by SPSchool parent, Cassandra Parente
If you have noticed a transformation at St. Peter’s Montessori School on South Mulberry, it is thanks to a group of parents who, according to Montessori teacher Kathy Beres, have “painted, planted, and polished, planned, purchased, and persevered” in order to get the Montessori House ready for the 2018-2019 school year.
At the start of summer, a group of parents, noticing that the Montessori House could use some refreshing, joined together to donate paint, mulch, plants, birdhouses, bird seed, decorations, and, most importantly, their time and labor to clean and paint the interior and to landscape the yard.
Of their work, Beres went on to state, “One of the basic lessons taught at St. Peter’s Montessori is to become and to be a part of a ‘community of good citizens.’ Our Montessori families (past and present) are just that. Since school has let out, they have joined together to lift the House up in many ways.”
This work culminated in a landscaping blitz organized by Judy Tridico. Eighteen individuals, ranging in age from 5 to 65 joined together to weed, plant, mulch, and decorate the yard surrounding the Montessori House.
“I never thought when I enrolled my daughter for kindergarten that I would be out here shoveling mulch in a year,” Montessori parent Cassandra Parente said, “but the teachers, the methods, and the entire experience at St. Peter’s Montessori was so inspiring for my child that it was difficult not to become engaged in the school’s continued success.”
Parent engagement, according to Ashley Rastorfer, elementary Assistant Principal and Director of St. Peter’s Montessori, is part of the school’s foundation. “We include parents every step of the way and take pride in preparing an environment that is an extension of home for our students.”
The Montessori is succeeding in that goal, as recent Cincinnati transplant, Susan Sandwall, describes her first encounter with the school as, “feeling like home, making it a perfect environment for a child to transition from home to school.” When she and her husband, Peter, arrived in Mansfield last year, they began an extensive search of area schools, looking for the right place for their four daughters. During their tour of St. Peter’s, she notes, “it was the first time we knew we had found our spot. We were at a Montessori preschool prior to our move in September. There was no equivalent we could find.”
St. Peter’s remains the only Montessori program in Richland County. Based on the work of Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, Montessori Education is a holistic, child-centered approach that focuses on the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of each student. As Dr. Montessori described, the “goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn” and “should not prepare him for school, but for life.”
Teacher assistant, Laurie Brewer, who will begin her 31st year at St. Peter’s, speaks to the program’s uniqueness: “The approach to learning is one in which children can progress at their own pace and feel a sense of pride in each task s/he is working on. The children are able to absorb and learn from their very prepared environment.”
Recognizing the distinct opportunities the school provides, Christine Myers, one of the volunteers, a SPHS alum, and a former St. Peter’s teacher, began a savings account to send her children there before they were born. Now that her two daughters will both have completed three years at the school, Myers has no regrets: “We can never repay the teachers or the program enough for the gifts they have given our daughters. The students not only learn academic skills, but they also learn confidence, pride, independence, and a sense of community. The lessons that our daughters learned in Montessori will help them be successful for many years.”
Former students present at Tuesday’s event echoed Myers’ enthusiasm for the school. One former student planted lily bulbs in the yard explaining, “my mom always says I bloomed here; maybe these lilies will, too.”
Another fellow Montessori young alum, added, “Montessori was my favorite school, and I wish I could return. I loved my teachers and everything was so happy.”
Because of the vital role St. Peter’s Montessori plays for their children and their community, St. Peter’s families were quick to respond to a call for support made on the St. Peter’s School Community Forum. Within a few hours, ten families, many without children still in the school, donated funds to purchase the mulch and cover additional expenses, noting that St. Peter’s Montessori is a gem in the downtown area and, as Rastorfer notes, “a one-of-a-kind program in Mansfield.”
Work to update the front porch, paint some exterior elements, and refresh the sandbox are still underway, but will be completed before the school year begins.
Responding to the parents’ work, Brewer explained, “words cannot completely express the heartfelt appreciation that I feel from the support of our St. Peter’s family in their efforts to help uplift the Montessori building.”
“Our Montessori parents, adds Rastorfer, “are one-of-a-kind and are always willing to go above and beyond to help support our teachers and students.”
Parent volunteer and Montessori Advisory Committee (MAC) Member, Angela Brown claims the gratitude is reciprocal, “We have been blessed to have Mrs. Brewer and Mrs. Beres teach both of our children. There aren’t enough words to speak about the impact they continue to play in our children’s lives. Our older son continues to excel academically and we know this is thanks to a strong root system. Our only hope would be that all children have a chance to experience the phenomenal learning system that St. Peter’s Montessori and its amazing teachers provide.”
Offering both half-day preschool and full-day kindergarten, St. Peter’s Montessori is still accepting applications for the coming school year. According to Rastorfer, “the Montessori serves students age 2 ½ through kindergarten. We offer half-day options, both morning and afternoon, for preschool-aged students and a full-day program for kindergarten students.” Half of the day is spent in the Montessori House and the other half in a traditional kindergarten classroom.
Principal, Madalyn Bauer, looks forward to the children transitioning into St. Peter’s Elementary from kindergarten with a solid foundation. Research has noted that a full-day kindergarten program is directly related to higher reading and math scores in the primary elementary grades. The children also begin to experience a solid religious foundation as they attend Mass at the kindergarten level.
Scholarships for the program are available through the Sam Tridico Montessori Scholarship Fund. Sam, a student at St. Peter’s Montessori when he was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, passed away in 2010. Recognizing that Sam and his older siblings “benefited from the extraordinary love, care, and personal attention offered by St. Peter’s Montessori,” his parents created the scholarship fund to provide other children with the opportunity to experience the benefits.
The teachers and families of St. Peter’s Montessori look forward to welcoming a new group of students to the refreshed school on August 22.