Austin Montessori School

2009-2010

Annual Report

The mission of Austin Montessori School is to guide the intellectual and character development of each child along a path towards his full and unknown potential. We strive to cultivate compassion and respect, independence and belonging, and freedom and self-discipline, in rich academic and social environments that are designed for each plane of development and honor the complementary needs of the individual and the group. We value an educational setting that is inclusive and responsive to the authentic nature of the child and reverent of the organic order of the universe.

Through parent and staff education, we work to develop a school and family culture that preserves and protects a healthy childhood. Our aim is to serve children possessing an ample range of temperaments and a variety of learning styles and rates. At the same time we seek to avoid labeling as pathological the normal range of children’s behaviors and differences in learning. We are dedicated to Montessori’s mission of world peace through human development.

Our MissionAdministrative Office5006 Sunset TrailAustin, Texas 78745512-892-0253 (office) 512-891-9875 (fax)

Sunset Trail/Jones Road Campus2904 & 2906 Jones Road5006-5016 & 4910 Sunset TrailAustin, Texas 78745

Great Northern Campus6817 & 6819 Great Northern BoulevardAustin, Texas 78757512-323-2313 (office)512-450-1940 (fax)

Gaines Creek Campus5677 Oak BoulevardAustin, Texas 78735512-892-0826

Contact

Our StaffAdministrative & Support StaffDonald Goertz, Executive DirectorDonna Bryant Goertz, Founder/Director*Dawn Glasgow, Administrative ExecutiveAmber Miller, Director of AdmissionsJanna Banks, Director of Business Operations*John Snyder, Elementary Coordinator* Lois O’Brien, Office ManagerJerry Pippins, Maintenance SupervisorDonna Romine, Campus Operations*Amanda Brown, Great Northern Campus OperationsLori Friedman, Assistant to Director of AdmissionsSonal Bowness, Librarian/Publications CoordinatorGwen Logan, Parent Infant Education/Club Mundi*Judy Johnson, Shuttle Bus DriverLucinda Castillo, Shuttle Bus Driver

Charlotte Kroger , Children’s House Mentor/Consultant*

Leslie Grove, School CounselorPatricia Oriti, Consultant*Brooks Whitmore, PianoLeah Zeger, StringsStephanie Hunt, StringsDebra Groves, PianoCalvin Carter, CaretakerJuan and Francesca Tejeda, CaretakersCleotilde Maldonado, CaretakerMiguel Reyes, Caretaker

Board of DirectorsDonald C. GoertzDonna Bryant GoertzMarianne Palotti

*Has received an AMI diploma on at least one level**Has attended the North American Montessori Teacher’s Association Orientation to

Adolescence Training

Our StudentsGuides & AssistantsYoungest Children’s CommunitiesMargarita Ruiz, Guide*Kate Hearne, AssistantKadie Beasley, GuideAmy Mahnken, Assistant

Children’s House CommunitiesValerie Monda, Guide*Callie Osborne, AssistantNatalie London, Guide*Brandi Fischer, AssistantCaroline Clark, Guide*Socorro Aguilar, AssistantCheryl McGee, Guide*Mary Ann Collins, AssistantYvonne Solorio, Guide*Erin Boardman, Assistant

Early Elementary CommunitiesMary Long Geil, Guide*Sasha Marble, AssistantErik Rivas-Rivas, Guide*Kate Swope, AssistantJoseph Aken, Guide*Erin Dean, Assistant*

Upper Elementary CommunitiesJohnnie Denton, Guide*Margie Breckwoldt, Assistant*Kelly Jarrell, Guide* Melanie Matkin, Assistant

Adolescent Community Thomas Logan, Instructor**Jesse Gevirtz, Instructor**Veronique Mareen, Instructor**Bill Sneed, Instructor**Rachel Davison, Instructor

After-School CareAngela Eagle, Casita Leader*Lynn Hunt, Casita AssistantToto Miranda, Casita AssistantMegan Haley, Casita Leader Rebecca Kaiser, Casita AssistantMandy Klein, Clubhouse Leader/

Childcare Licensing Director

Adolescent CommunityGaines CreekAges 12 - 15 years 51 students 39 students

Upper Elementary CommunitiesNova, TerraAges 9 - 12 years 46 students 51 students

Early Elementary CommunitiesBirdsong, Heartsong, WindsongAges 6 - 9 years 90 students 85 students

Children’s House CommunitiesCypress Cottage, Laurel Cottage, Pomegranate Cottage,

Persimmon Cottage, Redbud CottageAges 3 - 6 years 150 students 140 students

Youngest Children’s CommunitiesButterfly Garden, Hummingbird GardenAges 18 months - 3 years 30 students 22 students

367 Total Students in 2009-2010 337 Total Students in 2008-2009

Austin Montessori School maintains that the true success of a child is not defined as the grades and the class standings and the academic rankings and the meaningless honors for the select few, but the success of an authentic education, the success of a real partnership between parents and school; and the success that comes of a valid and meaningful relationship between students and their own intellectual, social and emotional development.

