Interested in our middle school program? Please visit ChiaravalleAcademy.org
Interested in our middle school program? Please visit ChiaravalleAcademy.org
The Enfield Montessori School was established in 1965 “…to continue the ministry of Jesus by nurturing the whole child.” Because spirituality permeates all facets of the Montessori Method as envisioned by its foundress, Maria Montessori, this approach was chosen as the educational methodology through which this purpose could be attained. Although the physical plant and the staff have changed along with technological advances being introduced, the philosophy and the mission remain the same as the day the school was founded.
The school was established in the historic section of the town of Enfield at 1370 Enfield Street by Sr. Mary Aniela Urbanowicz. In September 1965, the first primary class opened with ten children (age 2½ to 4 years), a teacher and an assistant.
A second building, the Montessori annex, allowed for the growth of the school over time. This was monitored and allowed to proceed slowly so that each stage of expansion, the new environment and a new teacher and assistant could be adequately prepared. By 1970 Sr. Mary Anastasia Holak had completed her Primary training, another Primary classroom had been added and the call to expand the program to the Elementary level was being addressed. There were no AMI Elementary trainings available in the United States at the time, so Sr. Anastasia traveled to Bergamo, Italy to train with Camillo Grazzini. The intellect of Sr. Anastasia fueled by the genius of Grazzini has provided a road map for the standard of excellence the Enfield Montessori continually strives for. In 1976, with a trained AMI elementary teacher on staff, the elementary program was added. In 1982, another addition to the annex could accommodate the increasing number of elementary students, with the classes distributed over three rooms in two-year multi-age classrooms.
By December 2000 the administrator at the time, Sr. Anastasia, with the future administrator Sr. Francine, formed a future planning committee for the addition of an all-purpose room, a nurse’s office, a warming kitchen, and a staff room. Unfortunately, these plans were shelved for a variety of reasons and in the summer of 2009, to satisfy town and state requirements a new driveway and additional parking were installed.
Discussions continued regarding the hope for all purpose space, the desire to offer aftercare and summer programming, the need to modernize the facilities. In 2012, with a new administrator, Cliona Beaulieu, in place, a strategic plan was written, the scope of which included looking at local vacant school buildings as possible relocation sites. None offered the picturesque setting the school had become accustomed to. School security concerns, especially in CT, were heightened after December 2012. Although upgrades to security were addressed significantly, these concerns provided a catalyst for looking at the future of the school and coincided with a suggestion from the Felician Sisters that the former Felician Heritage Center at 1325 Enfield Street and on the Felician campus might be a possible building to relocate the school to.
In 2014 a feasibility study was conducted, preliminary plans developed and the complex decision to relocate the school was made. Concurrent with celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the school in 2015 a capital campaign was launched, architectural plans finalized and the building project Enfield Montessori School 4 Student/Parent Handbook (August 2020) materialized. On January 18, 2016 the school officially moved to the purposefully redesigned EMS building on a shared multigenerational campus.
The school has continued to grow strategically since the relocation. In February 2016, the school launched its long-awaited toddler program with full enrollment. In July 2016, a playground was installed. In September 2016, a third Primary and fourth Elementary class opened and the strategic transition to a true Montessori structure at the Elementary Level began. In 2017 and 2018, the opening of a long-awaited middle school program was seriously discussed and buildings on the campus were viewed for their suitability for the program. Costly renovation projections almost shelved the realization of this program for the 2019-2020 school year but the decision was made to add the Chiaravalle Academy Middle School program and to accommodate it in-house with the goal of providing this program a custom renovated facility in the near future. In 2020 the CoVid pandemic forced the school to consider additional space to accommodate students in a socially distant appropriate manner as deemed by the CDC. In August 2020, the Orin Thompson Mansion at 1333 Enfield St. was annexed as the permanent home of Chiaravalle Academy.
The Enfield Montessori School is a sponsored ministry of the Felician Sisters of North America.
The academic philosophy of the school embodies the principles outlined by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and emulates the Felician Core Values for ministry:
More information about Felician services and the core values can be found at http://felicianservices.org/
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