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Mt. Clemens Montessori Academy was founded as Mt.
Clemens Montessori School in 1970
and was one of the first Montessori schools in the
greater Detroit metropolitan area. As a pioneer in
the Montessori philosophy and educational system and
the only school of its kind in Macomb County, it has
been instrumental over the years in developing other
Montessori centers in Macomb County, St. Clair
County and Wayne County. It has facilitated and
initiated training of their staff, housing courses,
hosting guest speakers of interest to both parents
and teachers from area schools, and assuming a
leadership position among Montessori schools in the
area. During the summer of 2003, Mt. Clemens
Montessori School became Mt. Clemens
Montessori Academy to coincide with its
becoming a Michigan charter school.
Mt. Clemens Montessori was originally located in the
basement of the Presbyterian Church on Cass Avenue
in downtown Mt. Clemens, but we have certainly grown from
our humble beginning of one
classroom with less than thirty children and three
staff members. The Academy now operates in a school
building of eight large classrooms; library; music
room; full-size gymnasium-lunchroom; a playground; over two hundred fourty students and a
staff of over forty. Over the years, we have experienced changes in location
and size, however, the
founding director, Constantine P'sachoulias, has
been constant from our inception and the pivotal
force behind the Academy's success.
Mr. Constantine P'sachoulias, director and
founder of the Mt. Clemens Montessori, received
his under-graduate and graduate degrees from Wayne
State University. During his graduate work, and to
three years following his graduate degree, he taught
college level courses at Wayne State University and
Detroit Institute of Technology. He was exposed to
the Montessori philosophy at this time and realizing
its value and potential, he embarked upon the
development of Dr. Maria Montessori and for the last
nine years has been a member on the Board of
Trustees of the Michigan Montessori Teacher
Training; a non-profit organization. Constantine P'sachoulias has upheld the reputation and high
standards of education and excellence at Mt. Clemens
Montessori Academy and has worked tirelessly to
insure the continued success of Montessori
throughout the state of Michigan.
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