Mata Montessori has extended its deadline and is giving parents in the Woodrow Wilson High School feeder pattern (so any children zoned to Lakewood, Lee, Lipscomb, Mount Auburn and Stonewall Jackson elementaries) until the end of May to turn in interest forms to attend the school next fall. The school still has spots across all grade levels, which next year will include 3-year-olds through second-graders. On June 1, the school opens up to children in the entire Dallas ISD. Parents in the Woodrow feeder pattern can continue to turn in forms, but spots may not be available if classrooms fill with other DISD students.
Photo by Danny Fulgencio
Mata also added links to its website giving more information about the Montessori educational approach. Recent informational meetings have detailed how Mata Montessori will be structured and how it will expand over the next few years. The school was built in 1997 as a fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade center for Lipscomb and Mount Auburn elementaries, but the sixth-graders left when DISD switched to a middle school system, and Lipscomb parents successfully lobbied in 2009 to keep their children at one school through fifth-grade. These changes left Mata fairly empty, so district administrators and community members worked together to form an opt-in Montessori elementary that primarily serves neighborhood families.
In other school news, the Lakewood Elementary Expansion Foundation (LEEF) recently announced that it needs to raise less than $15,000 to reach its $500,000 goal. In March LEEF launched a campaign to “Fund the Architects” in March, hoping to raise $500,000 by March 31 but came up short. Once the $500,000 mark is reached, organizers say they have an agreement with several DISD officials to match the funds and potentially tap into $5 million in federal stimulus money toward the project. Donations can be made via the Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation website, designated to the fund.
A book fair at the Northwest Highway Barnes and Noble on Thursday, May 29 also will benefit LEEF. The school’s winning 2013-2014 Reflection contests winners will be on display, special guest readers from Lakewood Elementary will read to children, and incoming kindergartners will have a chance to meet new classmates.
This story was updated on May 20 to include Mata Montessori’s deadline extension through the end of May.
