Our History
Our Foundation
Founding of Maharishi School
Maharishi School was established in 1975 to provide an innovative Consciousness-Based system of education where students and teachers systematically develop their awareness, their alertness, while engaged in a college preparatory program.
Maharishi School proudly bears the name of its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the internationally renowned teacher, scientist, and humanitarian. The School began on the campus of Maharishi International University as an elementary school for the children of faculty and staff. It quickly grew in enrollment and in 1981 the secondary school was established, completing the world’s first seamless system of Consciousness-Based education: Preschool through Ph.D.
The School was accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States in 1986 and in 1987 received Special Accreditation by the Iowa Department of Education (IDOE) as a college preparatory school for grades 7-12. Since 2013 the School has held Independent Accreditation with the IDOE for all grades. We are also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.
In 1989, Hopson Hall was dedicated and now houses our administrative offices, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. Foster Hall, built in 1903, continues to house most of our Upper School STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) programs. In 1997, we added the Student Center and the Greenhouse to complete the quadrant of our campus. In 2018, we added an on-campus dormitory space in Hildenbrand Hall that houses our international boarding program.
Developing the full creative potential of consciousness makes the students masters of their life; their behavior is nourishing to themselves and everyone around them. They have the natural ability to fulfill their own interests without jeopardizing the interests of others. Such enlightened individuals are the result of Consciousness-Based Education.” —Maharishi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Our Founder
Our founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, introduced the Transcendental Meditation® program to the world more than 50 years ago. This is the cornerstone of Consciousness-Based Education—expanding the awareness of the student instead of just filling it with information.
But Maharishi’s contributions to the field of education include more than the TM technique. He also formulated the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI), the systematic study of the laws of nature that underlie the structure and functioning of our world. Maharishi designed curricular packages in SCI at each grade level, so any subject can be connected to the knowledge of natural law, and to one’s own self. This curriculum is now taught in our Consciousness, Connections, and Life Skills (CCLS) classes at every grade level.
“As a result of this educational approach, students grow in the awareness that all streams of knowledge are but modes of their own intelligence. They come to feel at home with everyone and everything. Their creative genius blossoms with increasing confidence and self-sufficiency. They cease to violate Natural Law and grow in the ability to accomplish anything and spontaneously to think and act free from mistakes—the fruit of all knowledge.” —Maharishi
40 Years of Success