DonorsBrickton Montessori School’s 2015 Annual Fund

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Annual Fund Campaign. With your generous support, we were able to raise $35,377.

Major Donors $2,500+David Anthony and Mariann Lemke (P/D)David Duffy and LaDonna Taylor (P/D)

Leadership Donors $1,000 - $2,499Sari Anthony – In memory of Telly Anthony (GP)

Steve and Mary Disse (P)Philip and Suzanne Ergastolo (PA/D/M)Dihan Fernando (D)

Dr. Paul Lisnek and the Contursi family(P/PA)Michael and Dora Messina (P)Daniel and Heidi Natura (P/D/M)

Community Givers $500 - $999Michael and Lara Austrins (P)

Elizabeth Norman (Fa)Chandra and Suneetha Pendyala (P)The Family of Matthew and Agnes Plaza(P)Sergey and Olga Shafran (P)

Givers $1 - $499Robert and Molly Arnoldt (P/PA/Fa)Melonie Arroyo (P/Fa)

Megan Bucaro (P)Marusia Calderon (P)

Daniel and Shashona Chau (P)Efrain Cintron and Mirvette Badal (P)Edward and Denise Cortez (PA)

Patricia Cribben (Fa)Michael and Sharon Damore (Fd)Leo and Ann Davin (GP)David and Cindy Degand (P/D)Deborah DeYoung (P)Olina Dolly (P)Ivana Drazic-Cunningham (P)

Frances Franzke (GP)

Georgi Gergov (P)

Peter and Sara Gregory (PA/Fa)

Erica Lane (P/Fa)

Charles Martin (Fa)

Raymond and Amanda McPartlin (P/M)Liz Menczynski (Fa)Phil and Patricia Moran (Fa)Robert Murphy and Verma Veenu (P)Ryan Noe and Deena Reyes (P)Beth Peachey (Fa)David and Lori Plier (P)Steve and Donna Pollizze (P)Michael Pugliese and Dorothy Schweitzer (Fa)Matthew and Meghan Ricard (P)Marie Rodriguez (Fa)Mauricio and Ana Rodriguez (P)

Alice Rowland (PA/D)Herman and Rosa Sanchez (P) Satyendra Sarmah and Renu Gupta (P/D)Rick and Liz Skrodzki (Fa)

Larry and Diane Steinert (PA/Fa)

Megan White (Fa)

Paul Wrezel and Lisa Spragia (A)

Annual Fund Corporate Matching DonationsAll-Over Pest SolutionsLiving Habitats

Verizon Foundation

A = AlumniFa = Faculty/staffFd = FriendGP = GrandparentM = Matching giftP = Parent of current studentPA = Parent of alumni studentD = Board of directors

Dear Brickton families and friends,

It is with great pleasure that we share with you our Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Report. While the educational landscape has continued to evolve in the Chicagoland area since Brickton was founded, our commitment to our mission has not. It is as true now as it was almost 30 years ago – “We are a community of learners working together to provide a Montessori educational experience that engages and inspires students to become life-long learners and responsible participants in our diverse global community.” As we lead Brickton into the future, our efforts are centered on educational best practices in the classroom and long-range strategic planning so we are best positioned to support our students’ growth – today and tomorrow.

Selecting “collaboration” as our year-long theme provided opportunities for our entirecommunity to explore what that means at Brickton Montessori School. Thank you to the students, faculty, parents, volunteers, and donors for their collaboration and contributions to making this such a successful school year. Let’s take a walk through 2014-2015 to see collaboration in action, from long standing traditions to unique experiences!

Sincerely,

Cheryl LaCost David Anthony Head of School Board President

Annual Report“… the first thing his education demands is the provision

of an environment in which he can develop the powers given him by nature. This does not mean just to amuse him and let him

do what he likes. But it does mean that we have to adjust our minds to doing a work of collaboration with nature, to being obedient

to one of her laws, the law which decrees that development

Dr. Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 8, p. 89

Donors2015 Annual Benefit

We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals and businesses for their generous support of our Annual Benefit through finan-cial contributions and in-kind donations to the auction. Contributions totaled: $41,163.

