New name for Montessori school

We in many ways really had no choice but to search for a name that better suits us to be able to grow as a community in the way we are all striving for and a name that is more welcoming and inclusive.”

Anna Estes

4th ANNUAL PLANT SALE

All net proceeds go toward the annual scholarship fund at Creekside Montessori School. Online ordering available from early March until April 30. Online orders will be available to pick up on the afternoon of May 5 in the parking lot of Mayflower Church, located at 106 E. Diamond Lake Road. Any unsold inventory will be available for on-site purchase on May 5.

WHAT IS MONTESSORI?

MECC/Creekside is a Montessori school that fosters independent learning and follows the child in their development.

A Montessori school has multi-age classrooms with a guide (lead teacher) and assistant who are formally trained in Montessori philosophy and pedagogy. Creekside has a toddler community ages 16-33 months and four Children’s Houses ages 33 months through kindergarten.

The Montessori method of education is named after Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), one of Italy’s first female physicians who helped open a small school for 3- to 6-year-olds in the slums of San Lorenzo in Rome. These children, the poorest of the poor, came every day to the simple, beautiful classroom with white walls, tables and chairs sized for them, green grass in the courtyard outside, and a teacher who would show them the materials Dr. Montessori had developed. Her method reflected a profound respect for the children’s natural development—seeing what they naturally chose to do, and making sure the environment allowed for those tendencies.

Montessori schools and societies began to spring up in Italy and in other parts of Europe. The Montessori method in America did not really take off until the 1960s. The North American Montessori Teachers’ Association estimates there are about 4,500 Montessori schools in the U.S. and about 20,000 worldwide.

The Montessori method is more than an educational method—it is a philosophy of human development and of helping children reach their full potentials. Montessori observed this profound truth: The child, through her own constructive powers, builds the adult she will become. Montessori considered education an “aid to life.”

- Information from http://www.mayflowermontessori.org

Mayflower Early Childhood Center is now Creekside Montessori School.
“If the name Mayflower is hurtful to anyone, why would we want to keep it? That is not who we are or how we want to be represented. Montessori education is peace education. Creekside well suits this identity,” remarked Head of School Anne Estes.
“Sprung from a desire to more fully reflect our values of belonging and inclusion and recognizing the historical trauma associated with the name Mayflower, Creekside families initiated the name change process during the 2020-2021 year,” explained Rachael Peters who serves on the Parent Involvement Committee Chairperson. “After two years of committee meetings, community brainstorming sessions, and consultation with our anti-bias educational partner, AMAZEworks, the name change will be complete for the start of 2023-2024 academic year.”
A preschool at the intersection of the Tangletown, Windom, Page and Diamond Lake neighborhoods, Creekside is a mission-driven school. “Our mission is to serve an economically diverse community of families through financial aid and scholarship while fostering an environment of equity, belonging, and inclusion,” said Peters. “Currently, 22% of our families are on some form of financial assistance or scholarship.”

‘WHAT’S UP WITH THE NAME?’
Estes joined the staff at Creekside in December 2019 and has been head of school since February 2020. The seed for a new name was first planted during a prospective parent tour in 2019. The parent said, “What is up with the name?” and later went on to explain that they have indigenous friends and family that would never send their children to the school because of the name, and how it was hurtful to their community.
“That was the first time I had considered the name hurtful,” said Estes. “This parent did go on to enroll their child at MECC and never stopped talking about the name change until it finally did happen!”

A MONTESSORI SCHOOL IS BORN
Mayflower Early Childhood Center began as part of Mayflower United Church of Christ, seeking to serve economically diverse families with high quality learning environments that meet the development needs of the whole child. Mayflower is now a partner of the church and operates as its own entity.
Montessori schools fosters independent learning and follow the child in their development. A Montessori school has multi-age classrooms with a guide (lead teacher) and assistant who are formally trained in Montessori philosophy and pedagogy. Creekside has a toddler community ages 16-33 months and four Children’s Houses ages 33 months through kindergarten.
Staff is multilingual, and includes those who speak English, Hmong, Somali, German, Spanish, Oromo, and Chinese. The staff includes four African, three Black, two American Indian/Indigenous, two S.E. Asian/Asian, one Hispanic/Latino, and 15 White; two are male and 25 female. On the student side, there are 12 African, five Black, three Asian, two Hispanic/Latino, one West Indian African, and 77 White.

