Enza Marzano-Pellegrini built a school centred around excellence, and now she wants to expand it.

The dream to build a great school turned into a reality almost 15 years ago, when a young couple stumbled upon a “For Sale” sign for an 81-year-old, colonial-style home on 13 acres of land. Overlooking the Humber River, the location was perfect to build an academically sound, yet stunning campus surrounded by the natural world, and the Montessori School of Kleinburg was born.

Since the fated July day when Principal Enza Marzano-Pellegrini discovered the house, the Montessori School of Kleinburg has grown exponentially, and her dream is growing with it. The school now houses Grades 1-6, a CASA Program for children under the age of six, as well as a program for toddlers. Many graduates of these programs are pursuing degrees in the likes of engineering, law and science.

Luigi Addante is one of these students. As one of the first graduates of the Montessori School of Kleinburg who recently completed his second year in Ryerson’s Aerospace Engineering program, he says the school taught him responsibility, time management and helped him build confidence. “What I love most about MSK is that it never felt like you’re going to school, it’s like an extended family,” he says.

“People want their kids here,” Marzano-Pellegrini says, adding that there aren’t a lot of other options for exceptional schools in the area. The school has come to be synonymous with the excellence it offers in education, yet, from day one, their vision has remained unchanged.

“The vision has always been to offer a safe, scenic and nurturing environment for the children, to be one of the best Montessori and Ministry-run private schools in the community,” Marzano-Pellegrini says. Looking at the school, it’s clear to see this vision running through their everyday teachings: children play outside amid breathtaking natural scenery and learn in classrooms where exceptional education is at the centre. Because of this success, she says that the Montessori School of Kleinburg will be expanding this summer and next.

“We’re expanding to meet the needs of our growing community,” she says, adding that the space will help accommodate new families wishing to join the school. Because of the limited space now, many children are on waitlists to get into the school. The expansion will see the addition of multiple classrooms, which will serve all areas of the programs offered there. Moving forward, Marzano-Pellegrini hopes this extra space will help her grow other facets of the education the school offers in years to come, including a tutoring program for the community, as well as a resource support program for children with a variety of different needs.

The Montessori School of Kleinburg will hopefully add these to its list of countless accomplishments when it celebrates its 15th anniversary this November — to commemorate the day that Marzano-Pellegrini purchased the house. Some of its many successes include building the “V School” to educate underprivileged youth in Tanzania, a 100 per cent success rate of students being accepted to private schools after the completion of their studies and building an exceptional school that will offer excellence in education for many years.

Marzano-Pellegrini says that she looks forward to growing the school to accommodate more children and the needs of her growing community, a new dream that she will surely accomplish.

10515 Hwy. 27, PO Box 445, Kleinburg, Ont.
905-893-0560 / www.msk2002.com