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January and February 2022 Capital Project Update

January and February 2022 Capital Project Update

Initial construction of the Elementary Village began in late January. The construction team has been hard at work on campus and our students are eagerly learning more about the building process. 

First, the perimeter was set up and the trees were cleared from the Grove in order to set the stage for the project. Construction began on the water retention pond and the leveling of the ground for the new building. 

During these initial stages, children in our Redbud Lower Elementary classroom became very interested in the construction process. A group of students began a newspaper thoroughly outlining the entire process. They have interviewed the foreman and other construction workers throughout the process, and they even had an opportunity to review the blueprints!

Footers, plumbing, and electrical have all been run to the building and now we are waiting for the concrete slab to be poured. In the month of March, we will see the progress more clearly. Stay tuned for future updates. 

October 2021 Capital Project Update

October 2021 Capital Project Update

As those who have been at Greenspring for the last several years know, our school is transforming. In 2017 we launched a Capital Project – Great Foundation, Great Future – to address the needs of our aging buildings and to provide our children with new, beautiful, safe spaces, designed just for them. This project consisted of four Phases. Three years ago we finished Phases I and II, renovating and building the Main Building and Emerson Village, providing two beautiful villages designed just for our Toddler and Children’s House communities. Phase III will be the addition of a new building, our Elementary Village, and Phase IV will be the design and creation of our Outdoor Spaces.

Announcing Phase III of our Capital Project
After we completed Phases I and II we decided to pause and settle into our new buildings and give our community a much-deserved rest after several years of fundraising and construction in our small community on our small campus. We have always had every intention of completing the Great Foundation, Great Future Project and were starting to enter the conversation when COVID descended.

It surprised us all that, in the midst of COVID, our growing elementary community called upon us to resurrect the conversation. We began talking with our staff and our parent community. Last spring our Board of Trustees voted to move forward with Phase III: The Elementary Village and we began to get excited about finishing what we started. We then spent several months redesigning our plans with our architects at GWWO and our teaching staff. Needless to say, our Elementary Team is now excited as well and cannot wait to be in their new spaces! The Lower Elementary and the Upper Elementary classrooms (three classrooms in total) will share the new 5,500 square foot building, enjoying large classrooms (the smallest is 1,100 square feet!), a community kitchen, and meeting space as well.

We are currently in the throes of finalizing our permits through Baltimore County and waiting on bids from several contractors which are due on November 1st. We are delighted to share that we should be breaking ground in December with an expected completion date of September/October 2022.

Then on to Phase IV
Additionally, we have secured Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) to support the design and development of our outdoor spaces as Phase IV: Our Outdoor Spaces. This includes our playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, and communal spaces. NLI will be on campus to evaluate and learn more about the site in the beginning of November. While they are here, we will host a Community Meeting to give you all, our families, the opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas with the team.

An Opportunity to Help Make all of this Happen
Phase I and II were funded through a Capital Campaign which raised $1.25 million for the project. In addition, the School contributed $1 million and we borrowed $4 million. Our estimates are that Phase III and IV will cost just over $4 million to complete. The School will be contributing to the project again and we are working with our bank on securing an additional loan.

We will also give our community the opportunity to contribute to this project.  We invite you to consider a financial gift to support the project. For those of you who have been with us for a few years, you may recall that Phase IV has already been seeded with donations from our Grandparent Community.  An appeal to our Grandparents during Grandfriends’ Day a few years ago resulted in raising the funds needed to hire NLI to create a Master Plan. We have been hanging on to these funds and are excited to finally put them to use!

Addition of Little Barn to our Phasing for Capital Project
We are needing to add another phase to our project. Little Barn, currently the home to the Lower Elementary Redbud Class, is going to require a significant renovation – if not a full overhaul. When we had a pipe leak in the building earlier this fall and began to pull up the flooring and take out drywall, we began to understand how much work this building needs. We have fixed the leak and are repairing the floors and the walls so that the Redbud class can return to their classroom. And while there is nothing prohibiting the children from being in the space this year, the building needs a full renovation. Thus, we are adding Little Barn to our “to do” list. Once our Elementary Village is complete with Phase III, Little Barn will become a much-needed space for our community (a dedicated space for Discovery? A new Art Room? So many possibilities!). Once we decide on the long-term use of the space, we will begin working with architects to design it intentionally.

Parent Roundtable
As we round the bend into December, we want to make sure our community is prepared for the coming changes to campus. While we are excited to have the new Elementary Village, we also recognize the challenges that lay ahead. We hosted a Parent Roundtable in early November to answer your questions and discuss the project in more detail.

