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CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
GERVASE KILEY	MARIAN SUTTON
ORLO KIRKUM	SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
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Montessori school gains
approval from commission

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      Former teachers from the Romeo Montessori School have been given another chance for educating children.
       The Village of Romeo Planning Commission gave unanimous approval of granting a special land use for St. Paul's Episcopal Church to house the First Friends Montessori school, once final fire and health inspections are passed.
       Chairperson James Geister and commissioners Thom Stephens and Richard Kyro were not present for the Aug. 13 meeting.
       Susan Wilson, Paula Wurobel and Liz Emery will all be teachers and co-owners of the school, with more than 30 years of combined experience. They are all former employees of the Romeo Montessori School, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy July 28.
       They said they would like to open a Montessori program at the church for students age 3 to 6, with a maximum enrollment of 30 students.
       "We want to keep it small and family-like," said Wilson.
       Montessori is a philosophy of education with the goal of addressing an individual's developmental needs, allowing them to excel as slow or as fast as needed regardless of age.
       "We thought it was a really good location and it would make a great pre-school," said Wurobel.
       Emery said one of the driving factors was the demand from residents wanting a Christian-based school.
       "There is a community need for a pre-school Montessori program, and there isn't one anywhere in the area," she said.
       "We were thinking about it, and the parents kind of said it," added Wurobel. "A lot of the children we will have attended Romeo Montessori, and they wanted a place to go."
       They said the plans for bringing the school program to the church was developed recently, and were glad they could move quick enough with the village to try and have it open by Sept. 8.
       "We've been very blessed, it's gone quite quickly for us," said Wurobel.
       Of the eight qualifications required for a special land use request to be granted, the main concern the commission brought up was if the arrival and departure times of the students would clash with Romeo High School, which sits across the street from the church.
       School hours are expected to be from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with the majority of children there from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
       There were also minor issues with parking, but the teachers said parents can park in the circular drive and five spots granted from the high school.
       The church, which is located in a single-family residential zone, once housed Romeo Montessori School from 1994 to 1996. A school is allowed in such zoning with a special land use request.
       Like other private schools, tuition is required, but the new school aims to make it affordable, especially with most of the parents experiencing troubles with paying tuition for Romeo Montessori before it went bankrupt.
       "We're flexible with payments, and we're not asking a lot up front, so we're working with them in this difficult situation," said Wurobel.
       The teachers declined to comment on Romeo Montessori School bankruptcy, except to say they knew little about why it occurred.
       "We want to focus on the bright future here, not the past," said Wilson.
       For information about the school, go online at www.firstfriendsMontessori.org