At Mountaineer Montessori School, we’re spreading our wings!

Our elevated approach to education fosters learning without limits, freeing children to go as far and as high as they can.

We’re nurturing West Virginia’s future community builders, problem solvers, innovators, business leaders and peace makers…creating a brighter tomorrow…today!

Founded in 1976, Mountaineer Montessori is West Virginia’s original and largest Montessori school, offering a world-class educational experience to 140 students ages 3-14 right here in Charleston–the heart of Appalachia.

“Spreading Our Wings,” the 2018 MMS Annual Appeal, will provide critical funding to help us meet the growing demand for superior academic options in our community and sustain our 42-year tradition of excellence and innovation in education.

Give now.

As part of our “Spreading Our Wings” campaign, students, teachers, alumni and families are sharing their stories, telling what MMS means to them and how Montessori education lifts up children, our community and our world.

This is David Victorson’s story:

Every day at MMS felt like a new adventure and I remember waking up excited for the day’s new lessons. One of the primary reasons for this is that MMS is full of wonderful people – both faculty and students – who create a nurturing and respectful environment that encourages learning, exploration, and self-confidence.

I believe my time at MMS helped to cement a life-long curiosity and love of learning. These qualities were especially helpful in college and graduate school, where I felt free to follow them to new and exciting subject matters, and could discover and test potential careers without fear or hesitation.

My favorite memory from MMS is as a kindergartner, eating honeysuckles that grew behind the school with my classmates. I was amazed to discover that their beauty, smell, texture, and flavor grew in nothing more than soil and water. I wasn’t in a classroom or a traditional learning environment, yet I was learning about nature, the food chain, and sustainability. As I look back, this memory fully encapsulates what makes MMS so great – every moment is an opportunity to learn and the teachers encouraged us to do so.

MMS is a special place for my whole family. My sister and I both attended, and both loved our time as students. I think we were especially able to appreciate it after attending other schools and being exposed to other methods of education. The academic freedom that MMS provided was unlike anywhere else and allowed us to advance as quickly as we were ready, rather than being bound to a lesson plan designed without any specific individual in mind.

I earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and currently work as a litigator in the Washington D.C. office of a large international law firm. Prior to joining the firm, I served as a judicial clerk for the Chief Judge of the Northern District of Ohio. Before attending law school I worked in the creative department of a Los Angeles film studio, working with writers and directors to develop scripts for production. I earned a B.A. in cinema-television production and an MFA in Motion Picture Producing from the University of Southern California.