Elm City Montessori School

Summary
Overview
Programs
Management
Governance
Financials
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Mission

ECMS is deeply committed to realizing the inherent potential of all children. Students at ECMS develop within themselves the power to shape both their own lives and the world around them; they demonstrate creativity, adaptability, compassion, civic engagement and leadership in their communities. Guided by Maria Montessori’s integrated vision of social reform fueled by service to the child, we believe that the purpose of education is to realize human potential, which enables transformative outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.

Needs Statement

ECMS has grown tremendously over the last 10 years. As an institution, we are committed to deepening our community partnership work specifically anti-bias and anti-racism work, expanding our program, continuing to implement our strategic equity plan and moving forward with our space master planning process.

Impact Statement

Elm City Montessori School has grown from a school community of 70 students in 2014 to 305 in 2023. We are committed to maintaining a diverse school community and continuing to provide a rigorous public Montessori education for students from New Haven and surrounding towns. In the last couple of years, we have focused and been intentional about our external partnerships. We’ve created space to think about anti-bias and anti-racism across New Haven schools and partnered with the Anti Racist Teaching Collective to offer and 8 week ABAR workshop for elementary NHPS teachers. Internally, we’ve expanded our students organizations. We have had a thriving Gender & Sexuality Alliance for a few years. During the 2023-2024 school year, we launched two new organizations; a student union and SEL(social & emotional learning) mentors(similar to peer medication). We also launched our leadership collective which is geared toward leaders and coaches in buildings across NHPS to support their learning around integrating anti-bias and anti-racism in their practices. Lastly, this year, we have partnered with the Office for Youth, Familiy and Community Engagement to engage schools around launch family teacher organizations. We are continuing to partner to reinvigorate a district wide parent collective.

CEO statement

Board Chair Statement

Areas Served
New Haven

Areas Served Narrative

Elm City Montessori School (ECMS) is New Haven’s first public Montessori school and the only local charter school in Connecticut. ECMS proudly opened its doors to 70 New Haven area children in August 2014. In 2025, we enrolled 312 students . We offer a high-quality anti-bias and anti-racist Montessori program focused on academic rigor, child-centered learning, hands-on inquiry, multi-age classrooms, and intensive parental engagement. We are committed to building a school that inspires our community and helps ensure all New Haven children reach their full potential.
Example of Program Success	As of this year, we have had two graduating classes. Our alumni have gone to schools across New Haven and neighboring towns which include, public and private schools. We have hosted a humber of events to engage our alumni. Our Montessori Coach has also spent time with alumni and their families to talk about how they feel their experience at ECMS has prepared them for high school. The students, many of which started at ECMS between preK-3rd grade, discussed feeling prepared, independent in their work, strong academics and the value of SEL and how it prepared them to navigate their own feelings. We are so proud of our students and the many paths they have taken. It's an honor to do this work with learners and to hear how good they feel about themselves and their work.

Elm City Montessori School (ECMS) is New Haven’s first public Montessori school and the only local charter school in Connecticut. ECMS proudly opened its doors to 70 New Haven area children in August 2014. In 2025, we enrolled 312 students . We offer a high-quality anti-bias and anti-racist Montessori program focused on academic rigor, child-centered learning, hands-on inquiry, multi-age classrooms, and intensive parental engagement. We are committed to building a school that inspires our community and helps ensure all New Haven children reach their full potential.

Example of Program Success

As of this year, we have had two graduating classes. Our alumni have gone to schools across New Haven and neighboring towns which include, public and private schools. We have hosted a humber of events to engage our alumni. Our Montessori Coach has also spent time with alumni and their families to talk about how they feel their experience at ECMS has prepared them for high school. The students, many of which started at ECMS between preK-3rd grade, discussed feeling prepared, independent in their work, strong academics and the value of SEL and how it prepared them to navigate their own feelings. We are so proud of our students and the many paths they have taken. It's an honor to do this work with learners and to hear how good they feel about themselves and their work.

