Mountain
Road School supports, challenges, and empowers the whole child within
a loving and collaborative community of parents, teachers, and students.
A
Mountain Road education fosters academic and creative excellence,
ethical and spiritual development, engagement with the world, and
creates a foundation for lifelong learning.
Founded
in 1975, Mountain Road School is a private, independent, nondenominational
preschool and elementary school. The school is incorporated as a nonprofit
organization under a New York State Charter and is governed by a Board
of Directors. The school is administered by a Directing Teacher
and is guided by a Teacher Collaborative Committee composed of the
Directing Teacher, the classroom teachers, and representative of the
staff, the Board, and the parent community.
"We fell in love with
the school, the grounds, and the surrounding community. My shy, timid
daughter blossomed at this school; family, friends, and acquaintances
could hardly believe she was the same child." - former parent
Mountain Road School is located
in an historic Shaker building on the grounds of the Abode
of the Message, a spiritual community in New Lebanon, New York.
The Abode community is situated on the site of the former Mount Lebanon
Shaker community. The school shares the Abode's 340 acres of natural
beauty that includes woods, fields, orchards, streams, a pond, a mountainside,
an organic farm, and two playgrounds. Our beautiful grounds provide
ample opportunity for fresh air, outdoor play, nature studies, sports
and gardening.
"As a result of attending
Mountain Road School from preschool through fifth grade, my son has
a wonderful sense of self, is confident about problem solving, is
a nurturing boy who is not prone to conflict with others or the frustrations
of peer pressure. I always felt sure that he was well loved by his
teachers." - former parent
The school offers a preschool
program for three and four year olds as well as kindergarten through
fifth grade. The school day is from 8:30 to 3:00 Monday through Thursday
and 8:30 to 12:00 on Fridays, with an afterschool program every day
until 5:30. Preschool students have an option of attending any combination
of partial (8:30-12:30) or full days. Busing is provided by New York
State school districts for residents who live within 15 miles of the
school, and many families from Massachusetts arrange carpools. Class
sizes range from eight to fourteen students. We make every effort
to keep tuition affordable and provide tuition assistance up to half
of tuition based on need. We have also established a scholarship in
memory of a staff member who was killed in a car accident in 2004,
called the MaryBeth Lord Scholarship Fund.
"For my daughter attending
Mountain Road School was like a breath of fresh air for a very gifted
student who was longing to be part of a real community of learners."
- former parent
Mountain Road School was founded
to educate the children of the Abode community, although from the
beginning it attracted families from the surrounding area. We currently
have families from the five surrounding public school districts (Chatham,
Berlin, Averill Park, East Greenbush and New Lebanon) as well as families
from Berkshire County, Massachusettes. Over the years, the Abode's
spiritual life, which honors the unity of all religious traditions,
has provided a peaceful setting for the school. The varied retreats,
workshops, and seminars at the Abdoe enrich the life of the school
by bringing visitors from around the world: Tibetan lamas, Buddhist
dancers, Muslim imams, Native American shamans, and African healers
are some of the visitors to the school over the years. The open, eclectic
nature of the community enhances the multicultural awareness valued
by the school.
