Springmont
| Springmont | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
|
5750 Long Island Drive NW Atlanta, Georgia 30101 |
|
| Information | |
| School type | Montessori |
| Motto | Atlanta's First Montessori School |
| Religious affiliation(s) | none |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Head of school | Jerri King |
| Age | 18 months to 14 years |
| Enrollment | 280 |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Accreditation | SACS, SAIS, AMI |
| Website | www.springmont.com |
Springmont is a private Montessori school located in the Sandy Springs area of Atlanta, Georgia at 5750 Long Island Drive. The school serves around 260 students ranging in age from 18 months to 14 years old. It is the oldest Montessori school in the Southeast.
The school was founded in 1963 as the First Montessori Class of Atlanta by parents influenced by Maria Montessori’s writings. The parents banded together to send a teacher to Italy for training in Montessori methods and the school opened in a spare classroom at Pace Academy. The next year the school grew to two classrooms, and as it expanded it moved around the Sandy Springs community, renting space from area schools and churches. Reflecting the schools growth, the name was changed to First Montessori School of Atlanta during this period.
In 1971, the school bought acreage on Long Island Drive and contracted with the noted Atlanta architecture firmFinch, Alexander, Barnes, Rothschild, and Pascal (perhaps best known for building Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). A 1972 article from Progressive Architecture reported on how the school was designed so the building itself was a teaching tool. The first classes at the Long Island site were held in September 1973.
Over the years the school continued to add new grades and more space. It acquired a neighboring house (currently the home of the Fine Arts program). By 2001, with the addition of a middle school program, the school offered programs ranging from toddlerhood to adolescence.
In 2008 the school expanded again, building a new media center and elementary building. The buildings were designed to be environmentally friendly (including geothermal heating, recycled building materials, and non-toxic finishes) and, like the school’s original building, support the Montessori learning philosophy. As the school’s fiftieth anniversary approached the name was changed from First Montessori School of Atlanta to Springmont.
Springmont is a board-governed school accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools and recognized by the Association Montessori Internationale. It is also a member of the Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS), Georgia Independent School Association (GISA, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the North American Montessori Teachers' Association (NAMTA).
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