Rock Hill school district to break ground on new Montessori building

Montessori, a hands-on learning experience focused on peer learning and student choice, will soon have a dedicated space in the Rock Hill school district.

District officials will break ground on the new Montessori school building on Feb. 24 at 11:30 a.m., said Mychal Frost, director of communications for Rock Hill schools.

The new facility on the campus of Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School will be designed specifically for the Montessori program, to serve children from prekindergarten to second grade, according to the district’s website.

“The building has been designed by Charlotte-based LS3P Architects with a significant amount of input from parents and teachers, who have participated in a months-long effort to design the Montessori space for the teaching and learning practices unique to the Montessori method,” Frost said.

The program, one of Rock Hill’s school choice programs, has been housed at The Children’s School. The approach includes mixed-age classrooms, according to the district’s website.

The Rock Hill school board unanimously agreed last year to build a new Montessori center at Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School.

Montessori students in third to fifth grade have already been moved from The Children’s School to Ebenezer Avenue, where an inquiry program has been launched that includes many popular features of Montessori.

The Children’s School will continue to serve Montessori students in K3 through the second grade until the new building is ready.

The $8 million building is expected to be completed in January 2018.

A new playground has also been added to the site and a new front office will support the three programs - traditional, Montessori and inquiry - on Ebenezer Avenue’s campus, Frost said.

Amanda Harris: 803-329-4082

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Rock Hill school district to break ground on new Montessori building."