Wilmington Montessori School

Wilmington Montessori School is a Montessori school located in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving ages 12 months through eighth grade. It is the state's oldest and largest independent Montessori school.[1] Its facility has more than 30 classrooms, a library/learning commons, gymnasium, indoor and outdoor performance stages, music and arts rooms, three age-appropriate makerspaces, outdoor playing fields, and wooded walking paths.

Wilmington Montessori School
Address
1400 Harvey Road
Wilmington, Delaware 19810

United States
Information
TypeNonprofit, Montessori, independent, preschool, elementary, private, daycare, middle school
MottoToday's Learners; Tomorrow's Leaders
Established1964
Board ChairAnn Hriciga
Head of SchoolLisa A. Lalama
Assistant Head of SchoolSarah Williams
GradesToddler (12 months) – 8th grade
Enrollment172
Color(s)Blue and white
MascotMonty the Meerkat
AccreditationAmerican Montessori Society, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Contact(302) 475-0555
Websitewmsde.org

The curriculum is rooted in the principles of the Montessori Method.

History

In 1963, the school was initiated by a group of Delaware parents. It began as Wilmington Montessori Association with fourteen children in a storefront in downtown Wilmington, and was incorporated in January 1964.[2] The school later moved to the Buzz Ware Village Center in Arden.

On November 14, 2008, Wilmington Montessori initiated a school-wide single-stream recycling program to help the school reduce its carbon footprint and to teach students the habit of recycling and the benefits to the Earth. The program was supplemented with a grant from Delaware's Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control.[3]

In 2016, Wilmington Montessori School was named a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School.[4][5]

In October 2017, Wilmington Montessori School announced that it would acquire PRIED Middle School and begin a middle-school program, effective in September 2018.[6]

Notable faculty

  • Marie M. Dugan was the founding head of Wilmington Montessori School. She served as the Interim Executive Director of the American Montessori Society in 2004. She is the Chair of the AMS Centennial Campaign Committee and the AMS Archives Committee, and was the Keynote Committee for the Montessori Centennial Conference in 2007. She is a former President of AMS, former Accreditation Commission member and former Chair of the AMS Heads of Schools Section, having served on the Board of Directors of AMS for 13 years. She is the co-representative to the United Nations as an NGO. Dugan was the Head of the Wilmington Montessori School in Wilmington, Delaware for 25 years before retiring in 2000. She returned to WMS as interim head of school from 2012 until 2014. She is an educational consultant, serving CMTE/NY and AMS in both independent and public schools.[7][8]
  • In 2007, teacher Lisa Wilson-Riblett shared first place as "Teacher from a Center or Preschool" in the 9th Annual Governor's Awards for Excellence in Early Care and Education.[9]
  • In 2005, teacher Angie Meadows was one of 100 educators in the country chosen as an "Unsung Hero" by ING Financial Services.[10][11]

Accreditation

Memberships

Notes

  1. "The Journey Forward", Amy Henderson, Montessori Life, Spring 2004
  2. "School Birthday Celebration" Marie Dugan, Wednesday Weekly newsletter, January 30, 2013
  3. "$50,000 in Recycling Assistance Grants Awarded", News From The Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control, Nov. 13, 2008, Vol. 38, No. 512.
  4. U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School
  5. "Wilmington Montessori School Receives National Green Ribbon Schools Award | Delaware Valley Green Building Council". dvgbc.org. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  6. "Wilmington Montessori expanding into middle school". delawareonline. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  7. "Board of Directors". Family Literacy Groups. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  8. "About the Montessori Foundation". The Montessori Foundation. Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
  9. "Gov. Minner presents awards for excellence in early care and education". State of Delaware. October 10, 2007. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  10. ING Financial Services. (2005) "ING Unsung Heroes Previous Winners". Archived from the original on September 6, 2007. ING-USA.com
  11. EducationWeek. (October 19, 2005) ING Unsung Heroes EducationWeek
  12. "Find a Montessori School Near Me | American Montessori Society". amshq.org. Retrieved November 30, 2017.

Further reading

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