2023-24 End of Year Recap

Dear Members of the Gladwyne Montessori Community,

Happy summer! For many of you, the end of the school year may be a bittersweet moment. Personally, I am celebrating the graduation of my daughter who just completed the Upper Elementary program at Gladwyne Montessori and will be moving on to a new school next year. This moment, while celebratory, also marks the end of an era for her and us as a family as she prepares for life after Gladwyne Montessori, a place she and our rising second grader have come to know and love. 

As Board Chair, I have the unique opportunity to guide the school to enact its mission and vision. I work closely with the Board of Trustees, composed of 12 individuals who collectively love the school and are committed to the values of a Montessori education. Our work is not merely focused on the present, but always looking to the future to ensure the success and longevity of Gladwyne Montessori. 

It is my honor to celebrate not only this past school year with you, but to share the exciting news that this fall we will launch our new Strategic Plan, which the Board of Trustees has helped craft, vet, and support. 

Please see below for a letter from our Head of School about some highlights from this past school year, and we look forward to sharing more exciting news in the year to come. I wish all of you a restful summer!

Warm regards,

Nafis

Nafis Smith, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Gladwyne Montessori

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Dear Gladwyne Montessori Families,

Congratulations on the completion of the 2023-24 school year! Over the past year, our students have done so much more than just learn from books. They've explored, created, and discovered the world around them with curiosity and enthusiasm. From the classrooms where the students solved math problems and conducted science experiments, to the playgrounds where they made lasting friendships, each student has grown in countless ways. 

During this school year, we witnessed many successes that I would like to celebrate in the list below. 

• Our academic program was praised as “exemplar” by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) for the following reasons and more:
  • We expanded our Literacy Specialists’ program in Kindergarten, increasing access to small-group learning opportunities to younger students.
  • Gladwyne Montessori’s students excelled on the ERB, an external assessment. Our students exceeded local norms for both public and private schools– a testament to the student outcomes and academic preparedness. While our Montessori curriculum emphasizes process over product, our students have once again demonstrated that excellent learning yields great outcomes.
  • Our students went above and beyond in academic opportunities such as winning a blue ribbon in the Reading Olympics, speaking to the General Assembly at the United Nations, and publishing their creative writing with the local library!
• We reintroduced the Montessori Journey - our most important Parent Education event, showcasing the spiral of the Montessori curriculum from six weeks to 6th grade.
• We increased the variety and quality of after school programs and activities with new clubs and opportunities.
• We maintained financial stability that will allow us to continue to grow and thrive thanks to a banner fundraising year and fiscally sound practices.
• Our teacher retention, once again beat industry standards with a majority of teachers enthusiastic about returning for the upcoming school year.
• This was our first full school year enjoying our completed campus expansion project, New Spaces. Students freely explored the playground, greenhouse, and the Makerspace and Art classrooms in a manner that enhanced their learning experience.
• We issued our first parent satisfaction survey with an overall satisfaction rate of 92.5%-- well above the industry average.

Gladwyne Montessori is such an inspiring place with a rich legacy and sense of tradition. Equally, we are  a school and community with a bright future. In the 2024-25 school year, we will be keen to inaugurate our new Strategic Plan that will carry our school’s legacy forward. This plan will direct our focus and guide our efforts for the next five years. In the fall, families can expect to learn more about this plan as we share it with our broader community, as well as learn ways to partner and support the plan. We thank all of you as vital stakeholders for your partnership, commitment, and trust to take on society’s largest task– educating the next generation! 

I am proud to be a member of the Gladwyne Montessori community, and I look forward to all that is ahead! Have a restful summer, and we look forward to seeing you again in the fall!

Sincerely,

Hadley

Hadley Ruggles, Head of School
Gladwyne Montessori