MONTESSORI SCHOOL MOVES TO NEW HOME.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

A popular private school for children has a new home and a new name, and parents like Ken Brousseau couldn't be happier.

The 13-year-old Montessori Children's House was notified last November that its lease at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church was not going to be renewed because the church had plans for a pre- and after-school facility on the site.

``We loved the place,'' said Brousseau, whose 4-year-old son, Eddie, is a student. ``We wanted to keep it open.''

A four-year lease has been secured at New Life Mission Church on Warwick Avenue after a group of parents and teachers banded together and formed a new school. Montessori Children's Place for preschool and kindergarten students will open Sept. 1.

The new campus will offer grades one through three next school year, but shelved plans to include a full grade school when a teacher retired and the school was left without enough time to recruit another certified Montessori teacher.

The new school has two teachers and two assistant teachers, and so far 23 pupils for the school with a capacity of 30 students. Linsalata said 16 of the students are returning pupils and the rest are new.

``It's the same methods and the same system,'' said Peta Linsalata, school director and teacher. ``Except for management, the teachers are the same.''

When the director at the old school decided to close its doors after encountering difficulties finding a site, parents and teachers scrambled to find a new home. Everything started to fall into place seven weeks ago.

``It looked really touch and go,'' Brousseau said. ``As recent as June we were still not sure if we would have a school.''

The building was renovated with a fresh coat of paint and new rugs and new playground equipment. The school also had to start from scatch when it came to equipment and furniture such as desks and chairs.

Montessori does more than teach ABCs and that was what impressed Brousseau and his wife, who enrolled their son last year at the campus.

``It's a very child-focused school,'' he said. ``When you walk in you immediately recognize it's a different place. Everything is at the child's height, all the shelves, tables and chairs.

The school teaches children at their own pace and offers lessons including those in music, Spanish, cooking and gardening.

``In our method of teaching, our first objective is the child and the child's individuality and self-reliance,'' said Linsalata.

She said, for instance, that during snack time, children serve themselves and

wash, dry and put away their glass dishes.

``In this way we are building self-confidence and self-esteem,'' she said.