MSR is committed to maintaining an outdoor environment which is woven into the Montessori classroom experience. The area's mild climate makes the out-of-doors a natural extension of the year round.

As in any thriving community, MSR parents, staff, and Board of Trustees work in concert to assure the highest quality education in each classroom. The Montessori School of Raleigh is overseen by a Board of Trustees trained in the concept of trusteeship, whose sole function is to insure the stability of the school for the next generation of children. The Board delegates the day to day operations of the school entirely to the Head of School. The school has a healthy parent organization that supports classroom staff and directs fundraising activities throughout the school year, including the ever popular "Montessori Gala", Arts Day, and Staff Appreciation Day.

Demographic Information

The Montessori School of Raleigh attracts students from the Wake County area, particularly from Raleigh, the largest city in the county. Students who attend MSR live as far away as Cary, Durham, Wake Forest, Apex, Clayton, Benson, Morrisville, Knightdale, and Henderson. The demographic information about our school has been derived from two surveys: one in 1994 (developed to formulate a 5-year Long-Range Plan); and one in 1999 (designed to facilitate the school's Accreditation process).

Cultural Diversity

There were 351 students enrolled at the school for the 1998-1999 academic year. The enrollment had increased by 63% over the previous five years. The ethnic composition of the student population in 1998-99 was: 90.3% Caucasian, 6.5% Asian, 2.1% African-American and 2.1% "other". During the previous five years the percentage of minority students had increased nearly 7%. There had been an increase in every minority group. Specifically, the Asian population has grown 4.3% (from 1.3% in 1994 to 5.7% in 1999); there has been a 1.5% increase in African-American students (from .6% to 2.1%); and students of "other" minority backgrounds (including, most notably, Hispanics) have increased .8% (from 1.3% to 2.1%). Meanwhile, of course, there has been a corresponding 6.6% decrease in the percentage of Caucasian students (from 96.9% to 90.3%). Comparing these figures to the public schools in our county, our minority enrollment of 10% meets the "diversity standard" set by the Wake County school system. Furthermore, during the past five years, while our school's minority population increased by 6.6%, the minority population for Wake County Public Schools increased only 4%. Our school has significantly increased diversity in its student population and its commitment to continuing to do so is expressed in MSR's financial aid, admissions, and enrollment policies.

Religious Diversity

MSR is non-denominational. However, the following religious groups were represented at the school for the 1998-99 academic year: Protestants (including Baptist, unspecified "Christian", Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian) compose 45.2% of the population; Roman Catholics compose 27.7%; those of Jewish faith represent 5.1% and 21.9% identify themselves as adhering to "other" beliefs (including Agnostic, Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Islam and Unitarian).

Level of Parent Education

In 1999 approximately 85% of the school's parents were college graduates, with 46% also holding graduate degrees. This level of education is significantly higher than the greater community, according to the 1990 Census which shows only 35-40% of the Raleigh adult population are college graduates and 10-12% have graduate degrees.

Family Income

The median household income for families at the school in 1998-99 was between $100,000 to $125,000, up approximately $25,000 since 1994 (when the median range was $75,000 to $99,000). This figure is significantly higher than for the Raleigh metropolitan area where the median family income was $52,000 in 1998, up from $46,000 in 1990.