August 7, 2023

Dear Montgomery Families,

“I’m on a mission…to explore!” - Buzz Lightyear

One of the reasons I love summer is because it gives children the opportunity to explore. At Montgomery, we know that being an “explorer” is an essential mindset for growth and development year round. Daily play, asking questions, testing hypotheses, and opportunities to safely step outside of comfort zones are all forms of exploration woven into a Monty school experience.

I’m proud to share that we will open the year by welcoming students with a grand opening of our new facility in the lower level of the W. Perry Gresh academic building. This space was intentionally designed to nurture creativity, promote curiosity, and ignite a love of learning in new ways. The Design and Fabrication Labs (“D-Lab” and “Fab Lab” for short) will be the new home for our design thinking and maker activities, in an environment that inspires exploration and imagination. The Collaboration Hub (or just “The Hub”) is a multi-use space for everything from student presentations and performances to exhibitions and creative project displays. Together with the J. Bennett Hill library located on the upper level, we consider the new spaces part of Montgomery’s transformative Innovation Center.

Please plan to join us at our first all-school Chapel in Bell Hall on Friday, September 8th, which we’ll conclude with a student parade to officially open the new facility! You’ll also be hearing more from the school about how you can join members of our community in supporting this new space. Be on the lookout - we hope you’ll be a part of it with us!

Another exciting exploration the school itself will engage in over the coming year is our strategic thinking process. As those of you who were able to join our “Imagine 2040” sessions last year know, our leadership team is always thinking about and planning for the future. I’ll be keeping you updated as our teachers, administration, and board of trustees continue that process, checking in for more feedback along the way. Montgomery is a beautiful and dynamic school for our children today, and the strategic pillars process is about keeping our eyes on the horizon to be strong for the future. I look forward to sharing that exploration with you as it unfolds.

And, of course, even explorers need seasoned guides. Montgomery’s educators are experts in teaching, learning, and leading. It is my pleasure to introduce new community members who you’ll quickly come to know for their vision and skills.

Michele Blanck will be leading a new Pre-Kindergarten room this year. Michele is a highly experienced and creative teacher whose previous teaching experiences include The Episcopal Academy, Zion Lutheran Preschool, and most recently West Chester Friends School. She holds a BS in Early Childhood Education from West Chester University.
Alison Jussaume is joining Montgomery as a Middle School Language Arts teacher. She comes to us from Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, FL where she has been teaching English and writing at the high school level. Alison has an undergraduate degree in English and Political Science from the University of Vermont and is a licensed Physical Therapist as well.
Jessie Kasiguran will be the assistant in our new Pre-Kindergarten classroom, joining Michele Blanck. Jessie is well known to many in our community already as she has been working in our SALT afternoons program. She earned her undergraduate degree from Messiah College and has run a home childcare program in addition to many creative and youth focused ventures.
Lindsey Poinsett will lead one of our second grade classrooms. In addition to second grade, she has taught at multiple grade levels over the past 14 years at Saint Edmund’s Academy in Wilmington, DE. She holds a BS in Elementary Teacher Education from the University of Delaware and a Masters in Education with a focus in Reading from Wilmington University.
Yutao Song Porter is our new Lower School Music teacher, following Mrs. Oh who informed us as the summer began that she had taken a position closer to her home. Yutao is affectionately and appropriately known as “Mrs. Song” to her students. She comes to us most recently from Holy Child at Rosemont School but is also a truly global educator who has taught and conducted in Hungary and Beijing. Her own training includes an undergraduate and graduate degree in music education from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

Thank you for helping us welcome all of these talented professionals to Montgomery. They join a team of outstanding educators which makes me proud to be among them.

Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear a lot more from the division heads and your teachers about the year to come. We have been busy exploring new ideas and reaffirming what matters most. One of those areas you'll hear more about in an upcoming email is our approach to healthy eating and nutrition education. Helping our explorers to have healthy habits will help them go even further in their journey! As part of that effort, a nutritionist from our partners at Metz dining will be on campus for Welcoming Day on August 31st.

Thanks for reading to the end! We’ll see you on Welcoming Day…and beyond! Let the exploration begin!

With warm regards,

Tom McManus

Head of School