The Montessori Children’s School is all grown up.
What started more than 30 years ago as a private preschool offering early-childhood, Montessori-style education, now offers education up to 10th grade, with plans to expand to 11th and 12th grades as the current high school students age into their final two years of high school.
For decades, the school offered pre-K through elementary grades at its Varela Street campus, near city hall in Old Town Key West.
“We started with kids 18 months old, and now we’re equipped to provide Montessori education through high school,” said Alex Kennedy, associate director of the school, although she and executive director Amy O’Connor agree the school’s name will likely undergo an evolution in the coming year to reflect the older grades. “Middle school and most high school grades have been added, namely because the parents asked for it.”
Another factor that enabled the school’s expansion occurred about three years ago, when the state of Florida approved Step Up funding for school choice. The funding pays tuition for private schools if Florida families choose to send their kids to one.
“When that funding kicked in about three years ago, it enabled a lot of our families to stay at our school, and we’re continuing to spread the word to reach families who may not know an accredited Montessori school is available to them and their families,” O’Connor said, emphasizing that the Montessori Children’s School of Key West is the only fully-accredited Montessori school in the Keys, accredited by the International Montessori Council.
The school last year bought the property at 1025 White St., which previously housed a tile store and pet store. It’s been converted into classrooms for the upper grades, which opened to students last month.
“We also bought a multifamily property in New Town for employee housing, which enabled us to bring down certified Montessori teachers and ensure that they can afford to live and teach here without having to work four jobs,” Kennedy said.
The school, between the two Old Town campuses, now has an enrollment of 125 students, with plans to add about 10 students per year until its maximum enrollment of 185 is reached.
“Our philosophy is human-based,” Kennedy said. “We treat our students like human beings, and there’s a trust factor not found in other school settings. We focus on hands-on materials. We still teach handwriting and our students walk through Old Town on their learning expeditions.
“We want adults in our community to have childhood memories of walking between campuses in Old Town and being contributing members of the Key West community.”
A $2 million capital campaign to pay for the new school building renovations will be launched next year, Kennedy said.And a silent auction is live online until Friday, April 24. The auction is at app.galabid.com/montessorikeywest26 and the capital campaign is at gofund.me/591e7b5d6.
