History of MSFW
Montessori Children’s House
In 1968 the first Montessori school in Fort Worth opened its doors to make a difference in the lives of children. Joy Sheffield and La Verne Davis had the vision of this wonderful house for children following the Montessori approach to education. The school, Montessori Children’s House, opened in what is now called the North Building with 11 students in a 3 – 6-year-old morning class. Joy was one of the two teachers at the school and La Verne was a co-owner.
In 1972 an additional house was purchased next door, now referred to as the South Building, to provide space for a full day program. Parents were pleased with their children’s experience and many wanted a first grade added. By 1980 the first grade class grew to include second grade and was called Extended Day. This same year the school added a toddler class for children ages 18 months to 3 years.
Elementary Expansion
The Montessori Children’s House elementary program was established in 1991 for students in grades first through third. In 1997 the elementary program was extended to include the fourth through sixth grades. This meant adding on to the South Building. Joy and La Verne encouraged Amy Henderson, the elementary teacher, to take on this responsibility and lead the elementary program.
The two schools acted as one for several years. Amy continued to teach and became active in the American Montessori Society, serving on the Board of Directors for eight years. In 2004, at the end of Amy’s term as President of AMS, Joy and La Verne retired and Amy became Head of School. The school is now owned by Amy Henderson who has been involved at MCH since her children attended in the 1980s.
The elementary program has continued to grow and thrive. In 2008, the fortieth anniversary of MCH, a new building was added to the west of the south building. The building provided much needed room for the upper elementary class, ages 9-12, and offered a place for the school to gather on special occasions.
Middle School
The school expanded again in 2013 during its 45th year with the acquisition of new additional buildings to the west of the original north building. One building has been remodeled to house our middle school program. The middle school, grades 7th and 8th, has been specially created for the needs of these young adults. In addition to an open classroom, smaller quiet rooms have been created for the students to use when working on projects requiring more concentration. The building features an outdoor sports court for our budding athletes to participate in team sports such as basketball.
The second acquired building houses the north lower elementary class. It has been remodeled with the needs of this age group in mind. There is plenty of room for a wide variety of activities and learning. The move afforded the school space to expand at the toddler and primary levels.
Montessori School of Fort Worth
The school was renamed Montessori School of Fort Worth in 2013 to more accurately describe the ages that the school currently serves: 18 months through 14 years.
In 2014, additional space was added to the North building to bring the two toddler programs into close proximity and enlarge the North primary class. During the summer of 2015, another lower elementary building was added to accommodate the continued growth of the lower elementary program. The two classes, north and south lower elementary, work in tandem, following the same schedule and sharing field trips.
During the 2016-2017 school year, the upper elementary classroom moved into a newly acquired building on Clayton Road to allow for more classroom space. The former Upper Elementary building is now used as a community room.
At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, the original North Building was remodeled to provide an updated kitchen area, open up space in the North Primary class and add additional administrative space.