Before and After Video of our Capital Project

Before and After Video of our Capital Project

The Capital Project for Greenspring Montessori School has been a campus-wide renovation, including the building of our Emerson Village in 2017 and the restoration of the Main Building, our 100 year old dairy barn, in 2018. As we look toward future improvements, we would like to take a moment to show just how far we have come over the past five years.

See before and after photographs of the building project at Greenspring Montessori School in the video below.

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, Greenspring Montessori School is a 7 acre campus on a historic dairy farm. Over the past 60 years, the buildings and grounds have been renovated to best serve children ages 18 months through 8th grade in an authentic Montessori environment.

Our Capital Project

To learn more about our Capital Project, please click on the button below. 

Learn about our Capital Project
March 2021 Capital Project Update

March 2021 Capital Project Update

We are excited to share that we are exploring Phases III and IV of our Capital Project!

Phase III is intended to be new construction for three Elementary classrooms, each with a kitchenette and direct access to the outdoors, as well as a community kitchen and meeting spaces. The layout will allow students to flow independently throughout the Village environment, accessing areas, materials, guides, and peers to expand and deepen their studies, skills, passions, and personalities.

Phase IV of our project is making our Outdoor Environments match our indoor environments – thoughtfully designed with natural playscapes, beautiful outdoor classrooms, and community gathering spaces. Ideally, we would like to combine these two phases as much as possible.

Our re-enrollment is strong and we have a need for larger spaces for our growing Lower Elementary Community. We are currently gathering information and we hosted a Roundtable with the Head to hear your thoughts on our needs as a community. In the meeting, we also shared our current building plans and the suggestions made by our Elementary Team for the space. Watch the recording below.

The next step is to meet with the full Board of Trustees to discuss the project and vote on whether or not to go ahead with the project.

Better than Ever
Our commitment is that our community comes out of this COVID experience better than ever! We are looking carefully at how to rebuild and where both the priorities and the needs of our community meet.

Our Capital Project

To learn more about our Capital Project, please click on the button below. 

Learn about our Capital Project
June 2018 Capital Project Update

June 2018 Capital Project Update

The last months of school were as busy for our construction crews as they were for our students! We went from unfinished walls to our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony over just six short weeks.

After the plumbing was finished and the drywall was put up, walls were painted, carpet was installed, and cabinets and countertops came in. Our appliances were delivered, polishing off the village kitchen, as well as the kitchenettes in all of the classrooms. In addition, the lobby area received a major facelift with a new built-in desk and custom lighting.

Faculty, staff, parents, and students were all eager to see the final product at our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on June 12. It is amazing to think that in six months, this space has transformed in such a way. Our beloved, charming classrooms were deconstructed down to the original wooden beams and stone walls, then rebuilt to be more functional, age-appropriate, environmentally-friendly, and safe for all. It has been an enormous push for our community and we thank you for all of your support.

After the last day of school, our faculty and staff got to work moving six classrooms and eleven offices! We were all very excited to get settled into our new homes. While there is still some touchup work to do, we can see the end of Phase II in our sights and we are looking forward to what comes next.

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-7

Board member, Lori Baylin speaks about the commitment of the community.

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Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-9

Thank you, Councilwoman Vicki Almond for coming out to our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!

Ribbon Cutting

Head of School, Tamara Balis, accepts a certificate from Councilwoman Vicki Almond.

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-10

Kind words from Delegate Shelly Hettleman – thank you!

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-12

Cutting the ribbon!

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-13

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-14

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-15

Building Project Update – Greenspring Montessori School-16

A few of our graduates came out to see the transformation of our Main Building!

Our Capital Project

To learn more about our Capital Project, please click on the button below. 

Learn about our Capital Project
April 2018 Capital Project Update

April 2018 Capital Project Update

Inside the Main Building, it is amazing to see the classrooms and office spaces begin to take shape! What was once a beautiful stone dairy farm has evolved and transformed into Toddler and Children’s House classrooms with amenities that are just the right size for our students.

The drywall was put up during the month of April and we soon expect it to be primed and painted. The frames for new windows and doors are in place. We have selected the finishing details for the carpets, tile, front desk design, and appliances for the classrooms and kitchenette.

Thanks to generous donations to our Capital Campaign, we were able to finish the restorations to the roof, once damaged in a fire. We are still seeking support for the remainder of the project – and we cannot do it without you! If you would like to make a donation to this cause, please click here.

During the month of May, we will begin to see more progress on the exterior of the building, with the rest of the windows and doors going in, painting of the siding, doors, and frames, and preparation of the sidewalks, flowerbeds, and playgrounds.

We are looking forward to having the building completed in June 2018 and ready for us to move in our classrooms for the 2018-19 school year! Join us in front of the Main Building for our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Tuesday, June 12 at 4:00pm!