LEARNING AT MONTESSORI — Within a Montessori environment, teachers are referred to as guides, observing and monitoring children’s abilities and tendencies, showing them the next thing in each area of education. Whether the learning activity is academic or a practical life skill, the children are empowered to pursue that topic, to explore it and then to go back to that work whenever they like. Some of these activities can include assembling a decanomial or having a toddler string beads. Decanomials are a set of squares used in Montessori education to help children understand multiplication and algebra concepts. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — Nestled within two century-old buildings on Maryland Avenue, in the heart of the Labelle neighborhood, something transformative is happening.

It isn’t just the sound of children’s laughter. Nor is it only the diligent buzz of a classroom in motion.

It is the sound of barriers breaking.

When Hilltop Montessori School opened its doors in October 2018, it began with a humble footprint: Two students and a vision held firmly by co-founders Thomas and Noëlle Crowe. Today, that vision has blossomed into a vibrant educational community of 41 students, ranging from toddlers to elementary-aged children, all thriving under a philosophy that values the person as opposed to a test score.

For many, the word Montessori conjures images of exclusive, wealthy districts. But for the team at Hilltop, the mission is the exact opposite.

“Our purpose is to make Montessori a possibility for families who want it, regardless of income,” stated Thomas Crowe, the school’s elementary guide. “We want to be an asset and an agent of improvement for the Labelle neighborhood. Montessori isn’t just about teaching subjects — it’s about helping children learn how to be effective and fully capable persons in society.”

However, this approach is backed by more than just passion.

A 2017 study by the University of Virginia highlighted that Montessori programs can effectively eliminate the achievement gap. Students from lower-income families achieve at the same high rate as their wealthier peers, largely due to the development of “executive functioning,” which is the ability to focus, learn how to learn and take ownership of one’s own education without needing an adult to give permission.

The journey to where the school stands today was paved with undeniable circumstances. While Noëlle has served as the primary guide since the beginning, Thomas’s path to the classroom was unexpected.

After 12 years as a marketing professional at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a sudden vacancy in 2021 led him to step in as a classroom assistant.

EXPERIMENTING — Six-year-olds at the Hilltop Montessori School in Steubenville performed a science experiment together as part of a learning project. In Montessori, children are given the tools, space and guidance to dive into a subject, learn how to learn, learn how to help others, learn how to focus and learn they can do and develop things through executive functioning. -- Contributed

“That year was eye-opening,” he recalled. “I had zero previous experience with Montessori, but I fell absolutely in love with the method. I volunteered to be the guide until we found someone qualified, and by November, I decided to go in for the full training myself.”

Now a fully trained Association Montessori International guide, Thomas joins a rare group. “Beyond what I love about what I do, something I love even more is watching the children learn together,” Thomas explained. “I love watching a child who is more capable on a given subject invite a child who is still learning to come work on something to show what they’ve learned. I love watching children explore and learn something together. I love watching them puzzle through it and realize the solution to their puzzle together. I love watching students take on a challenge and challenge each other in a free-flowing and large-format environment where they are not constrained by desks, text books and a teacher’s lesson plans.”

Hilltop is one of only two schools in the state to insist on authentic AMI training, a certification founded by Maria Montessori to ensure the method’s integrity.

Walking through the halls of Hilltop, you will not find traditional grade levels.

You will not see rows of desks.

MAKING THE PIECES FIT — Some of the learning activities performed at the Hilltop Montessori School include focusing on sentence analysis and having students put together maps of various continents, including Asia, as shown in this particular classroom setting. -- Contributed

Instead, you will find guides who are observing children of mixed ages working together.

“Grouping children by age robs them of the opportunity to learn from those older than them or to teach those younger,” Thomas stated. “We don’t grade assignments because grades are a false incentive. We ask children if they are satisfied with their own work. The result is a child who has command of a subject because they desire to know it, not because of an external payoff.”

The curriculum is as diverse as the students.

On any given day, a child might move from learning the formula for the volume of a cylinder to identifying the parts of a flower, practicing calligraphy, or exploring the history of the American Revolution.

Future plans include gardens, an outdoor workspace and the launch of an adolescent program for students ages 12 to 18.

Hilltop’s presence extends far beyond the classroom.

