The board of trustees of the Pioneer Montessori School in Ketchum announced last week that the school has raised approximately $530,000 in its annual fund-raising campaign, the largest amount in the school's history.
The sum includes a $250,000 matching grant from the Pennsylvania-based Annenberg Foundation, as well as multiple major gifts from parents and family foundations. It also includes more than $40,000 raised through various fund-raising events put on by the school throughout the year.
"All of us involved with the school are grateful for the support this campaign has received, especially from our parents," said Michael Browne, president of the board of trustees. "This level of funding strengthens the school financially and will allow for expanded educational and financial aid programs."
Browne also noted that 100 percent of the school's current parents and faculty donated to the campaign.
Last winter, the school was provided the matching grant of up to $250,000 from The Annenberg Foundation, an organization devoted to the advancement of the public well-being through improved communication. The foundation is particularly committed to educational reform in the United States. The Annenberg Foundation also contributed a $7,500 scholarship to the school, separate from its matching grant.
"A very special thank you goes out to The Annenberg Foundation," Browne said. "This matching grant was intended to inspire the school community and focus attention on the bright future for Pioneer Montessori and this terrific educational alternative in the Wood River Valley. The challenge worked."
The school embarks on a fund-raising campaign every year to help cover operating costs and to fund its expansion plans. Growing interest in the Montessori approach to early-childhood education has led the school to increase the size of its building infrastructure to accommodate larger classes, and to open both an elementary and pre-primary program.
The Pioneer Montessori School, a private, nonprofit school established in 1981, is located on Second Avenue at Second Street, in central Ketchum. There are now 79 students enrolled in the pre-primary (18 months-3 years), primary (3-6 years), and elementary programs.
For information on making a tax-deductible contribution to the school, contact Louise Stumph, the chair of the Fundraising Committee, at 726-3909. For information on the school and admissions, contact Ann McAlpin Cain at 726-9060.
