2013-2014 MIR Annual Report

“At a time when creativity is being
driven out of our schools, MIR plays
an important role in preparing children
for the future…One of my children
said that he has millions of questions
about everything in the world and MIR
allow[ed] him to answer some of those
questions, even when they are of interest
only to him; for example, ‘why do
mollusks only have one foot?’…I work
at a university so I spend a lot of time
thinking about the characteristics that
employers say they want to see in future
employees. I am amazed at how thoroughly
and completely a Montessori
education addresses these concerns.”
—Dr. Leela MahavaRau, former President
of the Board of Trustees and alumni parent
“At Montessori they teach you how to
challenge yourself. If I was really strong
in a subject, the teachers would give me
more work [in that area]. I would be
very proud of myself and work harder.
That’s been something I’ve always kept
with me and I really love Montessori
for that…Montessori will always be
with me.”
—Jennifer Williams, MIR alumni and current
student at Vassar College in New York
“MIR has helped me so much with
becoming who I am…I love my amazing
teachers and assistants, as well as
all of the others who have helped me
throughout my years here.”
—Strawberry Wroolie, 2014 MIR Graduate
TESTIMONIALS
“When I spent a year on exchange in
Germany, I really found out how well
Montessori had prepared me for everything.
It taught me how to embrace
new experiences and how to problem
solve.”
—Rohan CarterRau, MIR alumni and
current student at McGill University in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
“The overall educational program itself
is amazing. The growth we’ve observed
in our daughter over this past year has
been incredible and we attribute that
to the structure of the program, the
fostering of responsibility and independence
in the children, and the qualified
staff/teachers who really seem to care
about the children and actually enjoy
their jobs!”
—Comment from 2013-14 Parent Satisfaction
Survey
When Barbara Walters, who interviewed
Google founders Messrs. Page
and Brin in 2004, asked if having parents
who were college professors was a
major factor behind their success, they
instead credited their early Montessori
education. “We both went to Montessori
school,” Mr. Page said, “and I
think it was part of that training of not
following rules and orders, and being
self-motivated, questioning what’s going
on in the world, doing things a little
bit differently.”
“MIR has taught me how to be
independent and responsible. It has
helped me find out what my strengths
and weaknesses are so that I can work
on them more and develop a better
understanding. The staff are awesome
and nice.”
—Daniel Larrance, 2014 MIR Graduate
MIR ANNUAL REPORT 36