TIME FOR A NAME CHANGE
“We have collectively reached a state of consciousness that has made our old name invalid and ingenuine for our identity as the Montessori school we are,” remarked Estes. “We in many ways really had no choice but to search for a name that better suits us to be able to grow as a community in the way we are all striving for and a name that is more welcoming and inclusive.”
In the spring of 2021, they began pursuing a name change by getting the okay from the MECC Board, as well as Mayflower United Church of Christ, and looking at whether there were any legal issues they needed to be aware of.
They formed a name change committee that met on Zoom every other week in the middle of the pandemic. On the committee were caregivers, board members and staff, and parents – including the parent who had first brought up the idea.
“After a great deal of discussion and brainstorming, we went from ideas that ranged from turning the name change process into a theatrical performance that would be filmed with books and artwork to go along with it, to brainstorming coffee hours and Zooms parents, caregivers, staff, and children. We asked parents and caregivers to meet in the parking lot for an outdoor coffee hour and share name ideas; we invited children to join Zoom and share their name ideas; we asked families to hand in artwork and/or words describing what MECC meant to them,” recalled Estes.
Name options were put in a Google doc, and the school community voted. While Mayflower received a few votes, the winning one was Creekside.
“The name Creekside is a nod not only to our location near Minnehaha Creek but also Creekside Commons, a subsidized housing development created by MUCC. Historically, MECC has had many families, as well as staff, come from Creekside Commons,” said Estes.
In fall 2022, logo ideas were submitted by community members, and then forwarded to a graphic designer. After a vote in January 2023, a new logo was selected. The school website, signs and merchandise are slated to be changed by the 4th Annual Plant Sale on May 5.

RESPONSE TO A RACIAL RECKONING
The name changes is one step that the school has taken, and came out of a larger process.
“Starting summer of 2020 when Minneapolis was in total chaos and racial injustice was on everyone’s minds to say the least, we reached out to AMAZEworks (a known entity as they had already been working with several other Montessori schools in the area),” said Estes. They started with staff and did an orientation to anti-bias anti-racist education. Throughout the 2020-21 school year, they held workshops with families, listening sessions for families of color, and a couple of professional development days with Creekside staff.
In the spring of 2021, they presented an in-depth ABAR report for MECC which was shared with staff, board, and families, who then worked together on an Equity and Inclusion statement. “We now have this statement on our website with our mission statement as well as in our staff and parent handbooks,” said Estes. “It is something we ask all community member to commit to be at MECC/Creekside.” 
Creekside used a Parent Aware grant to purchase two sets of the AMAZEworks tried and true vetted collection of ABAR books to use in the classroom. The books cover various topics that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and belong (DEIB). 
AMAZEworks did an intensive six-week series workshop with the MECC Board in the summer of 2021. “This allowed the board to experience first hand what the staff and families had been learning about,” stated Estes. 
Professional development with AW continued during the 2021-2022 school year for staff, and workshops were offered for families. “As a school we agreed to spend this year addressing the goals AW had set out for us to become a more welcoming and inclusive community,” Estes said. “We also understood that for all involved, this is and will be a lifelong commitment and journey; that we can never stop learning and growing and becoming more aware.”
As they complete the final steps for the name change, they are continuing anti-bias education (ABE), and have held one community-wide event in-person with AMAZEworks that included staff, families, and board members, with another one planned for the spring.
“We are moving forward with our strategic planning to get a better idea for what we can become,” said Estes. “I have a lot of ideas myself. At the end of the day, we want high quality Montessori education to be accessible to as many children as possible; we still hold true to our mission and only hope with our new name and identity we can continue to do so in an even more welcoming and inclusive way.”