Having options for learning is a rational expectation and one normally reserved for higher education.

The Redmond School District has many options for sixth-through-12th-graders. But Redmond has limited variety for earlier grades. Bobbie Bolton looks to change that with this fall’s opening of High Desert Montessori, a private school focused on students 2 to 12 years old.

“The district does a wonderful job, and there are a bunch of happy kiddos,” said Pascaline Klein, who has enrolled her son at the school and plans to be a teacher’s assistant. “But I know there are some families that are frustrated with where their kids are at and that is why we want to provide a different opportunity for education.”

The school will be located in the old St. Thomas church, at 536 SW 12th St., which was purchased by an investor and is in the process of being renovated. High Desert Montessori and Redeemer’s Church, a local nondenominational church, will partner in leasing out the property, though they are not affiliated. The school will use the rectory and house while Redeemer’s will use the sanctuary.

The school is Montessori-based, meaning it uses a teaching style created by Maria Montessori in 1907, when she opened the first Montessori Casa Dei Bambini, or Children’s House.

“Every child is different and Montessori recognizes that every child learns at their own pace in each subject,” Klein said.

Teaching is focused on individualized understanding, removing tests and grades and replacing them with a number of practical application requirements in each subject.

“Key components of Montessori is that it’s hands-on, children work with a variety of materials,” Klein said. “The teacher isn’t in front of the class; there is a lot of one-on-one or group time and they work through practical application of concepts.”

Bolton grew up in the area and moved back to Central Oregon in 2013. She brought with her an experience as part of a board that opened a 400-student Montessori school in Utah. When she moved back, she got to work as one of the founders of Desert Sky Montessori, which will be the area’s first chartered Montessori school to offer free tuition. Desert Sky is set to open in Bend in 2017, among a number of other private Montessori schools in that community. Redmond doesn’t currently have a Montessori school, a main reason Bolton felt the need to open High Desert. She lives in Redmond and wants her 8-year-old daughter to continue her education at a local Montessori, having previously been enrolled at one in Utah.

“This is huge for me,” Bolton said. She said tuition rates for Montessori enrollment normally sequesters students to the higher income bracket of a community. “My goal with this school is to keep tuition at or below the area preschool tuition,” she said.

Bolton and her husband, Craig, who officially owns the school, are the main financial backers. She said the estimated cost to start the school is around $75,000, with the bulk of money going toward stocking each classroom with Montessori teaching materials. An average classroom costs about $10,000 to stock.

Bolton said she is confident in the school’s success and opened the school for enrollment about two weeks ago. She plans to have 75 students, and enrollment is already about 75 percent full. Bolton added that there has been no advertising for the school except on Facebook. The response from the community confirms what she said was a lack of choice in local educational opportunity.

“Redmond is desperately in need of choices for parents,” Bolton said. “It seems like the community is ready for this; there aren’t a whole lot of options, and there has been really positive feedback.”

Curriculum at High Desert will follow the state’s Common Core requirements, as well as additional classes, including Spanish and French immersion, yoga, gardening, music and cooking.

“It really depends on the choice of the family,” Klein said. “If my child would have attended a traditional school, he would have been a happy kid. But at a Montessori he will have more of a chance to develop himself.”

The school will have four head teachers, two with master’s degrees, each with a class assistant. Curriculum is developed by the teaching staff at High Desert. Four classes are planned: 6 months to 3 years old, or infant and toddler care; 3 to 6 years old, or primary; and 6 to 12 year old, or elementary. A second primary class was added due to community demand. According to the school’s website, the infant/toddler classroom will have a 5:1 student-teacher ratio, primary will have 10:1 and elementary will have 15:1. Every teacher and assistant teacher is Montessori-certified, which requires attendance of a certification course at a Montessori center — the closest is in Portland.

“I’m not a teacher, and I have no place in a classroom, but I’m good at running a business and supporting my teachers,” said Bobbie Bolton, who also ensures that teachers at High Desert will have a competitive salary compared with other Montessori schools in the area. “Teachers make the school, so we can’t skip on that.”

The school will initially employ nine full-time staff, with a number of part-time employees as needed. The Old St. Thomas church was previously the location of Foresight Academy, so city zoning as a school wasn’t an issue. Bolton said the school is licensed by the state Office of Child Care. She said Desert Sky hopes to open a chartered, tuition-free Montessori in Redmond in 2018, which will allow her to change the student focus of High Desert on 2- to 6-year-olds. Bolton said opening this school is a huge milestone, not only for herself but the Redmond community as a whole.

“I have had parents come to booths at educational fairs and just start crying because they are so desperate to get away from traditional styles,” Bolton said. “A lot of people think Montessori is complete freedom for children, but it’s not. It’s guided — a teacher guides the child through the material.”

— Reporter, 541-548-2185, cbrown@redmondspokesman.com