Local parents push for private school expansion

BY JENNIFER HOEGG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Six years ago Deborah Griffiths-Cuffari was a new Windsor resident without a plan. Today, she’s running a growing independent school from her Gray St. home.

It all began with word-of-mouth. A Montessori teacher with three children, Griffiths-Cuffari moved to town in 2002 when husband Joseph Cuffari opened a law office here. While she waffled on how to apply her training in her new community, several Valley families approached her about a Montessori program.

In response to the demand, Citizens of the World Montessori School opened in September 2003, offering a Montessori education for 3-12-yea- olds. The school has grown to enroll 26 full- and part-time students. “It has grown progressively each year,” Griffiths-Cuffari says, adding that many of the original families are still with the school. “There are some little ones who started with us when they were three who are now in fourth grade.”

Limited by municipal zoning to 15 students at a time, the school could only grow so far and spaces were in high demand. “Last January, a lot of local families were very curious; as soon as that happened, the waiting list started.”

A new development agreement with Town Council will allow the school to expand in September and welcome 32 students. As part of the March 25 agreement, the house will no longer be a residential building, meaning the family of five is shopping for a new home nearby.

Encouraged to be independent thinkers

Surrounded with sunshine, art, music, hands-on learning materials, books, animals and plants, Citizen of the World students are encouraged to be independent thinkers.

They join children worldwide in Montessori schools who follow an adaptive curriculum based on child development observations of Dr. Maria Montessori, a 20th century Italian psychiatrist, educator and anthropologist.

Griffiths-Cuffari describes Montessori curriculum as “child-led education within a frame of guidance. We provide opportunity to learn in a calm, loving environment.”

The school’s educational goals include active learning, academic excellence, social and moral development. The school’s multi-age setting allows children in the primary (ages 3-6) and elementary (ages 6-12) to learn from each other.

Citizenship is part of school life on Gray Street. Griffiths-Cuffari is impressed with her charges’ ability for compassion, saying, “their sense of community is so big.” Fundraising for children’s education in Africa is a particular interest of the Citizen of the World students, with annual participation in Unicef fundraisers, among others. “The children raise a lot of money for a small school,” she said.

Thrilled to expand

Griffiths-Cuffari is not anti-public school, but is thrilled to be able to meet the demand for a different learning setting and she’s modest about her little school’s success. “I don’t like to say that this has anything to do with me.” She credits her staff and, above all, the children. Ultimately, “I can’t ask for a better job.”

The energetic teacher feels great about welcoming more students into her life. “I’m very excited. We really are bursting at the seams. The calls coming in for next September are just incredible and I think it’s going to be lovely.”