Crescent Montessori reverts back to preschool only after 24 years

Parents have created a co-op to keep one classroom open after the retirement of Karen Niehoff.|

Next Steps

Parents who are interested the pre-school/primary program that will open in Sept. should visit www.crescentmontessori.com.

Potential tenants wanting to view the SCC space should email John Gurney at johng@sonomacommunitycenter.org or Steve Hagstram at steve@sonomacommunitycenter.org.

Karen Niehoff is working on plans to teach an art class at Sonoma Community Center beginning later this fall.

Former long-time Crescent Montessori School parent Stephenie Medak stood outside the school's tag sale last Saturday crying, unable to go in.

'It is just such a special place,' she said. 'It is full of so many good memories for our family.'

The art supplies, brain games and musical instruments for sale were poignant examples of the programs and curriculum for which the pre K—8 school was best known.

'The items for sale show you the kind of hands-on lessons and projects that made the school special,' said Sonoma Community Center executive director John Gurney.

After running the school out of the Community Center for the past 24 years, last month director Karen Niehoff, 69, called parents and told them that for a variety of reasons, ranging from low enrollment to her desire to retire, the K-8 school would not reopen for the 2018-2019 school year.

Formerly Vintage Country Day School, the school changed hands in 1994 and Niehoff, head teacher at the time, became head of school and renamed it Crescent Montessori.

In 1994, Crescent was a preschool program with two teachers. In 2005, the school expanded by adding kindergarten through second grades. In 2008, Crescent added grades 3 to 5. In 2013, Crescent expanded to serve middle school students. At its height, 64 students were enrolled at the school.

Dulce Silvi was a parent at the school for 13 years. Her two middle school students were enrolled at Crescent until the end of last year when she moved them to an independent study program. She says she's thankful for all the years they were at Crescent.

'Crescent nurtured and inspired their curious minds and helped make them the caring and passionate lifelong learners that they are today,' Silvi said.

Medak said that parents were told in January that closure was a possibility and, as a result, most put in applications for other schools.

'But no one knew for sure if the school was going to reopen until we heard from (Niehoff) last month,' she said.

'I gave the board a 10-year retirement plan eight years ago,' said Niehoff. 'But when we saw the drop in enrollment for the coming year, it was clear that now was the right time.'

Parents Kinh O'Brien and her husband Tim, a Crescent board member, have mobilized a group of 10 parents to form a Montessori co-op so that the school's primary grade classroom can remain open as a preschool. She has secured a lease for the same classroom within the Community Center, room 120, and convinced the primary program teacher Minha Yoon and a teacher's assistant to stay on.

The class is open to ages 2.5 to 5, and the co-op has a license for a program of up to 23 students. The classroom will have access to the primary education materials and the school garden. The first day of school will be Aug. 28.

'Crescent began as a preschool, and we prefer to think of it as going back to its roots, not closing,' Kinh O'Brien said. 'We'll have a fresh start in the fall. We're excited.'

The bulk of the school's lease, up for renewal at the end of August, was not renewed.

While some parents cited the Community Center rent as a factor in the closure, Niehoff said that the center had been a good partner for the past 30 years.

Gurney now must find tenants for the four other classrooms that comprised almost 3,200 square feet of leasable space.

'It's sad on many levels,' said Gurney. 'Having so many kids in the building brought energy to the place. The halls will be quieter going forward.'

Gurney said that SCC gets one third of its budget from leases and rentals and Crescent was by far the Community Center's largest source of income.

'Their departure leaves a big hole in our budget,' he said.

The tag sale, overseen by Neihoff, did brisk business, with area teachers, and former parents and students.

Crescent graduate and U.C. Berkeley rising sophomore Renee Serota showed up to look around one last time and to buy a small classroom item as a memento of her time at the school.

Email Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.

Next Steps

Parents who are interested the pre-school/primary program that will open in Sept. should visit www.crescentmontessori.com.

Potential tenants wanting to view the SCC space should email John Gurney at johng@sonomacommunitycenter.org or Steve Hagstram at steve@sonomacommunitycenter.org.

Karen Niehoff is working on plans to teach an art class at Sonoma Community Center beginning later this fall.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.