Orcas Montessori School
School Expansion Outcomes
Increase our capacity from 22 to 26 children
so we can accommodate more families
An extra spacious classroom with more activities available
This will increase the range of works we can offer, and create more work space for each child
A separate eating area which will double as a space to rest or nap
More of our children can attend a full day if they have a place to rest or nap
Our enlarged bathroom will have stalls which will accommodate more than one child at a time
No waiting for the bathroom!
We will have a staff room!
An official place for staff to work, rest and meet
We will have a separate entrance to the office, so that office activity doesn't interrupt the classroom
This will increase efficiency in the office, and prevent distractions and interruptions to the class
School Expansion
Updates
Nov 20 2019
You might have been wondering about the great new stairs outside, which lead up to the apartment above the school...
It is the first step in our project to make room for the addition we will be building on the south side of the building as part of our School Expansion Project
This summer we took care of some much needed improvements to our upstairs apartment including separating our hot water heater and supply as well as separation of some electrical lines preparing for our upcoming construction.
The apartment provides much-needed affordable housing and the income covers our mortgage payment for the school building.
Our new tenant is so happy in the beautiful spacious apartment!
We are also delighted to report that we submitted the plans for our School Expansion Project to San Juan County this past summer, and upon their approval, will open bidding on the project. We expect this to happen within the next few weeks!
Oct 9 2019
Things have been moving slowly behind the scenes for months as we prepare for our upcoming building expansion. Our environmental review is completed and approved and our plans have been drawn up. We have built new stairs to the our upstairs apt so that we can take down the old ones to make way for the addition. We are waiting for final plan review and our building permit should be issued any day now!
We have been working with the community and the Department of Children Youth and families on the logistics of how and where we will hold school during the first phase of the project- the building of the addition which will house over 700 square feet of classroom space along with storage space, and a deck which will house our outdoor classroom with steps down to the backyard. During the summer when school is closed, we plan to complete the remodel of the existing classroom space which will house in addition to an eating and resting area for the children, an office and staff room.
If you are an individual or have a business that can help us with a cash or in kind gift, please contact Teresa Chocano at the school to talk about opportunities for you to help us make this wonderful project come into fruition to benefit Orcas Island families.
June 7 2019
The exciting news is that we are still working out the final details to the plans which we hope to get submitted to the county for permitting by the middle of this month! As soon as this happens we will be looking for contractors to bid on this exciting project! We plan to begin construction late winter/early spring and complete it in time to open our new and improved classroom for the 2020-21 school year!
What will this look like? We are looking forward to an open airy spacious classroom, relocation of the school office and a meeting room/materials prep area. Our new classroom will have double doors going out to a deck and stairs down to the backyard. If you know of a contractor who might be interested, please have them call the school.
While the work is being done, we will have to relocate and are still in search of the right location. It needs to be an open plan space of about 900 square feet with two bathrooms that are only accessible to us during school hours. We of course need access to a kitchen on site so we can continue providing nutritious breakfast, lunch and snacks. We have a couple of potential spaces in mind but are not certain yet so if you know of a space that might fit this description, please let us know!