Oct
West Side Montessori Hosts Professor, Acclaimed Researcher to Speak On How Children Learn Best
Posted by westadmin
West Side Montessori Hosts Professor, Acclaimed Researcher to Speak On How Children Learn Best
Why, after decades of efforts, are children not learning to their potential? Why are traditional classrooms still in crisis? Is Montessori a viable alternative? How does it work, and why? Internationally renowned researcher and psychology professor Dr. Angeline Stoll Lillard will answer these and other questions Thursday, November 10, at 7 p.m. at the Bancroft Campus of West Side Montessori.
In a presentation that speaks directly to the call for evidence-based learning, Dr. Lillard puts forth an amazing body of current scientific research that reveals how children learn best. She explains how these studies not only show why traditional teaching methods fall short, but also how the evidence points, time and again, to the teaching methods developed by physician Maria Montessori.
Dr. Lillard is praised as much for her easy communication style as the integrity of her research. Her book, Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius (Oxford University Press, 2005), has been hailed as authoritative, scholarly and an masterful explanation and exploration of the basic tenets of Montessori education.
West Side Montessori is proud to host Dr. Lillard in northwest Ohio at our Bancroft Campus, 7115 Bancroft St. Her enlightening talk is recommended to anyone interested in how humans develop and learn, from parents exploring education options to teachers, health care professionals and childcare providers. This presentation is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 pm. For more information, call 419.866.1931.
Come and hear Dr. Lillard speak about the eight principles of Montessori education:
1. Movement and cognition are closely entwined
2. Learning is improved when there are choices
3. Learning is improved when students are interested
4. Extrinsic rewards can have negative impacts
5. Collaboration among peers enhances learning
6. Learning is improved in meaningful contexts
7. Adult interaction can provide optimal outcomes
8. Order in the environment is beneficial
Visit Dr. Lillard’s website to read articles and hear interviews of the doctor speaking on the benefits of Montessori education.
http://www.montessori-science.org/
Feb
Visiting Professor Presents Research On Neurodevelopmental Benefits of Montessori Education to Crowd of Parents, Teachers, Staff and Guests
Posted by westadmin
Head of School, Lynn Fisher with Dr. Steven Hughes
The staff of West Side Montessori was delighted to host Dr. Steven Hughes at the school’s Bancroft Campus on February 8, for his informative and exciting presentation, Good at Doing Things: Montessori Education and Higher Order Cognitive Functioning. The information regarding the human brain development from birth and the actions/activities taking place in the environment that work best to stimulate cognitive and executive functions was very interesting.
Dr. Hughes presented the technical information to back up what we already know – that Montessori education is a great educational choice for our toddlers through eighth grade students! If you want to review the information or share it with others, follow the link below to listen to the audiocast of his presentation.
Many parents and teachers attended and there was an enlightening discussion following the talk. Read below for an overview of the Question & Answer session.
Q: Can you speak about education with China and the United States?
A: China is excellent at building things. You will see this when you look at the number of products you buy that are “made in China” including the Apple IPhone. What they believe America is good at is designing things. China is moving more in this direction and, hopefully, America will not move too far away from design expertise to being just good at building things. China is also moving away from rote memorization and testing toward more Montessori-like learning. The US seems to be moving towards more testing.
Q: Do you think that Montessori education is better for one gender than another (boys vs. girls)?
A: I am not an expert in this area so I don’t feel qualified to answer. My personal opinion is that Montessori education should not be gender specific.
Q: What do you think about the increase in the use of technology (ex: IPAD) for children?
A: Some research has shown that children engaged in playing lots of video games, etc. at young ages show less brain development in the areas for social engagement, verbal communications and those areas dealing with interactions particularly with adults. Likewise, adults who use technology while interacting with their children send unclear signals about two-way communication. For example, if mom is talking on her Bluetooth while driving and the child is in the car – the child thinks, “whom is mom talking to and assumes the mom is not speaking to him/her even though she may be. This is true when an adult is using a computer, texting or whatever. It would be nice to declare a “cell free zone” so, when you are with your child(ren), you devote the amount of time, eye contact, direct communication, etc. to engage in social interaction and communication. At school the teachers are cuing children for social engagement.”
Q: What happens if a child comes from a traditional education to Montessori at elementary or middle school?
A: The child may not have some of the executive functions as well developed as his/her classmates who have been in Montessori for years. Also, there would be an adjustment to the classroom environment going from a teacher-directed to a teacher-facilitated environment. The child then has to take more personal responsibility. Lynn Fisher explained that at WSM, children entering 1st grade and above come for a 3-day visit. This gives the teachers, other classroom peers, and the visitor the opportunity to get a sense of being in a Montessori classroom. A joint meeting occurs at the end of the visit to assess enrollment.
Q: What about children with ADD in Montessori?
A: Going back to the part of the presentation about repetition and working memory: at an early age in the Montessori program, practicing work until it is “mastered” is normal. This could allow a child who may or may not yet be diagnosed have an opportunity to develop working memory and possibly avoid an outcome of ADD. A Montessori environment also allows movement in the room and materials such as “game work” that is positive for an ADD child. Since an individual child’s diagnosis is complex and there could be other issues, each situation needs to be looked at separately to understand the child’s ability to succeed in the Montessori environment.
