This year, 2008, marks the 25th year of Chesterton Montessori School, a foundation for thousands of children in the Duneland community. The school, owned by long-time area residents Terry and Jim Cavallo, has grown in size and attendance over the past quarter of a century, thanks in part to the dedication of staff, volunteers, and parents.

“We began when Jane Walsh-Brown (current curator of the Westchester Township History Museum) approached me at a Tri-Kappa meeting and asked if I had ever thought about starting up my own school. I had been at Valparaiso Montessori for seven years,” said Terry Cavallo, who is administrator of the school.

“That was in 1983 and we started out with 19 families. My parents gave us $6,000 to start up and we found a location at St. John’s United Church, rented the lower level for three years, and in January of 1986 we had to leave because we were bursting at the seams,” Cavallo said.

The school’s current location at 270 E. Burdick Rd. was the perfect site, said Cavallo, who was looking for a place that was surrounded by trees and had ample land, to incorporate nature into the Montessori curriculum, an integral part of the method.

“I drove past this spot for three years since we live in Jackson Twp. A sign went up. I had no paper and I wrote it down on my hand and called right away,” remembers Cavallo.

They purchased 3 1/2 acres, and before they had even finished putting up the trim on the school building, another 1 1/2 acres was purchased adjacent to the property, to use for the future and to prevent encroachment.

“We built in 1986 and in 1988 we had to put on our first addition, because we were just bursting. We used our meadow and we’ve done a lot of planting trees over the years,” she said. In 2000, a second-level was added. The facility has grown from 3,500 square feet of space in the first years on Burdick, to over 14,000 square feet of space today.

The school began in 1983 by offering toddler and preschool programs; in 1986 they added lower elementary; and in 1988 they added upper elementary. The school today offers curriculum for 18 months through 12 years old.

Chesterton Montessori School has been able to grow because of the foundation on excellent staff, said Cavallo. “Every one of us has had either preschool or elementary training at established American Montessori Society training centers. They all do academic hours and student teach for a whole year and every one of our teachers is degreed from a college.”

Many of the school’s teachers also teach at area universities, including Valparaiso University and the University of Chicago. “What makes us different is our teachers. They are experienced in their field,” Cavallo said.

“The facilities also have enabled the school to grow, since parents of the school enjoy the integrated curriculum. Each classroom has its own railed-in deck. We work outside in the fall and spring and incorporate nature into our classroom environment by allowing it to flow in,” Cavallo said.

For the past 25 years, Chesterton Montessori has thrived with the teachings and methods set forth even longer ago by Maria Montessori herself, an educator who was ahead of her time, said Cavallo. “Maria Montessori had such respect for the child. We’re doing things today they did in 1907. All the concepts are still there because Montessori helps the child develop him or herself. The child will truly blossom. We’re not filling vessels full of knowledge. All we’re doing is planting the seeds.”

For more information, please contact Terry Cavallo at Chesterton Montessori School, 926-2359.

Posted 8/8/2008