Exceptional Christian Education for Exceptional Children

This has been a relatively peaceful week; I feel your prayers and thank you.  Not alot has changed in the last few days, but I believe we are on course.  We are still awaiting news that our "teacher a" will be able to work part time at her school and part time for us.  We need to be ready to sign a lease on the building within the next few days.  We are working on a packet to submit when we apply for accreditation.  We cannot be fully accredited until we are operational, but we just need a letter from the consultant stating that we are in the process.

We filed the papers for incorporation, so we are official!  Montessori Children's House of North Forsyth.  We almost have all of our board members--so excited for the great team God has assembled, and soooo ready to have a few more people reviewing and editing my work.  I got the rough draft of the 501(c)(3) application and thankful that the company who filed the incorporation papers will also assist in completing this 28 page form and file it!  We need to tweak the rough draft of the by-laws, but that should be very doable, especially with the assistance of some talented Board members!

A friend is working on our logo.  I took the old one I had in 1980 and she is going to modernize it a little.  I found the jump drive containing all the documents I created at my last job (Thank you, Jesus!) including the Staff Handbook, the Parent Handbook, and quite a collection of forms.  This is making my task sooo much easier.  In about 2 hours I had the Parent Handbook ready for Board review.  I will work on the Staff Handbook this weekend.

Today in Bible Study, (Beth Moore/Esther) Beth had us think about our greatest fears and how they can be so crippling if we let the enemy keep threatening us with the worst case scenario.  She challenged us to say "If (worst case scnario) happens, then GOD will still be on His throne and still take care of us!  I believe now, more than ever that we are called to open this school at this time and in this place for His Glory, IF this is not the case, He is still God and we will remain in His Grip.
Praying expectantly

Getting closer, but still a long way to go

It has been a few days and sooooo much has happened.  First of all let me say I can tell you all are praying and I really appreciate it!  Of course someone out there is praying for me to have patience, and when I find out who it is they are dead meat! :)

There have also been a few questions, and since I often get ahead of myself let me clarify the deadlines we are facing:  Because we have a very specific target audience--children who have been in the public system and have a current IEP because they can get free scholarship money to attend "eligible" schools--we must be an eligible school to insure a full class.  In order to be an eligible school we have to have our completed application in to the school board by April 1.  The application has to include the Certificate of Occupancy of the space in which we will be meeting, the resume's of the teachers, the proof that we are in the process of accreditation, and proof of financial viability.  There are many components to this process and they are all lined up like dominoes!

Now for this week's report:  we still do not know if we can lease the space we want, but it is looking much more favorable in our direction.  I spent some serious time with the landlords and the fire marshall this week, and I think as soon as I can go to the landlords with a real offer, they will accept it.

So disappointed that we might not get "teacher a", but trying to be open to whatever God wants, I put a small ad online to try and find a teacher.  I got three replies--2 international and one local.  I met with the one who is local and found her to be delightful!  She does not have an elementary ed degree, but does have a BS in liberal arts with a minor in psychology.  She has home schooled, worked in a couple of Christian elementary schools, and done extensive tutoring.  She is not Montessori trained, but has always been intrigued by Montessori and is willing to take the online course.  Her philosophy is very similar to mine and I think she would be a great fit!  I still think we need "teacher a" because she does have an elementary ed degree with a specialty in special ed and almost nine years experience.

Now for the really exciting part--if I hired the lady who is local, "teacher b", full time and could get "teacher a" part time I think it would work.  "Teacher a" and I talked about this option and she said if that were possible she would know with clarity that this is what God wants her to do.  She has really struggled with this decision as she believes to strongly in what we are trying to do and wants to be a part of it, but she is one year away from her long time goal of being vested and does not feel God wants her to give that up.  At any rate, she spoke with her principal to see if she would hire her part time next year.  This would allow her to complete her required 10th year in the system to be vested, and also let her work with us.  At first the principal said "no", but then said, "Let me work on it"!!! So needless to say we are so excited that this could be the win-win for everyone that we have been praying for.

The best part of all is that after several stressful days and nights, both "teacher a" and I have a peace that God is working things out and He has reminded us how trustworthy He is.  We still can't totally trace His hand in every detail, but we do trust His heart.  We are more confident than ever in the vision for helping children and offering exceptional Christian education for exceptional children at this time and in this place.