Q: What are your thoughts on the way education is evaluated (i.e. standardized tests, etc.)?
A: I think that frequent, small tests that can be used as a benchmark to measure a student’s progress and the quality of the program make the most sense. The “high stakes testing is apportioning privilege based upon virtue by performance on a standardized test. If we measure the things that are easy, we miss the things that are important. We are not testing for the real world because we are not measuring the developmental environment.”
Jan
Private School to Host Presentation on Value of Montessori Education
Posted by westadmin
Montessori Approach Provides Unparalleled Foundation
Dr. Steven Hughes to Present Talk at West Side Montessori
West Side Montessori will host guest speaker, Dr. Steven Hughes, PhD, LP, ABPdN, on February 8, 2011, at 7 pm for Good at Doing Things: Montessori Education and Higher Order Cognitive Functioning. A Montessori parent himself, Dr. Hughes’ presentation is known to be highly visual, rapid-paced and entertaining. He energetically describes how Maria Montessori’s brain-based approach to education provides an unparalleled foundation for the development of academic, social, and executive functions critical for advanced problem solving and lifetime success. He shows how Montessori education parallels what is now known about brain development of advanced cognitive functions, social cognition, and such capabilities as empathy and leadership. Injecting humor and stories into his presentation Dr. Hughes shares research that backs up what we’ve already intuitively known…Montessori education is the way to go!
Dr. Hughes is an assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School and maintains a private practice as well. In his clinical work, he has specialized in neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents. One of Dr. Hughes’ areas of research has been the neurodevelopmental benefits of classical Montessori education.
For more information on Dr. Hughes’ talk, contact Anne Spenny, 419.866.1931 or aspenny@wsmctoledo.org. The talk will be held at the school’s Bancroft Campus, located at 7115 Bancroft St., Toledo, OH 43615.
West Side Montessori is a private school for children thirteen months through eighth grade serving the communities of Toledo, Sylvania, Holland, Perrysburg, Southeast Michigan and surrounding areas. The school has been encouraging academic excellence in a nurturing, child-centered environment for over 30 years. West Side Montessori is accredited by the American Montessori Society and NCA/CITA. The school also meets the State of Ohio curriculum requirement for K-8. The American Montessori Society recognized West Side as one of the most successful Montessori schools in the nation. Learn more at http://wsmctoledo.org
Jan
West Side Montessori Middle School Dominates at Tiffin Power of the Pen District Competition
Posted by westadmin
West Side Montessori middle school writers swept the Power of Pen District Competition held at Tiffin Middle School on Saturday, January 22, 2011. West Side Montessori’s eighth grade team won 1st place overall and the school’s seventh grade team won 3rd place overall out of 128 contestants total with individual students taking many honors.
Awards were presented to Schuyler Stupica, 1st place 8th grade overall; Grace Beham, 3rd place in overall scoring for 8th grade; Lauren Kohler, 6th place in overall scoring for 8th grade; and Isabel Abu-Absi, 12th in overall scoring for 8th grade and Best of Round 2.
At the seventh grade level awards were presented to Laramie Reynolds, 1st place in the 7th grade overall scoring and Best of Round 1; Kashvi Patel, Best of Round 2; and Steven O’Neill, runner up (honorable mention) for Best of Round 3.
West Side Montessori is proud of all our participants – each student who participated in the 3 rounds of writing placed 1, 2, or 3 respectively in his or her room in at least one round of writing. Every student was judged by room and by grade level. West Side had 12 total participants, each wrote in 3 rounds.
8th level students wrote a total of 18 stories – 9 of which were rated number 1 in their rooms, 4 of which were rated number 2 in their rooms, and 2 of which were rated number 3 in their rooms. So, 15 of the 19 stories were in the top 3. This is an amazing accomplishment!
7th level also wrote a total of 18 stories – 6 of which were rated number 1, 4 of which were rated number 2, and 2 of which were rated number 3. Clearly, 7th grade wasn’t far behind the 8th grade with 12 of their 18 stories in the top 3. None of the 7th level had ever competed in Power of the Pen before, yet they wrote like old pros.
8th grade team members who competed were: Isabel Abu-Absi, Grace Beham, Lilly Kaplan, Lauren Kohler, Nicole Rusk, and Schuyler Stupica. 7th grade team members who competed were: Pilar Athaide – Victor, Steven O’Neill, Kashvi Patel, Laramie Reynolds, Shohan Shetty, and Bilal Yassine.
Good luck to all participants at the Regional Competition at Lourdes College in March!
Nov
Private School Toledo Marks 35 Years of Nurturing and Educating
Posted by westadmin
by Lynn Fisher, Founder & Director
Montessori Private School Toledo
This week West Side Montessori celebrated its 35th birthday on November 2! Read the last installment of the school’s history and learn how Lynn Fisher’s vision for a stimulating learning environment for her preschooler evolved into a private school in Toledo and Perrysburg teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school in the Toledo and Perrysburg areas.
High wire walking, balancing barefoot with one of those long poles, has never been an ambition of mine. In fact, I have vertigo. But I have learned to look straight ahead, keep my eye on our future, our destination, and not look down.