I ask you to look around at our own community of children. It is there in display everywhere…on the morning path at school; in pizza parlors; on soccer fields and gymnasiums; at travel destinations, family events, campouts, grocery stores, and museums; and, in your own homes during meal times and the bedtime hours. It is not always a display of beauty and of our own expectations, but it is one of integrity, intelligence, respect, moral strength, fortitude, self-discipline – in a word, character. A type of character that is being formed by each child himself and not imposed upon him by us. Together, we offer our children opportunities of freedom to be More than the expected or planned.

Austin Montessori School does enjoy an international reputation. Recognition of our school and the excellence it offers students continues to grow and spread. My wife, Donna Bryant Goertz, and I were invited to give presentations to the New Zealand Montessori Conference, in Christ Church, NZ, last April. Another staff member was invited to represent the United States AMI Elementary Alumni Guides at the annual AMI meeting in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, also in April.

During the 2009-2010 school year, the School sponsored the attendance of one administrative staff member in the AMI Refresher Course in Jacksonville, Florida on “Montessori On The Edge 2010: Mapping Cohesive Development.” Other staff members attended conferences in Dallas, Texas, on “The Essential

Montessori Mathematics: Whole-School Implementation;” in Chicago, Illinois, on “The Adolescent and Technology: Finding the True Balance in the Montessori Prepared Environment;” and, in Cleveland, Ohio, on “Cultivating Community Across the Planes of Development.”

Late last October, the students and staff of our Adolescent Community were able to vacate their temporary quarters in a church building and occupy their newly renovated and expanded building at the Gaines Creek campus. With them, we celebrated our largest Adolescent Community in our school’s history! It was a time of transition that once again became a resource for hands-on learning and community building for all of our staff, our adolescents and their families. As we plan to celebrate our 50th anniversary in just a few short years, we continued our work on our two-part, long-range, six-year plan to first of all, solidify and ensure the school’s financial position and, second, to initiate and build a permanent endowment. Priority consideration is being given to governance and financial short-term planning objectives. You may ask, “What are our long-term plans? Do we intend to add more communities or enlarge our facility space?” The answer is no. Our plans continue to be grounded in the quality of the educational programs that our school offers… to enhance our daily commitment to our school mission. We humbly strive for excellence in the application of Dr. Maria Montessori’s educational philosophies, which can many times be an idealistic goal in and of itself given the changing demands of our societal and economic climate.

We know that our entire community of children, staff members, parents, grandparents, alumni and friends depend on us to provide and maintain a safe and loving environment rich in opportunities for growth in academics, social and

emotional development, physical and spiritual well-being, and most of all, compassion for other human beings and our natural world. This is a task that we take to heart and live by… a lifetime commitment. We expect and demand of ourselves what we strive to support for each child and family in our care. We strive to cultivate partnerships of trust, integrity, solidarity and sustainability.

We are more than learners and earners. We are more than doers and achievers. We are more than getters and havers. We are More.

We are a journey of Light, a pathway of Wonder. We hand down from generation to generation a living Mystery through our cells. And, for us, it is through our alumni that we continue to see this Wonder, year after year.

With respect and gratitude, we look to you for continued partnership as we make this journey together.

Donald C. Goertz, Ph. D.Executive Director and Co-head of School

A Message from the Head of School

the FounderA Message from

Forty years and then some… The evolution of a Montessori community of families, staff and children is a work of spiritual awakenings and also a work of the practical realities. The successions of insights and comprehensions of philosophy and practice, the very practical challenges of designing programs for parent education and family enrichment, staff training and development, and processes for application and acceptance have evolved over the decades. And this year’s hard work is now part of the richness of that past.

The core of our work as adults, parents and school, is to see our own children and those of our community through the eyes of delight,

hope and peace while holding them to the highest intellectual, emotional and social standards of which they each are capable in the moment. This is complex work, but it is the work that matters most for our community and our children. This year we deepened the understanding of the social and emotional curriculum of our school with our children, parents, and staff members. It is this curriculum that frees the child’s energies and potential for greater self discipline, fuller compassion and higher intellectual development. It will always be a work in progress.

As a community we have become more and more determined to support our children’s healthy self-formation, despite the culture that surrounds us, so that our children grow into adults who are strong enough to be in the world

but not of it, so that they will know who they are and remain true to themselves, despite the times in which they live. Our families, staff, alumni and grandparents together form a community that sees education as an Aid to Life, a potent support for the formation of a new humanity, one capable of bringing forth a new society that can establish a just peace.