Thank you so much for your prayers--please continue to pray for God to guide each step and for us to clearly see what He wants us to do.  And if you are the one praying for us to have patience, please--quit it!!! :)

Decisions, decisions

We had a great weekend in Charleston with family and I let my mind relax a little as I continued to ask God to clearly reveal the next steps, if any.  We have had some very positive and encouraging things to happen.

Most excitedly (is that a word?), is the fact that Sunday afternoon I got a call from the owner of the place we originally wanted to lease.  As it turns out, the church is meeting in the space, but no contracts have been signed, and the owners really feel our school would be a better fit, so they wanted to know if we were still interested!!  This is the end unit of the building where hundreds of children with special needs come for therapy sessions each week.  They offer physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc.  One of the owners who is Ryan's therapist, told me this week she has at least six students who are very interested in enrolling!  Even better news is that they will do the renovations necessary to meet the fire code and although I would need to sign the lease soon so that I could get the Certificate of Occupancy before April 1, there is a possibility the church would continue to meet there until I needed to move in, July 1st.  This would give the church additional time to find another location and would help me as paying rent for 5 months before we have any income is a bummer.

I also have heard from six of the eight people we asked to be on the Board and five have agreed to do so!  The team is looking great as there is a diverse mix of people with varied expertise.

A lady called me and asked if I would be interested in doing some infant/toddler Montessori teacher education for her.  This would be an on going, part time job doing what I love!  It would be a way to earn some serious money for the school and would be very doable as I have done it several times before and have what I need--God provides!

The only real obstacle, and it is huge, is that our original teacher still feels she cannot commit to this.  I am very saddened as I know she would be perfect for the job.  I have listed the job through a couple of Montessori job search websites and spent a couple of hours reading resume's.  I emailed one girl who showed promise, but I do not have any peace about hiring someone I do not know.  I have spent a pretty sleepless night praying and thinking.

It is critical that when we open, we are a huge success for several reasons:  most importantly because this a venture of faith.  I know that God is directing all of this and His name is all over it in every way.  He must be glorified in all that is done.  It is also critical for children as it is a big step for parents to remove them from a public system, even a broken one, and move them to our school.  We must make a huge difference in their lives, and that responsibility lies directly on the shoulders of the lead teacher.  I know that this has been a difficult decision for "teacher A" but I am confused that she is getting one message, to stay where she is, and I am getting an opposite message:  she needs IS the teacher.

Our immediate prayer request is complete clarity.  I will need to give an answer regarding the building this week and I cannot sign a lease without the right teacher in place.  If I do not sign the lease, they will offer it to the church and that space is lost.  I am also running out of time to meet the April 1 deadline, so PLEASE take a few minutes now and ask God to clearly shut this down or to make His will abundantly clear as to who is to teach for us if we are to open this fall.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

Prayer

This was on Ragamuffin Soul's blog yesterday, but it so captures where my heart is today that I stole it.  I hope you will have the courage to pray this over whatever situation you find yourself and I really hope you will pray it for me.


My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Today has been a difficult day.  Several important things have changed and that could have a major impact on the ability to open the school this fall.  I am trying to not be discouraged, as I must trust this is all part of His plan, but I am confused and not quite sure what to do next.  Let me elaborate.

First of all, as I said at the beginning, I have been preparing for some time to be ready in case God leads us to open a school again, but I have not tried to manipulate anything. So, when Ryan's teacher said she had been giving great thought to leaving her job and helping me provide an environment for him and other kids in his situation, I felt this was perhaps a nudge from God.  Then when so many other things feel into place so easily, it seemed apparent this was THE time.  I (and many of you, thank you) have been faithfully praying for God's leading each step of the way, and I trust He is leading, even today.

Today, our teacher told me she has decided not to move ahead with us, and although she believes in what we want to do, she is unable to be our teacher.  While I certainly do not ever want anyone to do something unless that is what they feel God wants them to do, I thought we were past this.  I am saddened on many levels because if she is not the one, then the chances of some of the other student's at Ryan's school who we had hoped would join us, probably will not.  This means that we will need to look harder for students and more importantly that Ryan will not have any of his friends move with him next year.  I am struggling with understanding this since we are well into the process.

