• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Montessori school sets anniversary celebration

JANESVILLE — A group of parents got together in 1994 to create an alternative for their children. Saturday, they'll celebrate 15 years of Rock Prairie Montessori School.

The parents originally rented the Harmony School building northeast of Janesville. Today, they enroll around 100 students, from 2-year-olds through third grade, said Head of School Martha Carver.

Architect Mick Gilbertson, whose two daughters attended, designed a new building with the Montessori method in mind. It opened in 1997.

Montessori combines discipline in which students are responsible for their educations with a freedom to choose what they will learn on a particular day.

Students learn by doing. Teachers are facilitators.

Parent Oakleigh Ryan tells the story of her daughter, Murray, who had attended a Montessori school in Boston before the Ryans moved here.

As Murray walked into her classroom, where Carver was teaching, "she didn't even say goodbye to us. … She looked at Martha and said, 'I'm familiar with this class.'"

Ryan describes the Montessori philosophy as "a belief that what's in that child is magical, and it's our job to release it, versus focusing on 'this is what you need to get done today,'

"You'll go into a classroom, and you'll have maybe 22 kids, but it's amazing how quiet it is, … with each kid focused on what they're doing," Ryan said. "You kind of have to see it to believe it"

Ryan, a school board member, said the school's main challenge is finances, and that means maintaining enrollment. Ideally, the school would have about 120 students, Ryan said.

Elementary tuition is $6,000 a year. Half the fundraising effort goes to a tuition-assistance program.

Rock Prairie is one of the many things that make Janesville a special place, like the Janesville Performing Arts Center or the farmer's market, Ryan said, and at a time when Janesville is struggling, it's those special things that can make a difference.

Money was the founders' biggest hurdle. Major contributions came from Hedberg family. Geraldine and Don Hedberg founded Lab Safety Supply. The Hedbergs' daughter, Peggy, was a part of the founding parents group.

Peggy Hedberg now lives in Madison.

"It's so nice to see how successful they've been, to be able to provide high-quality, child-centered early education. I'm just so happy about it," Hedberg said.

Peggy Hedberg can't be there for Saturday's open house, but her daughter Sophie, now a college student, will be among the Rock Prairie graduates who will renew their connections to old friends and the place where their educations began.