New LePort Montessori Preschool Opens in Historic Building in San Francisco Mid-Market Area

Walk up Fell Street this week, from Van Ness to Market, and you may hear delightful sounds of children playing. A new preschool opened today at 50 Fell Street, in a historically protected building that stood empty for over a decade. The school, LePort Montessori, welcomed over 100 children today, from infants and toddlers to preschool/kindergarteners.

LePort began exploring opening a school in San Francisco in February 2013. “We were approached by a local couple who had a young son, and who couldn’t find a preschool they liked that didn’t have a long waitlist,” explained Heike Larson, VP of Parent Outreach. The couple, Keith and Pari Schacht, are both education entrepreneurs: he’s the founder of Mystery Science, and her company Nurturing Wisdom offers tutoring throughout San Francisco. They volunteered to organize a get-together of parents to gauge the interest of a LePort Montessori in San Francisco. Within months, LePort had raised investment capital for the fledgling school and had received tuition prepayments for three years from 15 parents, dubbed “parent pioneers” eager to bring the LePort program to the city. With this backing, a lease was signed for the property at 50 Fell Street in Fall 2013, and renovations began February 2014.

“It’s been amazing to see our parent community come together. We already have 140 children starting school this month: our infant, toddler and Spanish immersion programs were filled before we even opened,” said Larson. “It’s obvious that there is a huge pent-up demand for high quality childcare and preschool options in San Francisco, and we’re excited to meet this need.” The school offers much that attracts families: Beautiful, natural outdoor play area, which is hard to come by in urban settings, as well as a large indoor gross motor area and garden room. The AMI-Montessori trained head teachers lead a true, authentic program with family-like, mixed-age classrooms, and long, uninterrupted periods for child-led activities. The classrooms are bright and spacious, equipped with scientifically-designed Montessori materials, and are lovingly decorated with unique furniture, plants and cultural items. Four classrooms are run entirely in Spanish, offering a full immersion experience.

“It seemed a bit crazy to some people that we helped open a new preschool for our son rather than waitlisting at an existing one or moving out of the city,” admits Pari Schacht, “but we love living in the city and after touring every other preschool here, it was clear San Francisco needed a new high quality Montessori school. It was magical to visit the finished school and see this run-down building with an overgrown yard transformed into a beautiful learning environment for my child.”

The school is holding a Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday, January 31^st, from 10 am to 1 pm. Parents and children are invited to explore this new school. LePort is now accepting applications for Summer/Fall 2015 for infants, toddlers and preschool/kindergarten, as well as for a few spots for three- and four-year-old children to start by March 2015.

About LePort Schools

LePort Montessori School in San Francisco\’s Mid-Market area opened January 5, 2015, welcoming 140 children from infants through preschool in the newly renovated historic building at 50 Fell Street.