As the past 5 years unfolded, from the fall of 2005 to the fall of 2010, the school remained financially stable in spite of turbulent economic times and fluctuating enrollment. At the same time we have made ambitious plans for the future that include improved programming. As always, a dedicated and determined Board of Trustees has led the way, supported by careful and creative cost management by administration and office staff. Most important, committed, passionate teachers have kept the Montessori magic alive in their classrooms.
In the fall of 2005 the school experienced decreased enrollment. This trend continued in 2006. In the fall of 2007 enrollment started to rise again. It felt as if the recession, spurred by 9/11, was over and our economy was back on track. The Board rode this tide of optimism by forging ahead with planning to implement Phase 2 of the plan to consolidate Bancroft and McCord campuses, moving all McCord students to Bancroft. Meetings were held with a potential architect; and a capital campaign feasibility study was conducted. By the fall of 2006 campus consolidation planning was in high gear. Design charettes with the architects from A3C took place with design and program input from parents, teachers, administrators and trustees. An intensive study of all construction elements progressed including financing, construction design and costs, and capital campaign leadership. A design/build agreement with A3C and Bouma Corporation was approved. The capital campaign gained momentum. Multiple financing options were explored. Excitement was palpable. The project felt inevitable. Growing enrollment in the fall of 2007 and 2008 confirmed that we were on the right track. Then the banking crisis hit.
In the fall of 2008 as our nation was spiraling downward into a deep recession, banks began to withdraw their financing proposals. The capital campaign was temporarily suspended in the spring of 2009 when uncertainty regarding the timing of the project grew. Pledges and gifts of over $800,000 had been received at that point. The Board’s strategy throughout 2009 was to sit tight and watch for improved economic indicators. Early in 2010, the Board began to re-visit the feasibility of the project in light of historically low interest rates and favorable construction costs. The decision was made to find a way to take advantage of these factors in spite of the dismal lending environment. At this time a newly energized Board is exploring all possible options for moving the consolidation construction project forward sooner rather than later.
A positive recent step toward campus consolidation was the re-financing of the Bancroft and Perrysburg campuses in May of 2009 in the depths of the recession. By partnering with First Merit Bank, the school was able to lower our interest rates significantly, save the school substantial cash over time, and bundle the 2 loans in anticipation of the next financing step.
One challenge has been the increasing demand for tuition assistance over the past 5 years. To meet this growing need, several events and targeted giving opportunities have been created. In honor of Karen Weeks, a beloved West Side lower elementary teacher who passed away, the school held the first 5KDub at Olander Park in the spring of 2006, a tradition that continues annually. Monies raised from this family run/walk support an annual $1000 ongoing scholarship for a lower elementary child through middle school. In 2008 the school created a Legacy for a Love of Learning scholarship to support inner city children who have the potential to be successful at West Side. Proceeds from the annual spring dinner auction, as well as contributions to the Annual Enhancement Fund, help support tuition assistance. Over the past 5 years the school has provided $1,184,000 of tuition assistance. The 2010/11 tuition assistance is 196% higher than 5 years ago. Currently, 28.7% of West Side students receive tuition assistance. The Board has also implemented tuition savings for families who commit to re-enrollment in a timely manner as well as discounts for families with multiple children
During these 5 years, teachers and administrators focused on new and improved programs for both students and parents. The kindergarten afternoon enrichment curriculum was significantly enhanced by the pre-primary team. Additional foreign language classes were added to the weekly schedule for upper elementary and middle school students with the goal of developing improved fluency through higher frequency. Summer Camp programs were re-introduced in Perrysburg. Transportation from Perrysburg to Toledo campuses began. Parent/Child programs were expanded with the addition of a weekday toddler parent/child class, Acorn to Oak. Montessori 101, 201, and 301 programs were developed to help parents understand and better support their children’s Montessori education. A school nurse was hired. The FACTS tuition management program was implemented very smoothly 4 years ago, allowing for more payment options for parents.
After school enrichment opportunities for children have multiplied over the last 5 years with the addition of: Project ABC (integrated arts and literature), after-school French, cheerleading, Irish Dancing, sports skills, and private violin lessons. And, for the first time in our history, several of our always strong Destination Imagination teams won at the state level and progressed to global competition. Middle School students have continued to take top honors annually in the local Law Day Essay Contest and a Middle School team has competed in the state-wide Power of the Pen competition for 2 years, with students advancing farther and taking honors each year.
Improved communication with all constituents has been a school-wide goal for the past several years. Teachers have developed more in-depth comments for report cards, focused on improving parent/teacher conferences with more targeted information, write weekly or bi-weekly class letters, and broadened their methods of keeping in touch with parents on an ongoing basis. In addition to the weekly newsletter, we now use email for reminders and updates to keep parents informed. The school purchased a new data base system, the web-site continues to be upgraded, and a new West Side Facebook page has been added. I’ve even joined the world of blogging! All of these actions support the goal of strengthening the school/family partnership that is so important to the success of each child. The partnership agreement that was implemented 5 years ago has resulted in increased parent involvement in classrooms, as well as a conscientious effort on the part of parents to observe their children in school each year.
Taking stock of the past 5 years is dizzying. There were many actions and circumstances on both sides of the tipping point. Fortunately, our sure-footed Board of Trustees, pro-active administrators, outstanding teachers, and awesome West Side families have developed a synergy that keeps us balanced. We have an exciting future awaiting our next step.
