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About Us2024-01-25T23:07:41+00:00
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OUR MISSION

EDUCATE THE MIND, THE HAND, AND THE HEART

Deschutes River Montessori School is dedicated to providing children with an exceptional early school experience through the careful execution of the Montessori philosophy and pedagogy. By maintaining a carefully-prepared environment and dedicated guidance, Deschutes River Montessori School strives to support children and foster their growth: emotionally, socially, cognitively, and physically; enabling them to grow to their fullest potential.

OUR SCHOOL

NURTURING THE WHOLE CHILD

Deschutes River Montessori School opened in Bend, Oregon in September 2009. Due to the passion felt by the families of children enrolled with us for our loving, enriching, quality Montessori program, and because of the growing waiting list for spaces with us, Deschutes River Montessori School moved into expanded facilities at the Old Mill District in September 2011.  We have continued to flourish and have now expanded again in April 2023, to 929 SW Simpson Ave, STE 130, Bend, OR, 97702.

Our students love our sunny, bright classrooms filled with time-tested, authentic Montessori materials and staffed by enthusiastic, eager, and caring Montessori-certified teachers and talented classroom assistants. Each day brings new understandings, joys, and satisfactions to our students, as they learn about themselves, their friends, and their world. Children also spend time daily enjoying the attached play area at the school and or walking along the Deschutes River trail observing wildlife and learning about nature.

Deschutes River Montessori School is pleased to offer inviting Montessori classrooms for children ages eighteen months to six years. Our toddler communities, for toddlers twenty four months to three years, provide our youngest students with a loving, caring, safe, and enriching environment within which to grow and learn, while feeling safe, secure, and loved by their teachers and young playmates. Our toddlers learn about themselves and have a positive  “I can do it by myself” attitude, fostered and supported by their teachers, who create classrooms that allow the children to exercise their independence, explore their world, and learn about being with one another in a peaceful, loving community.

Children ages three to six (which includes the kindergarten year), work and learn together in our primary classroom. Whether preparing a snack for themselves, creating a watercolor map of the continents and oceans of our Earth, singing songs with their friends, learning to read or do big, exciting math problems using Maria Montessori’s wonderful manipulative materials, running outside at recess, or engaging in one of many, many other activities that are a part of each and every school day at Deschutes River Montessori School, our students feel joy in their education and a thirst for knowledge. They take great pride in helping one another and in maintaining their beautiful classroom environment for the benefit of their entire classroom community.

OUR DIRECTOR

ELAINE MAY

Elaine May, Director of Deschutes River Montessori School, moved to Bend in 2009 from southwestern Ohio. Elaine taught for several years at two of Cincinnati’s premier Montessori schools, after which she founded Kinderfield Montessori School on a 90 acre farm campus, where it flourished for a decade before Elaine relocated to Oregon.

Elaine earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1990, with minors in Biology and German, from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and obtained her State Teaching Certification for grades K through 8. Having already decided to follow in the footsteps of Maria Montessori, Elaine entered the Montessori Teacher Education program at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio and earned a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Montessori philosophy and education, and received the American Montessori Society Preprimary (ages 3–6) Credential in 1991.

In her free time, Elaine enjoys hiking, biking, swimming, and exploring the mountains and high desert wilderness areas of Bend with her husband and their five kids.

VALDA HATHAWAY, MICHELLE SPROTT & HEATHER ADAMS
Primary

BIG EDDY

HEATHER KULIKOWSKY & TRACY GUPTILL
Primary

BENHAM FALLS

JORDAN MENDE & ANNA ZALEWSKI
Primary

AWBREY FALLS

NADIA WRIGHT & KYLIE POTTER
Toddler

LAVA ISLAND

GILLIAN FOXHOVEN & AMANDA MACIAS
Toddler

ODIN FALLS

JULI MILLER & GRACE GOOGINS
Toddler

PRINGLE FALLS

ELLEN CRAWFORD & KAYLA BODE
Toddler

DILLON FALLS

Deschutes River Montessori School