Building a Montessori School from the Ground Up: An Observational Case Study of the Founding Phases of Nido Montessori Preschool, Bachupally

This observational, single-case study documents the founding of Nido Montessori Preschool in Bachupally, Hyderabad, from conceptualization through the arrival of its first cohort of children on 17 June 2026. Written as practitioner research by one of the school's founders, it records not only the decisions that worked but also the reworks, delays, reorders, and out-of-specification materials that published accounts of Montessori schools usually omit. Drawing on a founder's field journal, vendor and contractor correspondence, meeting minutes, and dated photographic documentation, the study organizes the founding period (June 2025 to June 2026) into five overlapping phases: philosophical foundations, site and regulatory groundwork, building the prepared environment, building the human environment, and outreach and admissions. It also identifies cross-cutting challenges and adaptive strategies, offers seven practical recommendations for prospective Montessori founders, and highlights the gap between accreditation standards, which describe what a compliant school should look like, and the day-to-day process of building one. The study serves both as an institutional record for Nido Montessori Preschool and as an openly available resource for other founders and educators building values-driven early-childhood settings.