History often reveals that legacies are born of humble beginnings and human desires to make the world a better place in which to live and nurture our families. Amare Montessori is the brainchild of two dedicated educators and parents, Beth Tejeda and Jaime Yeager, who decided in 2014 to pursue opening a nationally accredited and authentic Montessori school in Clarksville, TN. Armed with determination, they worked diligently with Montessori Academy, in Brentwood, Tennessee, to open in August 2015 as a satellite school under the umbrella of the Tennessee non-profit Montessori Academy, Inc.
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Jaime and Beth met in the early fall of 2014. Beth, with a background in public education, was homeschooling her four daughters and seeking information on opening a Montessori school. Jaime, with nearly two decades of teaching and administrative experience in Montessori schools, also desired a local Montessori school for her youngest son to attend. Many meetings and brainstorming sessions ensued. After building a plan to raise start-up funds, conducting a demographics study of Montgomery County, and hosting an interest meeting with prospective families, the duo approached the Executive Director at Montessori Academy in Brentwood to pitch a partnership.
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Many more brain-storming sessions later, Amare was official, as a satellite campus to Montessori Academy’s 46-year-old history. Rather rapidly, staff was hired, a location was secured, enrollment applications were printed, and classroom materials were purchased. It was decided that the school would open with three classrooms: Toddler, Primary, and a combined 6-12 Elementary. Even before a campus was secured, staff was interviewed at the local public library.

These interviews included deep discussions on the importance that would be placed on Montessori training beginning immediately for those who did not hold a MACTE approved certification. Materials were secured from across the US. A near complete Primary classroom was purchased from a retired Montessori-an in New York state. Elementary materials were shipped from a homeschooling family in Hawaii just before they relocated to Indonesia. Toddler materials were procured from various Montessori suppliers.

From June to August 2015, parents and staff spent endless hours, day after day, volunteering to prepare the school for a mid-August opening day. Walls were demolished, windows were added, every vertical surface—inside and out—was painted, a custom play structure was installed, picnic tables were assembled, doors were hung, a raised garden bed was constructed, flooring was laid, child sized toilets and sinks installed, landscaping was revamped, and several days were spent in assembly line production of Elementary shelving, spearheaded by a parent volunteer.
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Of equal importance, friendships were discovered. We began to see these words of Dr. Montessori’s come alive: We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. Bonds between members of the staff; staff and parents; and parents and other parents, were being forged through the physical labor that was needed to prepare an entire campus for our first group of 41 students, ages 18 months to 11 years.

The spirit of community that was birthed in those pre-opening endeavors has continued to flourish. We have found that a community spirit embodies our work at Amare, with parents and staff investing in hands-on, visionary, and financial ways for the betterment of the school. Annually for the following four summers of operation, we renovated space to accommodate our growing enrollment—a second Primary, a dedicated After School space, splitting the 6-12 Elementary program into two spaces and levels (“Lower” and “Upper”), adding space for Student Support Services and a staff break room, and renovating a rented space next door for our Creative Arts program.
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Since the opening of its doors on August 14, 2015, it has been the mission of Amare and its staff to foster a love for lifelong learning in an authentic Montessori community. Amare’s vision is that each student will become an independent, confident, motivated learner, and a responsible community member because of the dynamic partnership between students, families, and staff.