April 28, 2004
Montessori celebrates 20 years
Spring Gala raises $80,000 for operating funds and tuition assistance program
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Tapping their community's creativity, Saturday night's 20th Anniversary Spring Gala at the Montessori Children's House and Elementary School showcased parent, staff and student talent throughout the evening.
From homemade furniture, decorated by students, to uniquely themed gift baskets, to handmade children's clothing, the silent auction items embodied originality. Other items included a VIP car line pass for a year, an interior design consultation and a catered dinner for 24 people. The popular Chair-ity auction was back, with seven chairs decorated by seven area artists up for grabs.
The event, which also featured a live auction, gourmet dinner and raffle, drew 251 attendees for the black tie optional evening. Held in the school's new Barns facility, the gala raised approximately $80,000 for the school's general operating funds and tuition assistance program.
"This is an increase from last year and follows a pattern we've been lucky enough to experience," said Gretchen Uhlinger, head of school. "There's a huge amount of support in this community for this school and this year we saw more extended families, a large number of grandparents were at the party. And they're proud in different ways from the parents."
Uhlinger noted that the school sponsors 17 percent of the student body through the tuition assistance program. The Montessori Children's House and Elementary School does not have entrance requirements. If families want to enroll their children but cannot afford it, the organization can extend monetary aid thanks to their annual fund-raiser.
"This is a big financial commitment for us," Uhlinger said. "We give out as much money as we can. It's the only way we can maintain our commitment to a diverse community of families. And that's Montessori, it doesn't work if you can't represent the real world to our students, and the real world is a diverse one."
Taking in approximately $80,000 was a boost to the event's organizers given the many requests for charity throughout the community.
"Fundraising in this town is incredibly competitive, everybody's tapped out," said Becky Kalajian, co-chair of the event.
The Montessori Children's House and Elementary School moved into its new facility on North Long Lake Road in 2002. Built for 300 students, the school is now at capacity and serves toddlers through sixth-grade students. Uhlinger noted that the school has no plans for expansion.
"Capacity and popularity present new challenges," she admitted. "But we did a great deal of research and it indicated that you can still feel like a community when you're at about 300 ... much beyond that it becomes something else. And our mission statement says we're a Montessori community."
Uhlinger founded the school 20 years ago in a Suttons Bay farmhouse, determined to provide a Montessori environment for her two young daughters. A self-described frustrated high school English teacher, she recalls being dismayed by the number of high school students who had already decided school had no meaning.
Believing that the way to impact this attitude was in the early grades, Uhlinger began researching education methods. She found Montessori and never looked back, though she admits to being astonished at the school's two decades of success and growth. With her daughters now both in college, Uhlinger is thrilled at the ongoing enthusiasm for and dedication to Maria Montessori's teachings among school staff and families.
She also believes that the many options available to parents in this community enriches education of all students.
"I think that more people are aware of Montessori as a philosophy and there's a growing awareness of different ways to do school because of the growth of schools of choice here in this community," she said. "When we started this school, it was pretty much the Catholic schools, the public schools and us. Now there are all sorts of options with the charter schools, the Christian schools and the large homeschooling movement."