Where we come from shapes us for the rest of our lives. The values we experience first trust, belonging, responsibility, kindness, and care become the foundation for how we move through the world and how we participate in our communities.
It is easy to think of community as something large and abstract, but meaningful communities are almost always built the same way: one relationship at a time.
I often think of this as a series of concentric circles. At the center is family, where children first learn what it means to be cared for and valued. From there, the circles widen: extended family, neighborhoods, schools, faith communities, workplaces, cities, and beyond. The strength of those larger circles is deeply connected to the health of the smaller ones inside them.
This idea is at the heart of Montview.
Montview has always been more than a school. It is a cooperative community built on the belief that parents are not spectators of their child’s education, but active participants in it. Families do not simply drop children off and leave. They enter the classroom, build relationships, and contribute their time, talents, cultures, and care to something larger than themselves.
Within Montview, those circles of connection continue to grow. The classroom becomes the first circle. Parents working alongside teachers become another. Each family adds its own traditions, experiences, perspectives, and values, creating a richer and stronger community for everyone.
One of Montview’s foundational beliefs is that building community is one of the greatest gifts we can give children. But community does not happen accidentally. It requires participation, generosity, and a willingness to care not only for our own children, but for one another as well.
What makes Montview special is not simply the education children receive here. It is the experience of belonging to something larger than themselves. Families learn firsthand that strong communities are created when people contribute, connect, and show up for each other consistently over time.
And what happens here echoes far beyond these classrooms.
Children who grow up surrounded by collaboration, accountability, kindness, and shared responsibility carry those values with them into the wider world. Parents who experience true community here often recreate it in elementary schools, neighborhoods, volunteer organizations, workplaces, and civic life. The habits of caring for others, participating fully, and investing in community do not stay contained within a preschool. They ripple outward.
For decades, Montview families and leaders have helped strengthen the broader community in meaningful ways. Under the leadership of Bea Romer, Montview was among the first integrated preschools in the United States during the 1960s — a reflection of families committed to building a stronger and more connected community. Later, Abby Humphrey helped launch the campaign that became the Denver Preschool Program, expanding access to preschool for families throughout Denver.
That is the lasting magic of Montview: the understanding that when people come together with shared purpose and open hearts, meaningful change becomes possible.
Healthy communities are not built all at once. They are built slowly, through everyday acts of care, commitment, and presence: one relationship, one family, and one circle at a time.
