Creative Montessori School celebrates 50th anniversary

Fifty years ago, in fall 1968, under the leadership of Barbara R. Spitzer, Creative Montessori School opened its doors to a class of 18 preschoolers and three teachers.

CMS offered a kind, welcoming and inclusive learning environment. The idea of mixed age group classrooms and individualized learning, in a setting that welcomed children of all races and religions, was a foreign concept in Birmingham, but one that resonated with parents.

In the following decades, as more parents embraced Spitzer’s vision, the school added a toddler and then an elementary program, and moved several times before finding its permanent home at 2800 Montessori Way in Homewood. Today, it has grown to accommodate 250 children, including many whose parents were among those original first classes.

Those same CMS alumni parents helped lead the effort to create the adolescent program, which welcomed its first class of seventh graders this fall.

While much has changed in the decades since 1968, Creative Montessori still offers a unique, multicultural environment for families seeking a warmer, kinder, more child-centered and hands-on approach.

On Oct. 14, CMS celebrated this milestone occasion with a 50th Birthday Bash for students, parents and alumni. The CMS Community was invited to the school for an outdoor Block Party with music, inflatables, a climbing wall, dunking booth, animals from The Birmingham Zoo, special treats and more. The event ended with students leading the crowd in a round of “Happy Birthday” to CMS.

Submitted by Creative Montessori School