Oct
Montessori Proves Successful Method for Private School in Toledo for 35 Years!
Posted by westadmin
From Twenty-Six to Thirty Years
by Lynn Fisher, Founder and Director
West Side Montessori Toledo and Perrysburg
Next week West Side Montessori will celebrate its 35th birthday! Read the latest installment of the school’s history and learn how Lynn Fisher’s vision for a stimulating learning environment for her preschooler evolved into a private school in Toledo and Perrysburg teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school in the Toledo and Perrysburg areas.
We began the 21st century full of excitement and momentum due to explosive growth over the previous ten years. The challenges that the school faced during those years were largely related to financing and managing the growth and metamorphosis into a large school. Enrollment leaped from 288 to 483 students located in 4 buildings on 3 campuses. At the same time the staff grew from 41 to 84.
During the winter of 2000 the school began the leadership phase of The Campaign for West Side with a goal of raising $3 million. The plan was to construct Phase I of the Bancroft Campus to house the upper elementary and middle school programs. This was desperately needed in order to enhance programming and relieve crowding on the McCord Campus. The new construction would include a science laboratory, media center, large common gathering area, a child-friendly commercial kitchen and 5 additional classrooms, as well as a large gymnasium as a focal point for school-wide community activities, sports and physical education. Outdoor development would include a soccer field as well as basketball and volleyball courts. Subsequent phases were planned to eventually move all McCord Campus programs to the Bancroft Campus.
The Campaign for West Side was a huge undertaking and involved a giant learning curve for the school leadership and Board of Trustees. It was by far the most ambitious project ever tackled by the school. Thanks to a very generous gift of $500,000 by The McMaster Family Foundation, plus over $70,000 pledged by West Side staff and an additional $327,000 pledged by trustees and other leaders, the initial phase of the campaign totaled $897,000.
As the school year ended in June 2001 the campaign was in full swing involving parents, grandparents, friends and relatives near and far. Although we were making progress we were nowhere near the $3 million mark and the Board needed to make the crucial decision to start construction or wait. If we waited we would have even more crowding issues as the enrollment hit 515 in the fall of 2001 and was projected to go even higher in 2002.
After much discussion and analysis the decision was made to seek tax-exempt bonds at a very favorable rate to help finance the classroom portion of the Phase I design and to put the gymnasium portion (which had a million dollar price tag) on hold until sufficient funds were raised. The campaign eventually raised $1.5 million of the $2.3 million spent. A large parking lot required by code to support the gymnasium was included in the initial project in order to save costs in the future when the gym would be constructed. We were hopeful that the rest of the funds would be raised quickly.
On the Sunday following 9/11/01 we held an all school ground breaking ceremony that included hundreds of children in hard hats digging into the hill behind the new lobby space that had been constructed in the summer of 2000 to tide us over until the classrooms were built. It was a joyous day in spite of the shock we all felt and the numbing reality that our illusion of the USA as a safe haven in a violent world was forever shattered. As our country’s fortunes changed and economic hard times hit, families lost jobs, many moved to find work and many had less disposable income available for private schooling. By the fall of 2002, instead of projected growth, the school began to lose students for the first time in our history. Coinciding with lower enrollment was an emerging consumer mentality resulting in a shift of parents’ expectations. Teacher stress was also mounting as budgets were reduced and new expectations were navigated. Additionally, both parents and teachers were mourning the loss of the small school sense of community and longing for “the good old days.”
Over the next 3 years numerous focus groups, surveys and planning sessions were held to help move the school forward, build strong communication ties with staff and parents, educate parents regarding Montessori philosophy and methods and engage them in their children’s education. For the school to continue to be successful, it was obvious that we had to have an active, informed partnership between the school and parents. During this period the school’s mission was examined in depth and after 2 years of input from all constituencies was revised in 2004 to reflect the high emphasis on family involvement. The Board also responded to the growing family financial issues by creating a financial aid program in 2000 that has grown from $35,400 to over $136,000 awarded per year. Additional tuition discounts were also created to support families with multiple children enrolled.
Improving programs and providing more enrichment opportunities remained a high priority. After the new classroom, commons and outdoor sports facilities of the Bancroft Campus opened in the fall of 2002, soccer teams blossomed for children of all ages. School events such as Harvest Hoedown, Multi-Cultural Festival and movie nights in the commons were added to the growing list of PACC sponsored activities. In lieu of a gymnasium, parents, staff and students formed basketball teams using other area facilities.
The expanded Bancroft Campus facilities also allowed the school to make many other program improvements such as: move the 6th level students from middle school back to the upper elementary program to match the Montessori curriculum; participate in the Toledo Grows project by raising plants for the community in the new greenhouse; expand technology options in the new media center; conduct science experiments in the new science lab; add a pottery program to the expanded art studio; and enhance the instrumental music program with space for more band instruments. Outdoors the development of a labyrinth garden by the middle school students in 2004 and the new playground designed by the upper elementary students in 2005 were the first of many planned projects.
West Side began a self-study project in 2001 that resulted in accreditation by AMS, NCA, CITA and NAEYC in 2002. I also became involved with accreditation on a national level as an accreditation commissioner for the American Montessori Society. This was a great benefit to our school as I lead on-site visits of Montessori schools across the country as part of my responsibilities. Ideas, issues and solutions from other schools and peer leaders are shared with our school community.
