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Wilmington Montessori School

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Established
  
1964

Enrollment
  
191

Mascot
  
Monty the Meerkat

Assistant Head of School
  
Laurie Orsic

Board Chair
  
Anna Quisel

Phone
  
+1 302-475-0555

Head of School
  
Lisa A. Lalama

Type
  
Nonprofit, Montessori, Independent, Preschool, Elementary, Private, Daycare

Motto
  
Today's Learners; Tomorrow's Leaders

Grades
  
Toddler (12 months) – 6th grade

Address
  
1400 Harvey Rd, Wilmington, DE 19810, USA

Profiles

Wilmington montessori school celebrates the u n international day of peace


Wilmington Montessori School is a Montessori school located in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, serving ages 12 months through sixth grade. It is Delaware's oldest and largest independent Montessori school. 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.

Contents

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Academic approach

The curriculum is rooted in Montessori principles found in the Montessori Method. The school implements an open-ended curriculum intended to allow students to progress at their own pace. Montessori classrooms are multi-age, operating on the philosophy that the youngest children learn by watching the older children and the oldest children demonstrate true understanding of a concept when they can explain it to a younger child. This method is intended not only to teach children to collaborate and work together but also to inspire them to strive for their personal best in a non-competitive atmosphere. The social curriculum emphasizes the concepts of grace and courtesy throughout the program levels.

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. 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 its 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.

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

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 currently the Chair of both the AMS Centennial Campaign Committee, the AMS Archives Committee and 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, serving on the Board of Directors of AMS for 13 years. She is currently the co-representative to the United Nations as an NGO. Marie 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 currently an educational consultant, serving CMTE/NY and AMS in both independent and public schools.
  • 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.
  • In 2005, teacher Angie Meadows was one of 100 educators in the country chosen as an "Unsung Hero" by ING Financial Services.
  • Accreditation

  • American Montessori Society
  • Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation
  • National Association for the Education of Young Children
  • Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
  • Delaware Stars for Early Success - 5 Star Designation
  • Memberships

  • Delaware Association of Independent Schools
  • American Montessori Society
  • Montessori Teachers' Association of Delaware
  • National Association of Independent Schools
  • Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools
  • Delaware Alliance for Non-Profit Advancement
  • References

    Wilmington Montessori School Wikipedia