by Diana Schor
Diana Schor is a new parent at Stoneridge. She and her husband have a daughter in Children’s House.
Prior to joining the Stoneridge community this academic year, our daughter Maia was enrolled in the Toddler program at Harborlight Montessori School (HMS). We liked the extended day program because it fit our needs as working parents and provided a nurturing and stimulating environment for our two-year old daughter.
My first introduction to the school is illustrative of the positive experiences that we had at HMS. On a hot July day in 2010, I walked into the Toddler room to observe children playing and interacting with each other. I had barely sat down in a corner when one of the toddler boys discovered my presence and eyed me with curiosity. I smiled at him, he smiled back, and then spontaneously ran to me, gave me a big hug, and then ran back to his play. Needless to say, I was totally surprised and thought to myself, only a happy child would hug a stranger! I knew then that I wanted Maia to go to a school that nurtured such happy and content children.
Over the course of the 2010-11 academic year, Maia developed a close, loving relationship with her two teachers at Harborlight, Cheryl Corneau and Elizabeth Stone. I came to see them as part of our extended family, a part of our “village” that helped raise our child. I trusted their intentions, their intuition, and their experience. They genuinely loved the children in their care, and it showed in everything they did. Both teachers respected our views as parents, even if at times they did not agree with us entirely. For example, at some point in the spring, separation at the start of the day became difficult for Maia, and we differed in our assessment as to why. Over the course of the school year, Maia developed very close friendships with her friends. She became known as the “buni” (grandmother in Romanian) who hugged a crying friend or helped another toddler put on her underwear. That year was also a tremendous year of cognitive development, and much credit goes to her teachers for nurturing her growth in this important area. All in all, we had a very positive experience in the Toddler House at HMS.
As you can imagine, I was so surprised to hear the news about the merger! We as a family had gone through a stage of mixed emotions when leaving HMS even as we were very much at peace with the decision to join Stoneridge. My first reaction to the news of the merger was very positive. I was excited at the prospect of a larger school that provided more options to working families and a richer and better menu of curricular and extra-curricular experiences for children. I also thought that, based on our experience in interacting with faculty and families in both schools, we were so much more alike than different. Most importantly, we all shared a commitment to excellence in educating and nurturing our children within a Montessori framework.
I know the transition won’t be easy. Changing systems and culture never is. But I think that the good will and the collective wisdom of the caring professionals in both schools can go a long way in making this process of change constructive and productive for the many families, like my own, who are deeply committed to our children’s Montessori education.