A wonderful opportunity was presented to the Board in January 2005 with the offer from the owners of the Perrysburg Campus to donate the down payment so that West Side could purchase the facility instead of renting it from them. The resulting mortgage allowed us to build equity in the property while saving the school approximately $300,000 over a ten-year period.
In the fall of 2005 the school opened with an enrollment of 438 students. Demographics in northwest Ohio showed a significant shift in the local population to reflect fewer births and more aging baby boomers. Competition for students was growing with the rise of charter schools and new private school options. Interestingly, while our pre-primary, lower elementary and middle school enrollment was down from 2001, the McCord Little House program added an additional 5th classroom to meet demand. The Board analyzed the trends, data and input from all constituencies to order to plan for the optimal size of the school going forward.
Oct
Private School Toledo Prepares to Celebrate 35 Years of Montessori Education!
Posted by westadmin
From Twenty to Twenty-Five Years
by Lynn Fisher, Founder and Director
Montessori Private School Toledo
Next week West Side Montessori will celebrate its 35th birthday! Read the latest installment of the school’s history and learn how Lynn Fisher’s vision for a stimulating learning environment for her preschooler evolved into a private school in Toledo and Perrysburg teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school in the Toledo and Perrysburg areas.
Part 5: With each successive growth spurt the pace of change at West Side has accelerated. The past five years has been a period of intense research, marathon planning sessions, and gradual maturation of the Board of Trustees. With the completion of a long range strategic plan in the winter of 1996 the trustees laid out an ambitious array of goals to be accomplished in order for the school to become the best it can be for the children of today’s children. Now that’s long range planning!
As part of the plan the school had been negotiating to purchase additional land on Bancroft Street. In February 1996 the former Brown’s Bookstore property was purchased west of the trailer park and the old farmhouse on the property was leased. An additional parcel was acquired in the summer of 2000 for $4,000 at a sheriff’s sale. The school now owns over 37 acres at the Bancroft Campus.
Flexibility was also part of the plan. The school needs to remain open to opportunity and soon an unexpected opportunity materialized. In the spring of 1996 the owners of a small Montessori school in Perrysburg approached us. They wanted West Side to buy their school that was in deep trouble. After fervid debate the Board decided to make the purchase. The risks were outweighed by the opportunity to change the image of Montessori education in Perrysburg and provide a much needed quality educational opportunity for families there.
Meanwhile at Main Campus the prior creation of The Little House and expansion of the pre-primary led to much larger kindergarten classes. We clearly needed more space for students moving up to first grade and so the school took over the former Excel Dental Lab space and added Primary C. Both the Perrysburg school and the dental lab needed renovation over the summer. With lots of hard work on the part of many teachers both projects were finished at the last minute for the start of the 1996 school year.
The growth plan created by the Board was certainly working, and faster than anticipated. As the following quote from the October 1996 Board minutes reveals: “We have created a problem with the timeline for a new building by adding Primary C. We will run out of space at main campus by the year 1999/00 if not before.”
The summer of 1997, some very creative space-use changes took place at Main Campus. Because there was no place to add on we carved-up. The library gave up space to create an Admissions Room as well as an office nook for our growing administrative team. In return the library was completely redesigned. The music room was also subdivided to create the Spanish room and a bathroom was added in the Rainbow Room.
Although the Board had anticipated the need for expanded facilities for many years, the reality of rapidly increasing class sizes and long-range enrollment projections created a sense of urgency. In the fall of 1997 the Board voted to “grow the school to 500 students by the fall of 2003 by increasing enrollment in the elementary and middle school grades.” This decision propelled the facilities planning process.
It did not solve our immediate needs however. Primary C was growing and needed a larger room. In order to maximize our use of space at Main Campus a massive room-swapping operation took place in June of 1998. Primary C moved to the Rainbow Room. Rainbow Room moved to the Green Room and the Green Room moved to Primary C. Confusing? For the three-room swap every cupboard and shelf was labeled and packed, a strategy developed and an army of teachers, parents, and children deployed to make it happen.
In the fall of 1999 the Board’s projection about space at Main Campus came true. Our only recourse was to subdivide the elementary classroom, an amoeba-like division within the same space! The teachers in both Elementary A and Elementary B have very creatively arranged and re-arranged the space many times since to maximize every inch.
When opportunity presented itself again in Perrysburg it seemed too good to be true. A West Side parent offered to build a new facility to our specifications and lease it to us in order to provide programming similar to that offered at Main Campus. After months of study and financial projections the Board voted in the fall of 1999 to support the project. Enrollment in Perrysburg will double in the stunning newly completed facility that will serve children from 18 months – kindergarten. As a result, the Board updated the ultimate enrollment target for the school to 580 students.
By 1998, planned growth was complete at Main Campus in The Little House, pre-primary, and primary levels. The anticipated benefits of a larger elementary and middle school were about to unfold. Unfortunately, the middle school staff was unraveling with the stress of additional crowding. They claimed that we were conducting a Skinner experiment by adding more and more students to the maze. Many temporary solutions were proposed. Finally we settled on converting the garage to space for music, art, and special projects. The low-budget construction project was a nightmare but was finally complete in the spring of 2000. Finally, ensemble music practice no longer takes place in the parking lot!
