Learn about Charles Towne Montessori in Charleston, S.C.  Click the image or link.

The award, called the “Andrew C. Brack Leadership Award,” periodically will recognize “a member within the Charles Towne Montessori community whose leadership has been transformative and who has mobilized and unified people, institutions or causes to improve the quality, condition and performance of the school.”  Brack, pictured at left, was the first honoree.

“For years, Andy Brack has been the leader that the award describes,” said current board chair and Charleston CPA Steve Hiott, pictured above.  “As it says on the award, the new Brack Leadership Award ‘honors visionaries who have empowered constituencies, strengthened participation and inspired movements.’  Andy has been the visionary that has helped our school move to the next level.”

Head of School Edward Jackson thanked Brack, who stepped down as board chair in December after six years of service, for helping the school to become more stable and more sustainable.

“His leadership had a significant impact on how our internationally-recognized school has become stronger and better through the years,” Jackson said.  “As the only school in South Carolina with an international-accredited Montessori curriculum, we’re going to miss Andy’s leadership and day-to-day guidance.”

During a December convocation of the school community as it let out for the holidays, Brack thanked board members for the honor and for their service through the years.

“It’s a tremendous honor to get the award, but to have it named after me leaves me, a professional opinion-haver, almost speechless,” Brack said.

Charles Towne Montessori, located in the West Ashley part of Charleston, provides a comprehensive education program to educate children from infancy through the elementary years.  It is the only school in South Carolina that has the rigorous international certification from the Association Montessori International.

Artist in residence and former School of the Arts instructor, Jaycie Rappold will lead the class in a lesson about Pollock’s life and his art. The lesson will entail large canvases and hand thrown paint in the style of the artist himself as well as a lesson in Abstract Expressionism, the movement for which Pollock was known.

Although the students do not really understand what the project will entail at this time, teachers and administrators are very enthusiastic about the endeavor.

The plan includes hanging the canvases in the administrative office for display. These can be viewed at the upcoming Open House and Fall Festival that will be held at the school on Saturday, November 10^th.  The Open House will run from 10 to 11 am and Fall Festival Fun will go from 11 am to 2 pm.

Visit the school from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for a tour and information about our programs.

The Festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with games, food, jump castles, prizes, cake walk, live music, face painting, crafts and vendors.

The vice prime minister and visitors, given a tour by Board Chair Andy Brack and Head of School Edward Jackson, said her the former Soviet state, now a big ally of the United States, was reforming its educational system and was looking to see if Montessori could work in Georgia. 

“It was clear that the visit to Charles Towne Montessori, the only internationally-accredited Montessori in South Carolina, was of tremendous value to Vice Prime Minister Tkeshelashvili,” Brack said. “Not only did she and her team learn about the authentic Montessori experience from our highly-trained professional staff, but she was able to interact with some of the children and see how Montessori education fosters a love of learning and the kinds of critical thinking skills that are vital for the 21st century economy.”

The vice prime minister’s visit also captured the attention of the local daily newspaper, The Post and Courier, which published a detailed story about the visit. Click here for the full story. Here’s an excerpt:

On Saturday, Ekaterine “Eka” Tkeshelashvili toured Charles Towne Montessori School along with Tamar Tchelidze and Mirian Popkhadze, who work at the Georgian embassy in Washington, D.C. However, the side trip to the Lowcountry had as much to do with visiting friends who own La Pizzeria in Mount Pleasant, one of whom is from Georgia, as it did with anything else.

 

Since Tkeshelashvili and Tchelidze also are interested in starting a Montessori school in the former Soviet state, they heard about Charles Towne and wanted to visit. A few students also came to school on a day off to demonstrate a typical learning day.

 

“I’m glad to have time to visit the school,” said Tkeshelashvili, who is 35 years old. “We are reforming schools in Georgia and trying to provide more diverse opportunities. Montessori is a good brand, and we wanted to see how we could apply it in Georgia.”

 

Edward Jackson, the head of school for Charles Towne, stressed to them the benefits of choosing Association Montessori Internationale certification because of the more extensive training and global scope of AMI. Charles Towne is one of 68 AMI-certified schools in the nation and the only one in South Carolina.

 

The Georgians also were welcomed to the school by David Shimp, vice president of program development for Maybank Industries, who has done extensive business in Georgia and other countries in eastern Europe.

 

Shimp, also an honorary counsel for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, said the country shares more things in common with the Southeast besides the same name of a neighboring state to South Carolina.

 

The country, which has the same land mass as the Palmetto State, is very independent and capitalist, having endured decades of Soviet communist rule.

 

Tkeshelashvili agrees with Shimp about the commonality with the South and was thankful for the invitations to attend the conventions to witness the process and forge partnerships.

CTM offers broad guidance: We accept children to receive Montessori guidance from the time they’re 12 months old and continue outstanding, personalized education through age 12. By offering a focused, long-term educational program, children receive maximum benefits of a Montessori education. See “Our videos” in the Media section on the navigation bar.

CTM has outstanding programs: Charles Towne Montessori focuses on helping children develop in multiple ways by integrating Spanish, music, art and physical education into traditional Montessori guidance. See “Our programs” in the Prospective Parents section in the navigation bar.

CTM is convenient for parents: Not only do we provide convenient before-school and after-school programs to provide flexibility for working parents, we are among the few schools that continue Montessori programs and lessons before and after school.

CTM involves parents: The school takes special efforts to involve parents in a multitude of special learning activities, such as our annual Fall Festival, holiday program, spring musical, annual International Celebration and our recognized Holiday Shop where students shop for special holiday gifts for family members.

– A parent at Charles Towne Montessori

– A parent at Charles Towne Montessori

CTM students in the elementary class (grades 1-6) and primary classes (ages 3-6) have been practicing their roles for weeks for “Persephone,” which was written by former CTM teacher Sanford Jones, one of the world’s top composers of operas for children.

“Not only are we celebrating our school’s 40th year with this performance of ‘Persephone,’ but we’re celebrating more than 25 years of operatic compositions by one of our former teachers,” said Head of School and co-director Edward Jackson. “He’s one of the world’s foremost composers of children’s operas and we’re please he’ll join us for this performance.”

In this operatic rendering of a Greek myth of separation and reunion, the Lord of the Underworld, Hades, abducts Persephone. Demeter, Persephone’s mother and the goddess of growing things, is grief-stricken and no longer tends her garden. The Earth then becomes dry and barren. Only an intervention by Zeus restores the heroine to her family.

“Our students are learning an enormous amount in the production of ‘Persephone,’” Jackson said. “In addition to uncovering the world of ancient Greece and its myths, they are learning hands-on lessons about responsibility and teamwork. They’re learning how to be confident in presenting themselves. And they’re getting key lessons related to music and drama that will enhance their abilities to communicate effectively in the future.”

The public is invited to attend the children’s opera. Tickets are $10 for adults. Children 12 and under are admitted for free. The performance, which will last more than an hour, will be at the Scottish Rite Center, 1051 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Charleston.

Co-directors are Jackson and CTM teacher Lynn Newman. Two outside actresses will play key roles. Local soprano Esther Williams will play Demeter, Persephone’s mother. Persephone will be played by Tori Newman, a student at the School of the Arts. The accompanist is pianist Esther Ablonczy.