School Year Enrollment OpenWe will be open for on-site school for our Primary and Lower Elementary classrooms, and providing Comprehensive Distance Learning and school-aged childcare for Upper Elementary. Email to inquire!
About Us
What We Believe
The Montessori method of teaching is an academic learning program designed to meet the child at their most absorbent stage of development, the time when they are soaking up knowledge like a sponge. With a prepared environment and concrete-to-abstract materials, our trained teachers and staff seek to guide the children through their own learning, encouraging autonomy and community. We provide a stable, loving space for children to explore their own interests and navigate opportunities for social growth.
The greatest sign of success for a teacher...is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist."
—Maria Montessori
Primary Two Classroom
Our Programs
Far Horizons Montessori School is open to children starting at 3 years of age up through 6th grade. We are open year-round with an academically challenging school year program and an enriching summer camp program. Our hours of operation are 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.
We offer all day childcare on most holidays and “no school” days to the students enrolled at our school and their siblings. We provide morning and afternoon snacks and ask that you send a lunch with your child.
We have two Primary aged classrooms (3 years old through Kindergarten), a Lower Elementary classroom (Kindergarten through 3rd grade), and an Upper Elementary classroom (4th through 6th grade). Our teachers are Montessori trained, and an assistant is provided in each classroom to maintain low student/teacher ratios.
We are passionate Montessori educators. We strive to meet and follow the child through their development over the years. We follow the multi-age classroom model that allows the child to learn from and teach their peers in all things from academics to social and emotional learning, guided by experienced teachers.
Learn more about our programs →The child who has felt a strong love for his surroundings and for all living creatures...gives us reason to hope that humanity can develop in a new direction.
—Maria Montessori
Elementary Classroom
Our Commitment to the Environment
Far Horizons is always actively searching for new ways to be good stewards of our Earth. We focus on reducing our use of limited resources, like paper and electricity. We seek cleaning and chemical products that pass green school reviews. We strive to teach our students to notice the moments when we can make better choices for our environment, and we share our love for the Earth with them in every way possible.
A Little History
Far Horizons Montessori School was founded in 1963 by Terry Fentis-Thompson with 15 children in the basement of the a church on Hilyard Street. Using a shared space, staff and teachers had to fold up the shelves and store all their materials every Friday afternoon and reassemble their classroom each Monday morning.
In 1976, Mary Tomassini and Mary Davis purchased the school and increased the enrollment to 20 children and began a half-day, primary program. In 1978 Kerry Knust purchased the school, and two years later added a full-day program with after-school childcare to help support working mothers.
Kerry bought our current location in 1999—which also used to be a church. It was remodeled to accommodate two primary classrooms and one elementary classroom. There was no playground, so they planted trees, set up garden spaces, and added playground equipment.
In 2018, Kerry retired and Lynn Rodrick, a former teacher at Far Horizons, purchased the school. She plans to add another elementary classroom, making two primary classrooms and two elementary classrooms with an enrollment of 60-70 students.
Our daughter has been enrolled at Far Horizons for five years and we couldn't be happier with the care and attention she receives, or how well she's grown as a self-directed learner.
Elizabeth — Far Horizons Parent