During the winter of 2000 the Board was faced with the reality of another middle school enrollment increase this fall. The decision to build the beautiful newly completed Middle School addition was made. The space is designed eventually to serve as the lobby of the new school but works nicely as temporary classroom space. In addition, the existing building was upgraded and the entire building, old and new, was painted a soft gray on the outside to tie the two sections together. Although the middle school teachers and students didn’t get into the new space until mid-September, it was worth the wait.
Over those five years the school worked on developing a new graphic image that would represent the growth, diversity, and age-range of West Side students. Finally, in the spring of 2000 we unveiled a new school logo depicting a joyous tree of children of all ages and sizes. Updated publications, signs, T-shirts, etc. were developed to reflect West Side’s updated image. Throughout our many changes our staff has remained committed to Montessori beliefs and practices: the balance between freedom and responsibility, the profound respect for each child, and the dedication to nurturing a love of learning. We are on the brink of a very exciting future for the school.
Oct
Montessori Proves Successful Method for Private School Toledo for 35 Years!
Posted by westadmin
West Side Montessori Toledo and Perrysburg
From Sixteen to Twenty Years
by Lynn Fisher, Founder and Director
West Side Montessori Center turns 35 years old on November 2, 2010. Read on for the latest installment of the school’s history. Discover how one mother’s vision for a stimulating learning environment for her preschooler evolved into a private school in Toledo and Perrysburg teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school in the Toledo and Perrysburg areas.
Part 4: Between the fall of 1990 and the fall of 1995 the school once again went through a tremendous metamorphosis. The elementary class grew steadily in the late ‘80s just as we had planned. However, success was catching up to us and we were predicting huge elementary classes in the future with no place to put them. It was clear that we were outgrowing the main campus.
We had been searching for land to build a school for some time when we found our beautiful Bancroft Campus property in 1990. Every time someone had recommended a piece of land to me I asked about trees. It became a standard joke. Lynn has to have trees. The property had a giant black oak in the front yard, a brick ranch house, a pond and a meadow out back, and woods. It was perfect. It was also situated between two other properties that might be purchased if additional land was needed.
Parents have always had a key role in planning at West Side, and their ideas and energy have often driven our organization. This is certainly true regarding the formation of The Middle School. Although I initially envisioned WSMC as a school for children from pre-school through eighth grade, I had scaled back my expectations due to economics, energy, and space. However, by the fall of 1990 it was evident that the issue would not go away and a group of parent activists won my support.
Throughout the 1990/91 school year there were ongoing parent and student discussions, a survey, and a presentation by Dr. Betsy Coe, President of The American Montessori Society, on the Montessori middle school model. The Parents Advisory Board was divided on whether to start the middle school or concentrate on trying to build a new school for all students. Finally the decision was made in the fall of 1991 to challenge parents to help raise $25,000 through the Annual Fund drive to start the new middle school program. We were committed.
By the fall of 1991 there were 49 elementary students with 3 teachers crowded into one room at main campus. It seemed most logical to move the sixth grade level and add seventh level at the new campus. The house on the new property would have to be totally renovated over the summer on the inside to be ready for the new middle school program in the fall of 1992. It was a big step.
A series of personal misfortunes combined with the renovation and start of the middle school made 1992 a year that I will never forget. As I was having major surgery, the renovation project was in full swing. After a long delay, the sewer hook-up was going very badly with cave-ins under Bancroft St. We were way behind schedule. Work was still in progress when our first middle school class went off to camp for a week at the start of school (does this sound familiar?).
Just after everything was approved, a violent little storm swept through Toledo on September 9th and destroyed the giant oak in the front of the Middle School. Meanwhile at my home, the storm twisted off the top 60 feet of a 90-foot oak tree, which then crashed on, and through, our house, crushing the roof, compressing a wall, and rocketing branches through the dining room while Corey (the school dog) and I cowered in the bathroom. In October, Corey died peacefully at age 15. By Valentine’s Day our house was put back together.
Things were not so peaceful at the new Middle School. It was a lively year with lots of adjustments needed for the new program. The teachers were in a continual state of exhaustion. It was also obvious that we would need more space in order to add 8th grade, space that we had not anticipated. Although costly, we took the plunge and put an addition on the front of the middle school in the summer of 1993. After a rough start, things finally began to fall in place by the spring of 1994 when our first 8th grade class graduated.
Meanwhile, on main campus the crowding issue resurfaced at the pre-primary and toddler levels, where we developed two split classrooms in order to accommodate everyone for the 1994/95 school year. It was not an ideal solution and when the antique store at the corner became available, we began seriously to explore the idea of moving the toddlers into that space so that both programs could be improved and expanded. Once again we found ourselves in the renovation/expansion mode. We created the wonderful Little House with 4 classrooms and added a fifth pre-primary classroom in the main building. We also redesigned the parking lot and traffic flow at main campus making a significant improvement.
As the school grew, so did the administrative and governance needs. It was obvious by the early 90s that we needed a larger, community based, Board of Trustees to help us plan for our future. It was my intention from the beginning to develop a school that would outlive my leadership and become a community asset. By October of 1993, after two years of planning, we had the new Board in place. The trustees worked hard to reconcile our desires and our dollars by developing a thoughtful, practical plan for the future. The caliber of trustees, much like the caliber of the Parents Advisory Board members, was exceptional from the start, and the diversity and quality of input has kept us on solid ground.
