Wilmington Montessori School and PRIED Middle School announced that their boards have agreed to combine the schools to form a single Montessori school that will educate children from toddler age through the eighth grade. The change will become effective with the start of the 2018-2019 school year.
At present, Wilmington Montessori operates through the sixth grade while PRIED serves students in grades six through eight.
The combined school will be known as Wilmington Montessori School and will operate at WMS’s existing 25-acre campus at 1400 Harvey Road in north Wilmington’s Ardencroft community. Once joined with PRIED, WMS will offer a Montessori education through the eighth grade for the first time in its 54-year history. Following the combination, PRIED’s operations will move to the WMS campus from the school’s existing facility on Washington Boulevard in the Pennyhill section of Wilmington.
WMS will offer a Montessori education through the eighth grade for the first time in its 54-year history. PRIED’s operations will move to the WMS campus from the school’s existing facility on Washington Boulevard in the Pennyhill section of Wilmington.
WMS Head of School Lisa Lalama said the two schools enter the relationship from positions of strength, and that they share similar educational philosophies, which focus on inspiring students to become lifelong learners and independent thinkers. She noted that most of PRIED’s students attended WMS before entering PRIED and selected PRIED based on the similarities between the two schools’ educational philosophies.
“We could not be more excited than we are to be joining with PRIED Middle School,” said Lalama. “For years, Wilmington Montessori parents have been asking how we might expand the school to offer a comprehensive Montessori program through the eighth grade. By joining PRIED and WMS together, we will leverage the best of both institutions to create a comprehensive Montessori program committed to academic rigor and to unlocking the human potential in each of our students.”
Kerry Shweiki, Head of PRIED Middle School said, “In joining with Wilmington Montessori School, PRIED will bring its fully formed middle school program to the WMS campus. Combining our innovative educational approach with WMS’s strong Montessori program will allow PRIED students to benefit from the resources of the larger WMS community as well as share in WMS’s academic legacy. Current and future WMS families will no longer struggle with the disruption of moving their children between schools during the all-important middle years leading to high school.”
In preparation for the change, WMS and PRIED administrators and board members are actively planning a year-long series of transition activities.
