Montessori Event in Washington, D.C., exploring the intersection of Montessori education, human development, and the future of artificial intelligence. That same week, Kate carried her Assessment Credibility Plan to Washington, meeting with congressional offices to present a four-document policy suite, including a five-year assessment transition timeline and a legislative brief. At its center is the Evidence Stack, a six-layer, human-first assessment model built to answer a defining question of this decade: how education systems can credibly assess thinking, judgment, and understanding in a world where AI can generate any type of content. ​ In 2026, Kate published two foundational documents now available through this site. A Cosmic Story: The Coming of Technology, co-authored with Aishwarya Sankaranarayanan, extends Montessori Cosmic Education into the age of intelligent machines for children in the elementary years, published in both Teacher's and Read Aloud editions. The Montessori Rights of the Child, an articulation for the age of intelligent machines, is a five-article declaration of what every child is owed in a world of persuasive technology, published on Dr. Maria Montessori's 156th birthday

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