At Murray-LaSaine, our mission is to provide a Montessori education that guides students to their fullest potential by instilling independence, social responsibility, and a lifelong love of learning.

We do this in our beautifully prepared environments with highly trained, well-qualified teachers and assistants. We do our work in partnership with our students’ parents and guardians, a child’s first teacher. We hold a deep respect for the child, meeting their needs wherever they are along their developmental path. We keep in mind Montessori’s belief that “within the child lies the fate of the future.”

The 2020-21 school year was unique due to the changes necessary in response to the pandemic. The majority of our students attended school in person beginning late September.  Murray-LaSaine is ever grateful for their partnership with CCSD’s Virtual Academy, Camp Road Middle School, Harbor View Elementary, and Montessori Community School who took in MLMS remote students in order for MLMS to serve all of the in-person students. These partnerships allowed all of our teachers to teach in-person only starting in November. Our sincere appreciation to these schools and their leadership and teaching teams for their assistance.

Our students develop creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills on a daily basis. This year, we partnered with Engaging Creative Minds and got creative in Lower Elementary with biography and quilt projects, practiced critical thinking skills with a rocket unit in Upper Elementary, and used communication skills through a unit with a dramatist in Primary. Our Adolescent students practiced all of these skills through their efforts with food drives, helping to plan and deliver field day, 8th grade internships, and weekly guest speakers from the community. 

While our year was greatly impacted by COVID-19, our community showed its perseverance and strength. Parents and teachers partnered more than ever before to ensure students continued learning and growing despite frequent changes to the routine. Our Wellness Committee did an incredible job centering health and physical activity and we implemented Wellness Wednesdays for a weekly reminder that an object in motion stays in motion. We look forward to continuing this tradition next year.

Students showed growth in both “soft skills” and academic skills this school year. 2021 Spring MAP data showed that 74% of our students in grades 2-5  met their growth targets in Math and Reading, and 60% of our students in grades 6-8 met their growth targets in Math and Reading. 

At Murray-LaSaine, and in every school worldwide, we know our students are “both the hope and promise for mankind” (M. Montessori).

Jamie Meissner, School Improvement Council Chair               

Meredith Wallace, Principal