Winston-Salem Montessori School

The Winston-Salem Montessori School has an interesting and complex history. The first Montessori school in Winston-Salem was founded in 1968 with 24 students. During the 1970s, two more Montessori schools opened: Forsyth Montessori and Reynolda Montessori (1973). In 1984, these schools merged and relocated to Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church on Bolton Street, with the new name of Montessori Children’s Center, Inc. In 1986, Southside Montessori closed, leaving Montessori Children’s Center the only Montessori school in Winston-Salem. Montessori Children’s Center moved to Old Vineyard Road in 1992, eventually housing two Toddler classrooms, five Children’s House classrooms and a combined Lower/Upper Elementary program. By the summer of 2006, the school changed its name to The Montessori School of Winston-Salem and moved to a new building designed by Montessori architect, Jim Dyck on Holder Road in Clemmons, North Carolina. The school currently houses 11 classrooms: 3 Toddler, 5 Children’s House, 2 Lower Elementary classrooms and 1 Upper Elementary classroom.

The Montessori Children’s Center, Inc. d/b/a The Winston-Salem Montessori School is a non-profit, tax exempt organization. It receives revenues from tuitions, fees, and donations. Fund-raising events provide significant assistance towards financing the School’s programs and growth. We are a full member of the American Montessori Society, meeting or exceeding the membership requirements.

During 2006-2007, our community engaged in a process of finalizing a core values document called the Blueprint and was approved by the Board of Trustees in the summer of 2007. This document is an important part of our community and is referred to regularly as the school continually strives to align itself more closely with these core values.

In 2008 WSM engaged in a contract with the Natural Learning Initiative (NC State’s College of Design) to design our outdoor environment master plan for our eight-acre campus. Each year we continue to realize this plan through the investment of school resources and support from parents, faculty and staff, and leadership from our Outdoor Play & Learning Environments (OPLE) Committee.