We are working to identify and design the best way to share our

school’s comprehensive Montessori programs (the Study of the Child and the Study of Human Development, as well as many others) with schools around the world through national and international organizations.

We are in various stages in our exploration of integrating Spanish in our classroom communities. We brought Alice Renton of In Other Words: Languages for Children in March to present an overview of Spanish integration in the Montessori classroom. Ms. Renton is a retired Academic Director and lecturer in Montessori philosophy for the Rocky Mountain Montessori Teacher Training Program in Boulder, Colorado, and a teacher and certified trainer in bilingual and multicultural preschool curriculum models. We continue seeking to expand our practice of Spanish integration, while preserving the authenticity of our Montessori practice.

In late April, Don and I had the pleasure of presenting the work of our school at a national conference in New Zealand, which moved the participants to add a new album to their set with the table of contents being Elementary Grace and Courtesy, the Elementary Prepared Environment for a Self-Managing Elementary Community, Big Work, Going Out, and the Social Emotional Curriculum.

I have enjoyed another year spent connecting our school with the great Montessori work around the world in advancement of how we humans were born to Be, Belong, and Become.

Donna Bryant GoertzFounder

Continuing JourneysAlumni Spotlight

Alexandra Wagner, an Austin Montessori School student from Children’s House through the Adolescent Community, graduated from Austin Waldorf High School in 2009. She received a year-long scholarship with the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program to study in Berlin, Germany. Throughout the program, she lived with a host family and studied at a German high school. Allie writes that this was “an eye opening and life changing experience. It was an opportunity for me to not only increase my language skills, but also my cultural knowledge of Germany. In addition to my academic pursuits I found myself actively engaged in

learning about the history, politics, current events and modern life within a German family and community.”

Allie is back in the USA now, studying biochemistry and German at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. She’s active in her college’s Student Senate, the student chapter of the American Chemical Society, and the German Club – and still finds time to volunteer in the Emergency Room at a local hospital. This summer she will be returning to Germany to intern at a scientific laboratory through a fellowship with the Halle Foundation. She writes, “Like a true Montessori

Colleges & Occupations of Some 2010 High School Graduates:

Austin Community College; Austin, TexasCapitol College; Laurel, MarylandDrexel University; Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaElon University; Elon, North CarolinaFashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; Los Angeles, CaliforniaGeorgetown University; Washington DCNew York University; New York, New YorkNYU Tisch School of the Arts; New York, New YorkReed College; Portland, OregonSwarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (2 students)Yale University; New Haven, ConnecticutTaking over a family business

High Schools of 2010 Gaines Creek Graduates:

Liberal Arts & Sciences Academy (4 students)Anderson High School (3 students)Austin Waldorf High School (3 students)Austin High School Global Studies (2 students)St. Michael’s High SchoolWestlake High SchoolCompass Montessori High School; Golden, Colorado

AMS Alum Alexandra Wagner

student I look forward to continuing to improve my German study skills and hope to help further scientific knowledge in the realm of pharmaceutical research. My love of learning was definitely fostered and nourished through my experience at Austin Montessori School.”

BuildingCommunity

The Windsong Community Peace March brought us out of our classrooms to share songs, flowers and a renewed wish for a peaceful world.

Our gala Fiesta silent and live auction was a night to remember, netting almost $87,000 for our school.

Games Day, hosted by the Upper Elementary for the Early Elementary, was a wonderful day of cooperative games, music and picnic lunch with musical entertainments - a time for the entire elementary to be together. The festivities began with a grand procession of all the groups behind their banners.

Living in the community of children, parents, guides and staff is both our joy and our work as we educate for peace. Here are just a few of the memorable community events that served to knit us together.

The Great Northern Family Picnics and the picnics and coffees sponsored by PALS, the south campus parent group, brought us together to celebrate milestones in the school calendar and to enjoy each other’s company.

Families and staff loved working together at our Outdoor Environment Days, renewing and beautifying the gardens and play areas. Side by side we cared for the land that is our home.

Bluegrass Night at the Center for Adolescent Work and Study at Gaines Creek continued to be a hugely popular whole-family event, full of good food, fun activities, and entertainment, all hosted by the adolescents in our community.

Fall Festival brought us together for fun, fellowship, food and fundraising, as each classroom community sponsored a healthy activity or cultural presentation. The children of the Birdsong Community dazzled us with their Indian dance performance.

Financial ActivitiesStatement of

Expenses Salaries, Benefits & Staff development 2,120,410 Classroom Supplies & Expenses 156,959 Building, Occupancy, Remodeling & Maintenance 363,435 Utilities, Insurance & Operations 212,732 Tuition Assistance 163,513

TOTAL: $3,017,049

Income Tuition & Fees 2,838,982 Fundraising & Grants 241,386 Other Income 27,112

TOTAL: $3,107,480

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