West Side Montessori School was founded in 1963 by five couples (Gil and Sarah Burke, Boker and Susanna Doyle, Larry and Olivia Huntington, Fritz and Marian Schwarz, and Joe and Bay Wasserman) who together envisioned an early childhood school on the Upper West Side that would provide an exceptional, innovative Montessori education for a richly diverse mix of families. The School opened with one morning class of fifteen children and one teacher in a room in the Frederick Douglass Houses on Columbus Avenue at 104th Street. As enrollment grew, the School moved from one rented space to another while searching for a permanent location. In the spring of 1974 the School bought the double brownstone at 309 West 92nd Street that remains our home today. Over the years every space in the building has been renovated. All of our classrooms underwent an extensive “green” renovation. Our full size gym and roof top play space are equipped with state of the art equipment to encourage creativity as well as physical and social development, and our professional kitchen produces nutritious daily meals.