Saratoga News

Notre Dame move forces preschool out in the cold

By Sarah Lombardo

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur have told administrators and staff at the Notre Dame Montessori Preschool that they must find a new location for the school by September. And the school is seeking help. Letters have been sent to parents whose children are currently enrolled in the school, the school's board plans to form a site committee to search for possible locations and administrators said that they will begin an aggressive campaign to seek assistance from former students and parents.

"We were hoping to extend [our stay] another year," school business administrator Sheryl Griffin said. "Now, we are really reaching out to the community and telling them what is going on."

The Sisters announced last month they planned to sell the 22.5-acre property on Bohlman Road on which the order's headquarters for its California province has stood for close to 95 years, and to consolidate its Saratoga facilities with those in Belmont. Although none of the other educational facilities in which the order is involved--such as Notre Dame High School in San Jose and Sacred Heart School in Saratoga--will be affected, the nuns have told the preschool they cannot sponsor the 32-year-old school beyond next September.

Griffin said the Sisters have been unwilling to sell the school site separately, and so the school has begun looking around for a place, hopefully in Saratoga, that can accommodate it. Although the school's site is about an acre, Griffin said the school only uses about half that land. The school is licensed for 32 students each in its morning and afternoon classes, but Griffin said the school currently limits its afternoon class to only 25 students to accommodate for the fact that several kindergartners are enrolled.

Griffin and several teachers said they believe the community will respond to the school's plight because it seems the school is needed in Saratoga. "I tell prospective parents about the situation, and they still want to be on the waiting list," Griffin said, adding that the waiting list is long enough not only to fill the school but also to have another waiting list left over.

Parents with children at Notre Dame said they are saddened by the prospect of the school leaving its current site on Norton Road.

"It's been there for nearly 40 years, and I kind of feel like it's part of the community," said Leslie Doherty, who has a 3-year-old son at the school.

Doherty and other parents said that they would continue to enroll their children in the school even if it had to move outside of the city, but expressed hope that they can convince prospective buyers of the nuns' property to sell the school its site. "We're all hoping that we can intervene somehow," Doherty said. "All we're asking for is about half an acre."

But parent Jody Tatro, whose daughter is in her second year at Notre Dame, said she doesn't think the school would have much luck in talking a prospective buyer into selling such valuable real estate. "We'd love to do it, but let's be realistic," she said. "I think we might as well wish on a falling star at that point."

And it's a shame, Tatro said, calling the school "a treasure."

Griffin said the school has already begun exploring several options for its move, but added, "It's our idea that you can never have too many options." She said anyone willing to help in the search can call the school at 867-1663.

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