Secondly, we are facing an approaching deadline that could be very difficult.  In order to have the school eligible to receive the scholarship funds we must have our completed application in no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 1, 2010.  There is one part of the application that seems impossible at this point:  we must have a signed Certificate of Occupancy.  This gives us less than 2 months for the architect and the site engineer to finish their drawings, the owner/builder to bid the renovations, the bank to approve our mortgage, and all of the work to be completed!  The really frustrating thing is that the meeting to approve our application will not take place until May 13th, so the application will sit there for 6 weeks, but we cannot submit it unless it is totally complete on April 1--no exceptions.

So......we have already paid the architect a sizable deposit--do we have him just stop?  We are not sure where to begin to recruit a teacher and have no one "in the wings".  What does this mean?  Is God putting the brakes on this all together or is this a test to see if we are willing to hang tough?  I really don't know, and would really appreciate your prayers.

Did I mention that we sent letters to all potential Board members this weekend?  We also completed most of the paper work to file for incorporation--do we go ahead and submit it, along with the $1500 fee?  I am just not sure and would really appreciate clarity.  Also, as a side note, I almost didn't share all this lest we appear as a failure before we even get off the ground, but that would seem to really be hypocritical; we have shared all of the good things, and so it seems we must also share the bad and the ugly.  This is where we are--sure wish we had the Board of advisors now!!

February 4th

Thirty years ago today I opened Montessori Children's House on Merritt Island--what a long time ago--I don't FEEL that old.  In some ways it seems like just yesterday.  I had worked for my Bible College professor in Kansas in the little school she opened.  I saw all the work that she did and I spent two years getting to the little church building before dawn on Monday morning to set up the school.  Then I stayed late on Friday to pack it all up.  Those were long days, but I was young and it worked.  The children taught me so much and my professor, Betty, taught me so much.  When I moved back to FL I was sad to leave, but vowed to never open my own school--it was just too much work!

When I got back to Florida I worked several part time jobs, including doing some substitute teaching in some of the local elementary schools.  I saw some amazing teachers and some precious children.  I also saw many worn out, over worked and underpaid teachers who had no joy.  The "system" had drained from them the ideals and dreams that first inspired them to teach.  They were not bad people, they just lost their motivation to give their best and it was the children who paid the price.  Day after day I saw children whose eyes were once filled with curiosity and excitement gradually glaze over and they lost their self confidence.  I remember the day I came home and told my parents, "Even if I do everything wrong, I can do better than this."

Seventeen years ago today I had the honor of beginning my Montessori birth to three training--that was life changing.  Rachel was just a toddler herself and I learned so much.  Since that time I have not only opened several infant and toddler classes.  I have also been blessed to teach adult students some of the amazing things I learned.  This day early in February has significance for me in my Montessori career.

I believe opening a Montessori for older children who learn differently is what we are supposed to be doing at this time.  I don't have all the answers, we don't have all the funds, and I am not totally convinced that we have found the location.  I do know that there are children, my son included, whose eyes are beginning to glaze over and who are losing their self confidence, and even if I do everything wrong, I can do better than this, and I must.

Yesterday was a very busy day!  I talked to my accountant to discuss getting on with filing our incorporation papers and filing for our 501 (c) 3 status with the IRS.  I knew this was an involved process and was prepared to put in the time necessary; I did not know how expensive it is!  For Pete's sake we are non profit, that means we don't have an extra $100,000 lying around to fund this project!!  Well, it is not that much, but it will cost about $2500 for him to do the work and then the IRS can take a year to tell you if they accept your application.  He suggested I do more internet research before I contract with him.

To make a long story short, I spent several hours researching, viewing sample bylaws--the writing of which is a big part of the process, and praying about approaching potential Board members.  I learned alot and think we will use a different, faster, a little less expensive, service to incorporate, but we must do that today! We also decided we are not ready to hire the grant coaching/writing service yet.  They, too are expensive, but until we have our status approved by the IRS our chances of getting funding are very slim.

