On December 12, Poudre School District public charter school Fort Collins Montessori School (FCMS) announced the purchase of five acres at 1109 West Harmony Road in Fort Collins, Colorado by the Fort Collins Montessori School Building Corporation. This property will be the future home of a permanent, unified FCMS campus. A groundbreaking is scheduled for Saturday, February 1, 2020.
Upon completion of Phase I of construction, the FCMS Harmony Campus will accommodate three additional classrooms and 200 students. Fort Collins Montessori School is the only public elementary Montessori option in Northern Colorado. It offers full- and half-day preschool as well as a tuition-free K-6th.
“FCMS is very pleased to be making southwest Fort Collins its permanent home. With this move, we will be able to offer more seats for enrollment and more Fort Collins families the Montessori experience. It is a rare opportunity to be in a position to build a Montessori school from the ground up. Everything on our new campus—from cabinetry to flooring to ceilings—was designed with child development and the needs of the child in mind. Natural lighting, soft colors, and uncluttered spaces will set the stage for activity that is focused and calm,” says Paul Vincent, Head of School at FCMS.
The Montessori method of education was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori—an Italian physician and a child developmental psychologist. Dr. Montessori discovered that all children innately want to learn, and that encouraging, respecting, and supporting the “whole child” (their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions) leads to the best outcomes for each individual and each community of learners. Dr. Montessori was deeply committed to advocating for children and to supporting the growth of each child’s inner potential, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Applications for school enrollment are now being taken. More information at www.focomontessori.org.