The separation of Board responsibilities from the parents’ organization, in 1994, allowed the new Parents Association Coordinating Committee (PACC) to develop a parents’ association focused on the current needs of students while the Board focuses on long-term planning.
The parents’ organizations continued to demonstrate their commitment to the school. They developed the first dinner auction in 1991. Money raised through these ongoing events was set aside for the long-term building goals of the school.
Parents also continued to enrich the school in many other ways by supporting two more children’s operas, Harlequin, in the fall of 1991, and Pearl, the spring of 1994. Instrumental music, karate, and dance classes, Odyssey of the Mind, Future Problem Solving, soccer, and chess club were all added with parent support.
After 20 years, my job was still as exciting as it was in 1975 when we opened our doors for those first 12 children. Our staff of 52 outstanding educators and administrators was just as committed to the mission of the school and to the 350+ students and their families. With the new Board of Trustees and PACC in place, the future looked very promising.
Oct
Private School Toledo Celebrates 35 Years of Montessori! Read the School History From Its Founder!
Posted by westadmin
From Eleven to Fifteen Years
by Lynn Fisher, Founder and Director
West Side Montessori Center turns 35 years old on November 2, 2010. Read on for the third installment of Lynn Fisher’s story and discover how one mother’s vision for a stimulating learning environment for her preschooler evolved into a private school in Toledo and Perrysburg teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school in the Toledo and Perrysburg areas.
West Side Montessori Toledo and Perrysburg
Part 3: The summer of 1985 was much like the summer of 1975 at WSMC according to the description in the newsletter that went out that summer: “The gym has been turned into a workshop for making shelves and tables while jackhammers and sledge hammers help shape two new pre-primary rooms, the Gold and Blue rooms” (now Blue and Lilac rooms).
And again, in the summer of 1987, a major renovation and expansion took place when we created the two Lower Elementary classrooms (at that time we called it the Primary program), added the current Red Room space, added a music room in what is now the art room, and added another pre-primary classroom (the Plaid Room!) that is currently the Music Room. But the most impressive change according to the children was the creation of a hallway that stretched from the multi-purpose room all the way to the farthest Lower Elementary room. “Now it looks like a real school!” they exclaimed.
As the school grew, the Parents Advisory Board looked for creative ways to raise money to help fund the purchase of new classroom equipment and supplies. They held theater parties, Tupperware sales, potato chip sales, and for 12 years held a spring jellybean sale. The school was renown for jellybeans and President Reagan became our unwitting marketing agent. In the beginning, we both bagged and labeled the beans to increase profits. That first year, when we were still in the church, the jellybeans were carted to the home of John and Ann Meier in Westmoreland. Then we slid the cases down the steep staircase to the basement where a large crew of parents and children waited with plastic gloves and scales. We forgot that we would have to carry them all back up! By 1989 the school office was smothered in 6800 pounds of jellybeans each spring. Enough! Besides, we decided that it was ludicrous to promote good nutrition and sugar at the same time.
By far the most ambitious money-raising project we tried was the circus in the spring of 1988. It is remarkable that any of us involved in bringing Circus Flora to Toledo are still speaking to one another. It was the most exciting, stressful, and nearly disastrous experience I can recall. Circus Flora itself was wonderful, unique, critically acclaimed, magnificent! But lots of things went wrong, starting with a breakdown on the way to Toledo from the Spoletto Arts Festival, which delayed the caravan. Coupled with a new tent, incompetent labor, forgotten forklift, etc., etc., the opening night benefit took place hours late under a half-pitched tent in International Park. The chairs of the opening night benefit, Beth Bohnengel and Sue Ormond, saw all of their careful planning disintegrate.
However, all was not lost. One highlight of the week-long event was the show for inner city and handicapped children, which was underwritten by corporations and individuals and was an unqualified success. There were 22 bus loads of children from Toledo Public Schools and our faithful (or crazy) volunteers not only watched over these children but also fed them all lunch while they were seated in the stands.
Barb Adams and Margy Trumbull (Fric and Frac) were the Circus Chairs and their friendship survives to this day! We did make $20,000 but not until a late night summit meeting of committee members and spouses decided on a plan of action to recover some of our losses. Circus Flora unfortunately had booking problems and never did recover.
In addition to raising money, parents were involved in starting many new projects for the children from ’85 -’90. Our growth was the direct result of wanting a larger elementary program, and along with that growth, parents wanted increased enrichment and social opportunities for their children. Swimming parties, bowling parties, movie parties, roller skating parties, Brownies, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, Pizza Day, a holiday ice skating party, Mini Museum, Great Books, and a computer teacher were all added during this period. And in May of 1990, we produced our first children’s opera, “The Burning Rice Fields.”
It was about this time that I finally stopped telling Roger: “It looks like this is our last expansion; I should have more time next year.” Who was I kidding? He didn’t believe me anyway.
Oct
Toledo Private School Prepares to Celebrate 35th Birthday!
