Jeanne shared several stories of her time at Montview. She mentioned that she is planning to attend the 50th Anniversary celebration and offered to talk with more former employees and families to encourage them to attend the event.
She explained that the 1960s were an interesting time in the Park Hill neighborhood. Many people with families were moving out of the neighborhood. Montview Community Preschool was a true gem in the neighborhood and a school that was trying to build a welcoming place for all families. She recalled that there were many times that the Preschool Directors had to stand strong to maintain and encourage diversity at Montview. She mentioned that building a welcoming school was a core value at the school and for several directors at the beginning of the school’s history, it took great courage to diversity at the forefront of the school’s work.
Jeanne shared a few very playful stories. She explained that animals were a common classroom attraction. One classroom pet was a rabbit. Unfortunately, the rabbit got out of its cage one weekend and got stuck behind the radiator. By Monday morning, there was a horrible smell and big mess in the classroom. She also told a story of how one of the classrooms had a chicken. One day there was a prospective family visiting the school. The Director at the time was walking the visitors down the hall and the chicken made a loud sound. The visitors seemed shocked and said, “Are there animals here?” Not knowing how to respond, the Director quickly responded, “Oh, no animals.”
Jeanne expressed such appreciation of the Montview founding mothers. She mentioned that their leadership and vision were so helpful in the early years at Montview. Montview is a preschool of high quality. She volunteers in the public schools and sees the impact of good preschool in student’s success.
Interview by Sheila Lynch
