Montessori Program

Estimated Completion: To Be Determined

Architect: C2AE

Construction Manager: The Christman Company

Budget: $32 million

Funding Source: Reimagine GRPS with Us! Bond

Project Scope: To Be Determined

Latest Updates

April 7, 2026

Dear Montessori Families,

We are excited to invite you to review our updated concept plan for Montessori programming at Grand Rapids Public Schools and provide your valuable feedback.

We have spent the past year exploring multiple options for the future of Montessori programming. Through this study we truly went back to the drawing board, considering numerous possibilities across the district. We now have a concept that we believe better reflects the priorities of our Montessori community and is financially achievable within the Reimagine GRPS bond.

The concept plan includes two PK-6 Montessori campuses: one on the north side at Riverside and one on the south side at Ridgemoor Park. Both elementary programs would feed into a renovated Montessori Middle High School located at the Fountain building.

Since first announcing this concept plan in December, we have continued working with our Montessori leaders and Montessori consultants to refine the proposal. We are also meeting with Montessori staff to gather additional input and make further adjustments.

As the next step, we invite our Montessori families to review the concept plan and provide feedback. We will host open houses at each of our three Montessori program locations later this month:

• Grand Rapids Montessori: Thursday, April 23, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
• Ridgemoor Park Montessori: Wednesday, April 29, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
• North Park Montessori: Thursday, April 30, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.

At each open house, a short video overview of the concept plan will play every five minutes. Members of the GRPS Facilities team, architects from C2AE, construction managers from The Christman Company, and representatives from Plante Moran Realpoint will also be available to walk through the plans in detail and address your questions. There will also be an opportunity to share feedback, which will be collected and used to refine the proposal while our team works with our Montessori experts to ensure that Montessori pedagogy continues to be implemented with fidelity across all Montessori programs. Then, the proposal will be presented to the Board of Education for possible approval.

We hope this open house format makes participation more convenient for families, allowing you to stop in at any time and stay as long as your schedule allows.

We look forward to seeing you and hearing your perspective.

Sincerely,

Alex Smart 
Executive Director of Facilities & Operations