Edgar and I talked again about how much more work this is to rent and renovate the house as opposed to locating a place to lease that would require much less work.  We feel the house is the best location, but determined to drive around a bit more and just look for a place to lease.  We then reviewed our commitment to this venture and our motive for doing it.

It is true that I feel this is my "life's work" and I have a strong passion for doing this well--I also have a basement filled with Montessori materials that really need to be used!  The real urgency for this though is our son.  Ryan is an amazing little boy whom we adopted late in our life.  Most of our friends have grandchildren his age, but we love him so much and are so grateful to have him!  He is struggling in school and I feel we can, and must do better for him.  We don't care if he makes great grades, we just want him to reach his God-given potential and feel great about himself.  He is on the Autism spectrum but we refuse to let that define him.  He learns differently and we praise God for those differences.  He should not be forced to remain in a system that requires he be measured against children who learn conventionally.  Scripture teaches that we should "train up a child the way he should go..."  The idea being that we should give support and structure to the personality, and development God intended.  He has two more years of elementary school and we must to everything in our power to make sure he can be successful.

Okay, I will get down from my soapbox, but I say this to say we are absolutely committed to opening a program this fall and are confident God will show us where it is to be and how we will do it.  For now I am working on the bylaws and a letter to invite Board members who share our passion and are willing to help us accomplish it.

One last note--the owner of the 7 acres called me to see what we thought about the property.  He also mentioned that a church was looking at it too!!!!!  I asked God what in the world He was thinking, (God and I go way back; He is not offended when I question Him).  I am reminded:  one step at a time, one step at a time.   This post should give you some specifics to pray about, and if any of you have suggestions/experience regarding the non profit filing and bylaws I would love to hear from you!

Some professional assistance

As it turns out the little house around the corner is charming.  It does need some renovations but it is almost across the street from the elementary school, which means advertising to our target audience would be greatly simplified.  It is also zoned correctly, sits on an acre of land, and is about a mile from my house---sweet.

Today I spent most of the day with the architect, the fire inspector, the folks at planning and zoning, and the realtor.  This house is very doable, but we had to hire an architect to draw plans as the house was built in 1936, and we will need to add a bathroom and open up a few walls.   We will also need to hire an engineer for the site plan.  The owners of the house are custom builders and will give us a bid on doing the required work.  We are hoping they will do most of the work at cost so that they can sell the house and we can include the cost of renovations in the mortgage--feel free to add any and all of that to your prayer lists for us!

I believe that private schools should be accountable to an outside agency.  The preschools I have directed or owned have always been licensed and often won awards.  We want to have our elementary program accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission.  This will not only give credibility to our program, but more importantly, it will allow us to accept SB10 Scholarship money from our parents.  This will not only be of great value to our parents, but will virtually assure us a full class.

We moved to GA in the summer of 2006 and in the spring of 2007 our Govenor signed SB10 into law; he signed it on my birthday. :)  This is designed for children with special needs who have been in the public school system and have an active IEP for at least one year.  Should they decide to enroll their child in a private school, they are eligible for scholarship funds from the state--funds which will continue through the 12th grade!  The interesting thing is that schools must qualify to receive the scholarships, but they do NOT have to do anything to accommodate the needs of the student!!  In order to qualify, the school must be accredited and complete all of the paperwork for the scholarships correctly.  We can qualify as a non-traditional program, but by July 1, 2013 we must have a campus that is at least 4 acres.

So, while the architect was here we walked the 7 acres that we found two weeks ago--did I not mention that yet?  Oh yeah, God is just showing Himself faithful in so many ways.  We were driving on a road near our shop that we travel all the time, but just noticed a little "for sale by owner" sign. The 7 acres are about 5 miles from the house and the owner will finance the property! Since we know we have only 3 years to build on at least 4 acres, this was an unexpected blessing!  It is in a great location and the architect walked it today with us and felt was a great property--flat enough but with some great trees!  Not sure how we are going to finance two properties at once, but we are taking this one step at a time.

Lastly we are supposed to sign with a grant writer/coach tonight.  It is exciting, scary, fun, and amazing watching God orchestrate this amazing adventure!  Thanks for your prayers!