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WG church to become new site of an evicted preschool
Closure of Los Gatos' Casa Maria Montessori spurs a successful grass-roots effort
By Jason Baker
Organizers from Casa Maria Montessori School in Los Gatos, left in limbo by the school's closing, have been given the go-ahead to open a preschool in Willow Glen's Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
"We have all of the necessary permits for [the Willow Glen] site and plan to start with our upgrade plans in early July," said Joanne Varni, a parent and member of Mariposa Montessori, a nonprofit organization working to create a new community preschool.
School planners are formatting detailed plans for the site and forming a construction committee.
Casa Maria closed its doors on May 21 after 29 years of operation. The announcement by the school's board of directors came as an unhappy surprise to parents, teachers and staff. The school was housed at the convent of the Sisters of Holy Names of Mary and Jesus, at 200 Prospect Ave. in Los Gatos.
In response to the closing, school officials conducted a property search to find a suitable relocation site for the school. Officials found a number of smaller sites that were not suitable for their needs, but determined they might be suitable for a preschool. In addition to the Christ the Good Shepherd site, organizers are looking to Faith Lutheran Church in Los Gatos.
"We discovered that there were no suitable replacements in the vicinity that had openings," Varni said. "Santa Clara County has experienced the devastating impact of insufficient preschools to meet the needs of families. Public and preschools are at capacity, with parents seeking enrollment in other cities, or being forced to have unlicensed or less than quality preschool experiences for their children."
The Casa Maria closure displaced approximately 152 families, and had an additional 500 names on the waiting list for future enrollment. In response, Mariposa organizers decided to pursue opening their own school, which Varni called "a true grass-roots movement."
Planners determined through research that no other suitable sites for a preschool existed in Los Gatos.
"The objective of targeting two sites was to ensure we would have a place to go this fall. We are now aggressively pursuing the residents of Willow Glen to make them aware of our new preschool," she said.
"The sole intention of the people dedicating their time, energy and money to this project is to create a quality preschool that can be enjoyed by the entire community," she added.
Officials have informed teachers that the Willow Glen location is a go, said Cindy Acker, director of Casa Maria Montessori. She has been asked to head Mariposa.
Teacher's salaries will come from the revenue of the school, she said. About 12 teachers will be required to cover both sites. Mariposa officials have applied for a license to allow 50 3- to 6-year-olds at a time in morning and afternoon classes.
To help fund their efforts, officials raised $6,000 at a garage sale, some of which has been used for permit fees and applications. The school also is conducting a "Buy a Tile" fundraising program that individuals, establishments and corporations can take part in.
Additionally, Casa Maria board members (the same board that governs the California Province Administration for the Sisters of the Holy Names) have given Mariposa the opportunity to purchase some of the materials and furniture the school had been using, which Varni said should save organizers a great deal of money.
Mariposa plans to open this fall, barring any planning setbacks.
The decision to close Casa Maria was based on a number of factors related to the growing need of the religious order to provide housing and care for its aging members.
With the convent's growing focus on aging, new regulations for operators of preschools were forcing the sisters to use more human resources than they had available, according to officials.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