Whether it is the students singing at the Steubenville Nutcracker Village opening night, or the “Children’s Corner” at the corner of Fourth and Market streets providing free crafts and hot cocoa, the school is woven into the fabric of the city.

However, providing this high-level education on a bare-bones budget requires constant creativity and community support.

Rose Archibeque, who has three sons at the school, said, “Hilltop Montessori is a beautiful place where children are respected and treasured.”

“This is the second year we’ve had our kids attending Hilltop Montessori, and we feel incredibly lucky to have it in our neighborhood,” stated Madeline Stutzman, whose children attend the school. “While we love getting to see our kids grow and learn, my husband and I also appreciate the little community that comes with it and the opportunities that allow us, as the parents, to help the school in very hands-on ways.”

Emily Chapman is a mother of three children who attend the school.

Chapman commented, “As a Hilltop parent, there are so many things about the school that I love, including the individualized attention my three children get, the freedom they have to move at their own pace — physically and intellectually, the focus on the whole person, the absence of screens, the commitment to making Montessori affordable for everyone. As a LaBelle resident, what I love most is walking to school with my kids and seeing other families do the same. I’ve lived in LaBelle for the better part of 25 years and remember when the old Roosevelt school was still open on Belleview. It was so sad when the school closed and the kids went away. The neighborhood felt emptier without families walking to and from school and kids playing outside at recess. Hilltop has changed that. When school is in session, there are children and parents and laughter and so much joy on that block of Maryland Avenue. It is a blessing to see the old neighborhood coming back to life and to get to be a part of it with my own children.”

Because the school does not qualify for EdChoice and receives no state funding, it relies on donors and fundraisers.

“The school survives through the grace of God, through the generosity of a handful of very generous donors and through a very bare bones budget which relies on Noëlle and me just doing many functions that most schools pay someone to do — we are paid to be teachers, and our salaries are lower than a typical Montessori teacher salary in Ohio,” Thomas stated.

“We are not for any other role we fulfill, not even Noëlle as director. We get no money from the state, nor any regular donations or grants from any civic or religious organization. We charge a modest tuition which some of our families are able to pay in full. Nearly all of our families are on some level of tuition reduction assistance, which we fundraise for. We have received some grants from private entities for specific physical plant projects, and some for scholarships. We have some very generous donors who have supported our work, but most of those are through families associated with the school.”

“The Mardi Gras Gala is our single biggest annual fundraising event,” Thomas added. “We rely on its success to support our operations.”

The community will soon have that chance to show its support for this mission during the school’s eighth-annual Mardi Gras Gala, scheduled to take place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 14 at the St. Francis Center in Follansbee. The center is located at 805 Lee Road.

Created in 2019 as a way to “throw one heck of a party” to introduce the tiny school to the city, the gala has become Hilltop’s most vital lifeline.

Attendees can expect an evening of New Orleans flair, featuring live Jazz music by a trio from Duquesne University, dancing, an authentic New Orleans food buffet prepared by Jim DeMundo of the St. Francis Center and an open bar.

Silent and Chinese auctions will take place, along with a lottery ticket tree.

Festivities will include the crowning of the Mardi Gras king and queen, beads, masks, a chuck-a-luck dice game, a trivia game door prize and a 50/50 drawing.

Tickets for the 50/50 drawing can be purchased online at the cost of $5 per ticket or five tickets for $20.

Sponsorships are available, along with individual or couples tickets.

Individual tickets are $75 each. Couples tickets can be bought for $140.

For sponsorships, admission tickets or 50/50 drawing tickets, visit hilltopchildrenshouse.org/mardigras.

“A successful Mardi Gras makes it possible for us to plan needed improvements and expand,” the Crowes shared.

Beyond the gala, there are several ways to support Hilltop Montessori.

The 240 Club is a semi-annual membership club with weekly drawings and a private dinner.

A Derby Day Whiskey Pull is held the first Saturday in May at Pastaio in Wintersville.

Ohio taxpayers can claim an Ohio tax credit of up to $750 ($1,500 for joint filers) by donating to the school through the Ohio Christian Education Network before April 15.

A Student Showcase is offered for residents to visit the school at 1300 and 1306 Maryland Ave. to see the students’ work firsthand on May 7.

As Hilltop Montessori continues to grow, its heart remains in the neighborhood. The school is proving that with enough faith, hard work and community support, the sky is the limit for Steubenville’s children.