Individual SupportersDan AdamsDavid Anthony and Mariann LemkeSari AnthonySunil and Niranchana AnantharamanRobert and Molly ArnoldtMichael and Lara Austrins

Mark Treppa and Maggie Bauer

Diana Campbell

Dan and Shashona ChauEfrain Cintron and Mirvette BadalBill Clark and Stacy NorrisAaron Cooper and Melissa Ramirez-Cooper

Ivana Drazic-CunninghamMary Dalicandro and Michael DohertyMichael and Sharon DamorePaul Darksi and Marzena Witmska

David and Cynthia DegandDebra DeYoungSteve and Mary Disse

Olina DollyMike and Renee DoyleDavid Duffy and LaDonna TaylorMarcia ElliottPhillip and Suzanne ErgastoloDihan FernandoTerry Flechs and Cheryl Russell

Sharon GoodayDiane GrassiPeter and Sara Gregory

Erica Lane

Charles Martin

Omar and Nichole Martinez

Raymond and Amanda McPartlinMichael and Dora MessinaPhil and Pat MoranRobert Murphy and Verma VeenuSandy MurphyDaniel and Heidi NaturaAnna OlechRyan Noe and Deena ReyesMarcus and Elizabeth NormanBeth PeacheyBrian and Tracy PeckChandra Pendyala and Suneetha Gottimukkala

Adrian and Loredana Pop

Michael Pugliese and Dotty SchweitzerAldis Rauda Matthew and Meg RicardMauricio and Ana Rodriguez

Alice RowlandBlair and Elissa SarkissSatyendra Sarmah and Renu Gupta Andrea SchererAmish and Nirali ShahLiz and Rick SkrodzkiLauren Smith

Larry and Diane Steinart

Richard and Aurea Thomas

Vija ViksneBob WeisskopfMegan White

Business SupportersAce HardwareAmerican Science and SurplusBoho Theatre/Chicago

Chicago Architecture FoundationChicago Botanical GardenChicago Recording CompanyDuPage Children's Museum

Gordon Aveda SalonHarry Caray's/RosemontHarley-Davidson Museum

Life Time FitnessLynfred WineryLynette's School of DanceMarriott Theatre/LincolnshireMedieval Times/SchaumburgMixed BagsNorth Shore Center for the Performing Arts/SkokieOmni Chicago HotelPark Ridge Chamber of CommercePRP Wines InternationalRAMRenaissance Hotel/Chicago-O'HareRotofugiShedd AquariumShoreline SightseeingSimply Organized by Meg, LLCStorytime IO TheaterSuper Soccer StarsThe Comedy Sportz TheatreThe Wandering Boys

Trinity Academy of Irish DanceWGN RadioWonder Works, A Children's Museum

Brickton 5K Walk & Fun Run

Brickton thanks our vendors for their generous support our race.We raised in total $994.

All-over Pest SolutionsChess ScholarsDawn's DairyGreat American Bagel CompanyGourmet Gorilla

Malatesta Law Offices, LLC

Financials

Board of Directors 2014-2015

David Anthony, President

Cindy Degand, Vice President

Suzanne Ergastolo, Treasurer

Satyendra Sarmah, Secretary

Dihan Fernando, Director

Heidi Natura, Director

Alice Rowland, Director

LaDonna Taylor, Director

Cheryl LaCost, Head of School

Operating Income

Tuition and Fees $1,338,313

Summer Program $ 110,952

Charitable Contributions $ 82,333

Total $1,531,598 (100%)

Operating Expenses

Salaries & Benefits $ 954,842

Student Programs $ 348,922

Facility $ 146,544

Other* $ 81,290

Total $1,531,598 (100%)

* Other includes administration, insurance, accounting, legal fees, technology and reserves.

Brickton Montessori School is audited annually by the accounting firm of Gibbert & Associates.

Parent Alliance Leadership2014-2015

Betty Boduch

Nichole Martinez

Shashona Chau

Annual Benefit Co- chairs 2014-2015

Deb DeYoung

Maggie Bauer

87.4%

7.2%

5.4%

62.3%

9.6%

22.8%

5.3%

Life-long learning through collaboration

Our students begin collaborating from the

moment they enter our classrooms. As early

as the Toddler program, the child is pouring

a glass of water for a friend, helping to carry

a chair, setting the table with another student,

taking turns to build a block structure,

and creating their language through song,

dance and conversation within the community.

In Children’s House, the budding independence

expands into confidence, knowing they are an

important member of the community. Together

they prepare snack, arrange flowers, compose

stories with the moveable alphabet, count, solve

equations and explore our world through scientif-

ic and cultural experiences. Our well-designed

classrooms and materials facilitate the child’s

development of the required patience,

resilience, and stamina needed for collaborative

activity. Add to this the opportunities provided to

create a plan and complete an activity with a

friend, which foster the development of execu-

tive functioning skills we know are important for

success in all areas of life.

