Wilmington Montessori School

Wilmington Montessori School
Address
1400 Harvey Road Wilmington, Delaware 19810 United States
Information
Type	Nonprofit, Montessori, independent, preschool, elementary, private, daycare, middle school
Motto	Today's Learners; Tomorrow's Leaders
Established	1964
Board Chair	Ann Hriciga
Head of School	Lisa A. Lalama
Assistant Head of School	Sarah Williams
Grades	Toddler (12 months) – 8th grade
Enrollment	172
Color(s)	Blue and white
Mascot	Monty the Meerkat
Accreditation	American Montessori Society, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Contact	(302) 475-0555
Website	wmsde.org

Wilmington Montessori School is a Montessori school located in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, serving ages 12 months through eighth grade. Its campus is partially in Ardencroft and partially in an unincorporated area. It is named after, but is not located in, Wilmington.

It is the state'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.

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. 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.

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

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

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.
• 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
• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

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

Further reading

• Rambusch, Nancy M.; Stoops, John A. (May 2002). "THE AUTHENTIC AMERICAN MONTESSORI SCHOOL. A Guide to the Self-Study, Evaluation, and Accreditation of American Schools Committed to Montessori Education" (PDF). The American Montessori Society and The Commission on Elementary Schools of The Middle States Association. p. 95. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2008. Acknowledgments...In particular, Marie M. Dugan, who is both a CES Commissioner and a prominent leader of AMS and instrumental in joining the two organizations for this cooperative endeavor. The Wilmington Montessori School, which she heads, was the first to undergo the kind of evaluation presented in this Guide...
• "Projects Funded by Five Star Restoration Program in FY01". epa.gov. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
• "2007 Toyota TAPESTRY Large Grant Awardees in association with the National Science Teachers Association". nsta.org. National Science Teachers Association. 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2008. While there are many funding sources available at the collegiate level, there are limited opportunities for pre-collegiate teachers to obtain funds for innovative teaching projects. Toyota TAPESTRY grants are a unique source of support for teachers who have an early influence on students.
• Hembreck, Valerie. (Fall 2002) "If we build it, will they come? Creating a building as good as your school." Montessori Life, v14 n4 p11-13. (Article abstract)
• Gillespie, Terri. (Spring 1994) "You Start with Trust: An Interview with Marie M. Dugan. Montessori People" Montessori Life, v6 n2 p18-20. (Article abstract)
• "Wings Players Present Lacrosse To Wilmington Montessori School". National Lacrosse League. March 29, 2006. Retrieved February 5, 2008. The Philadelphia Wings will assist the Wilmington Montessori School in launching their new lacrosse program.

External links

• Official Wilmington Montessori School website