RICHMOND MONTESSORI SCHOOL

As we enter our fourth year of the current strategic plan (2007-2012), we have a great deal to celebrate as a school community. One area of significant action is the Board's successful purchase of the Congregation Or Atid property at 501 North Parham Road. With the approval of Henrico County, we were able to consolidate all these properties and create the pedestrian link between our existing campus as 499 N. Parham and the new property. We now refer to 499 N. Parham as the "South" campus and 501 N. Parham as the "North" campus. We officially launched the use of the Performing Arts Building in April 2010 after many months were invested to bring the building up to the required code for school use. The result is a completely transformed space - a child friendly environment upstairs complete with a new stage and space for student art displays, and dedicated middle school classroom space downstairs.

The Board's Building and Grounds Committee has been hard at work with BCWH Architects. This firm was selected by the board after a thorough Request for Proposal process that included proposals from five local architectural firms. BCWH Architects are charged with helping us create a school campus that weaves existing buildings, new buildings, and green spaces into one exciting plan. BCWH was chosen because of their extensive work with schools and more specifically, their work with smaller, Independent schools. The Building and Grounds Committee also gathered important information and feedback from members of our school community via an e-survey to all parents and staff members in early April 2010.To see a summary of response themes, please click here.

This is just the start. We have a lot of work to do and we will need everyone working together so we may enjoy the “fruits of our labor.” In the end, we will have a beautiful combined Montessori campus with room for our students to grow and prosper. If you have questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Committee Co-Chairs, Rob Davenport or Claudio Colmingnoli. You can reach them by email at bgchair@richmont.org

A snapshot of our activities:
September 2009 – RMS purchased 501 N. Parham campus
October 2009 – February 2010 – Renovations of the Performing Arts Center, North Campus parking lot and the creation of the pedestrian link between the North and South campuses
March 2010 – Henrico County issued RMS the use permit for the Performing Arts Center; Board of Trustees hired BCWH Architects
April 2010 – Building & Grounds Committee initiated a survey of the RMS Community
May 2010 - BCWH Architects visited the RMS Campus
July – August 2010 - Storm water and Transportation Studies of the campus; Preliminary Plan of Development meeting with Henrico County, BCWH Architects, civil and traffic engineers
November 2010 – Conceptual Master Campus Plan adopted by the Board of Trustees
February 2011 - Soil Boring Study
March 2011 – Board of Trustees approved the Building & Grounds recommendation that Kjellstrom-Lee be hired as the contractor for the pre-construction phase of the campus expansion