At the Elementary level, the development

of collaboration is illustrated by the culture

of literacy at Brickton and our Book Buddies

program. Lower Elementary students grab totes

of freshly packed books, anticipating the arrival

book buddies. Fueled by the dynamism of the

Children’s House students. Veteran Middle

School students mentored younger partners

during Children’s Book Week and Poem in

Your Pocket Day.

Middle School students compose their own

classroom blog, providing a student perspective

of field trips, academic concepts and social

happenings. Growing developmentally in inde-

pendence as they move through the programs

and curriculum leads to the great collaborative

work required for the Middle School’s week-long

agrarian trip to Shenandoah, Iowa, which took

place this past May. Our students planned the trip

independently, figuring out travel, housing, recre-

ation, food, and learning experiences for the

week. While on the farm, they learned about

modern farming, raising livestock, ethanol produc-

tion, and small-town life. And beyond our class-

room doors, our students have collaborated with

the wider community through cross school experi-

ences at Nature’s Classroom Institute, Chicago

area Montessori adolescent gatherings, cross

country meets and more!

Where do our students continue their educational journeys?

Our alumni have been accepted to the following

high schools:

Elgin Academy

Fenwick High School

Francis W. Parker School

Glenbrook South High School

Gordon Tech High School

Lane Tech High School

The Latin School

Loyola Academy

Maine South High School

Mount Prospect High School

Northside College Prep

Northridge Preparatory School

Notre Dame High School

Oak Park River Forest High School

Rickover Naval Academy

Roycemore School

St. Patrick's High School

Taft High School

Trinity High School

Whitney Young High School

Wolcott School

Modeling a commitment to service learning

Service learning, often referred to as community

service within Montessori, is evident in our class-

rooms, from cleaning up spills or helping a peer

with a lesson, to working as a student server for

pizza and hotdog lunch. Our students take this

outside our school community, cleaning up the

surrounding neighborhood and forest preserve

to removing trees from the river at Nature’s Class-

room and the Middle School’s commitment to

maintaining Ohio Street Beach through the

Alliance for Great Lakes Adopt-A-Beach program.

Brickton Montessori School was founded by

a dedicated team of parents and educators

collaborating to provide a Montessori education

for their children and the community. That tradi-

tion of collaboration continues with our dedicated

volunteers from our parents, friends, and alumni

communities. Families are invited to commit 5

hours of volunteer effort each year. Guided by the

Parent Alliance (PA), countless hours of collabora-

tive volunteerism were visible from school beautifi-

cation projects to managing community events.

This year the PA debuted a new program,

Beyond Brickton, to further extend service learn-

ing beyond the walls of our school. At their first

event, volunteers worked with Feed Our Starving

Children to fill over 100 food packets that were

packed for distribution to children in Djibouti,

Africa. Additional opportunities were made

possible by the generosity of our volunteers,

including:

Back-to-School Block Party

Picture day

Operation Child Find (Early Childhood Screening

Program)

Scholastic book orders

Effortless Fundraisers (e.g. Box Tops for Education,

and toner cartridge recycling)

Adult Cermamic Painting Party

Family Movie Night

Big Leap (Annual Benefit Dinner & Auction)

Bowling Bash

Staff Appreciation Breakfast

Peace Picnic

Longitudinal collaboration leads to life-long learning

The idea that there is a ‘Montessori’, one right

way to respond, one perfect way to prepare our

classrooms, or one correct Montessori training

program runs counter to our true mission. Brickton

staff collaborate with each other and the wider

Montessori and educational community to

expand our knowledge base, strengthen our

relationships, and connect with children, families

and colleagues. As Montessorians we have three

roles: to serve the child by carefully preparing the

environment; to be astute observers in order to

respond to each child’s unique and individual

needs; and finally to celebrate and accept the

child in front of us. Collaboration is absolutely

critical to the life-long learning of a Montessorian.

Collectively our staff completed over 700 hours

of professional development from attending

workshops and webinars on Montessori-specific

topics to seminars on national best practices

in specific curricular areas. Brickton is committed

to the growth of Montessori beyond our doors.

We have the distinction of supporting our local

teacher education programs by providing intern-

ship opportunities, classroom observations, and

resources for school visits and lectures. In addition,

our faculty and leadership participate in accredi-

tation visits to support other American Montessori

Society (AMS) and Independent Schools Associa-

tion of the Central States (ISACS) schools in our

joint goal towards continuous improvement.

Our staff were instrumental in providing their

expertise to help chair, coordinate, market and

facilitate the Association of Illinois Montessori

Schools (AIMS) 2015 conference and were delight-

ed to host 40 heads of school at the quarterly

spring AIMS community meeting at Brickton.