Posted by westadmin
From Six to Ten Years
by Lynn Fisher, Founder and Director
West Side Montessori Toledo and Perrysburg
West Side Montessori Center turns 35 years old on November 2, 2010. Read on for part two of Lynn Fisher’s story and discover how one mother’s vision for a stimulating learning environment for her preschooler evolved into a private school in Toledo and Perrysburg teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary and middle school in the Toledo and Perrysburg areas.
Part 2: In the fall of 1980 we moved from King of Glory Lutheran Church to the former Holly Farm Shopping Center with the help of teachers and parent volunteers.
The teachers found themselves camped in spacious store space. The electric green carpeting was bright and cheery but the discovery of a woefully inadequate septic system had me concerned. So did the added expenses to bring the building up to code that I had not anticipated. I sat staring at the financial books on the kitchen table each evening. We were in trouble.
David Lindsley, a West Side parent, came to my rescue when I realized how desperate our financial situation really was. After analyzing our books, he was amazed that we had managed to make it for the first five years. My reluctance to raise tuition coupled with our expansion was about to put us under. We had no choice but to raise tuition immediately or close the school. I asked a group of parents who had been active in the school to meet with Dave and myself to discuss the dismal situation. They became the nucleus of the first Parents Advisory Board, which was formed later that year.
Dave’s financial expertise along with the parents’ support allowed the school to continue operating. Three families pulled their children out of the school due to the immediate tuition increase and there was a lot of anger and resentment among both parents and teachers over the strained situation.
Things improved as the year progressed. There were many discussions regarding the Holly Farm building versus the 5-acre parcel of land that Roger and I had purchased for the school. With so few funds, continued rental and expansion at Holly Farm became the best alternative.
However, there was one other major problem. Soon after we began operating at Holly Farm, I received unexpected visitors on the playground. The Sylvania Savings Bank president and the bank’s attorney had just learned that the septic holding tank at Holly Farm was being pumped every two or three days at a cost to the bank of $50 per visit. Suddenly our lease was a burden and not a blessing.
The bank owned the building and cooperated with the school to create a long-term lease, which included expansion, renovation, and tie-in to the sanitary sewer system. Finally, I could leave my boots at home. No more daily mopping!
Our first classrooms at Holly Farm were in the northeast corner, the current Yellow and Green rooms and the current multi-purpose room, which housed the primary/elementary class. In 1982 we staged a massive renovation/expansion supported by a large crew of parent volunteers. They did everything from smashing down walls with sledge hammers and their feet to ripping up old floor tile. Roger remembers that he, Mark, and David filled a railroad car-sized dumpster with debris from the warehouse that is now our gym.
The playground project started in 1983 was also a large group effort. Again, parents and the building committee put in a lot of muscle power to make it happen. The giant climbing structure, a favorite of the children, was completed by parent volunteer Butch Heiing.
And…there was a real office created on the balcony so no longer would the school be run from the Fishers’ kitchen table. David had grown up thinking that all mommies cooked dinner and then spent the evening doing taxes and bookkeeping. In 1981 we could finally afford a full-time school secretary, Louise Laughlin, and the following year Norma Coventry joined us as bookkeeper. In 1983 I finally bowed out of the Orange Room to become a full-time administrator.
Formation of the Parents Advisory Board and the change from a proprietorship to a 501 c3 non-profit tax exempt corporation did much to provide stability. Also, obtaining our state charter from the Ohio Department of Education was a major step. Now we were eligible for state funds for classroom books, busing for primary and elementary children, and special services such as tutoring and psychological services.
Between the fall of 1980 and the spring of 1985, the staff grew from 14 to 30 and the student population from 121 to 220. Our first class to reach 6th grade graduation was in 1983.
Along with student population, traditions were growing. Balloon Bash started with an idea Jane Stiles found in a book for making a balloon sculpture. Our first helium filled sculpture barely made it off the ground because of the heavy paper basket filled with letters and pictures from all of the children. The first bash was held on the church grounds but then we expanded to Crosby Gardens. Parents and teachers ran games revolving around a balloon theme. Our balloon sculptures traveled to interesting places. One was picked up by a tug boat in Lake Erie near Buffalo. One landed on a pig farm in Green Springs, Ohio, and one was found by a group of children playing on a golf course near Lakewood, Ohio. After 6 years the balloon bash party became too volunteer intensive to run and we switched to a Last Day Celebration with games, hot dogs, and the famous “hat parade.”
Songfests had also become part of the school’s tradition. The children would make and serve refreshments to all of the parents afterwards. After making peanut butter and chocolate Buckeyes for years, we decided to get fancy and make jelly rolls. Barb James has fond memories of whacking them into hundreds of pieces just as parents were arriving. We finally quit making refreshments when we decided to serve popcorn “because it was easier” and ended up picking up popcorn kernels until June.
Corey, the school dog, was calming down from her puppy days when she used to steal mittens on the playground and eat crayons and playdoh. Her place in the office by the front door was a strategic spot for hugs and petting and I enjoyed listening to the parents’ conversations with her. She may have been my dog but she truly “belonged” to everyone.
And what about the massage parlor next door? Well, after the bomb scare in 1981 when we all had to huddle in the center of the building while the bomb squad came and hauled away a fake pipe bomb from the front of the Relaxation Station, the law got tough and shut them down. Whew!
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