CEO/Executive Director

CEO First Name	CEO Last Name	CEO Email
Julia	Webb	julia.webb@elmcitymontessori.org
Sade	Jean-Jacques	sade.jean-jacques@elmcitymontessori.org

Staff Information

Number of Full-Time Staff	50
Number of Part-Time Staff	13
Number of Volunteers	25
Number of Contract Staff	1

Staff Demographics - Race

American Indian or Alaskan Native	0
Asian	5
Black or African American	13
Middle Eastern or North African	1
Mixed	1
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	0
White	24
Other	6
Choose Not to Answer	0

Staff Demographics - Ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino/a/x	6
Not Hispanic or Latino/a/x	44
Choose Not to Answer	0

Staff Demographics - Gender Identity

Male	4
Female	43
I am: (Fill In Below)	Non-binary
Choose Not to Answer	0

Board Chair Information

Board Chair First Name	Board Chair Last Name	Board Chair Email Address	Board Chair Term Start Date	Board Chair Term End Date
Keith	Krolak	keith@keithkrolak.com	July 1, 2024	June 30, 2025

List of Board Members

Board Member First Name	Board Member Last Name	Board Member Affiliation
Alayna	Stone	Office of CT Attorney General
Kara	Straun	Community Foundation of Greater New Haven
Keith	Krolak	Architect
Carolyn	Havrda	Retired
Susan	Clark	ECMS teacher
Tony	Dini	Yale University
Sudhakar	Vamathevan	Emerge

Current List of Board Members as of	March 19, 2025

Board Demographics - Race

American Indian or Alaskan Native	0
Asian	1
Black or African American	2
Middle Eastern or North African	0
Mixed	0
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	0
Other	0
White	4
Choose Not to Answer	0

Board Demographics - Ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino/a/x	2
Not Hispanic or Latino/a/x	7
Choose Not to Answer	0

Board Demographics - Gender Identity

Male	3
Female	4
I am: (Fill In Below)	0
Choose Not to Answer	0

Additional Comments

Additional Comments (Optional)

Annual Operating Budget

Fiscal Year Start Date	Fiscal Year End Date	Projected Revenue	Projected Expenses
July 1, 2024	June 30, 2025	$3,265,757	$3,274,563

Previous Fiscal Year Revenue and Expenses

Fiscal Year	2024	2023	2022
Total Revenue	$6,400,878	$5,484,866	$5,033,823
Total Expenses	$5,678,185	$4,738,846	$4,119,625

990 Tax Form

2024 990 Tax Form
2021 990 Tax Form	Download
2022 990 Tax Form	Download
2023 990 Tax Form	Download

Financials

Financial Statements
Financial Documentation Year	--
Financial Documentation Type	--
Financial Statements	Download
Financial Documentation Year	2024
Financial Documentation Type	Audited Financial Statements
Financial Statements	Download
Financial Documentation Year	2023
Financial Documentation Type	Audited Financial Statements

CEO statement (optional)

General Info

Twitter
Federal EIN Number	46-3592780
Organization's type of tax exempt status	501(c)3
Website	http://www.elmcitymontessori.org
Facebook	Elm City Montessori

Our Story

Elm City Montessori School is a local charter school in New Haven, CT serving preschool through eighth grade students. Founded by local parents and educators in 2014, ECMS is proud to be New Haven’s first public Montessori School.

Core to the Montessori approach is a focus on interactive, self-directed learning and hands-on inquiry in thoughtfully prepared multi-age classrooms that foster independence, creativity, critical thinking and leadership. Our program’s developmental approach to education integrates math, science, language arts, music and the outdoors in a nurturing and academically rigorous environment that promotes life-long learning and helps each child realize their full potential.

This year, our goal is to raise $25,000 to support the creation of an ECMS makerspace(sewing, woodworking, etc.), garden & farm support and the Montessorian of Color Pathway Program. Together, we can ensure that ECMS offers robust anti-biased, anti-racist learning experiences for students, families and staff!

Contact

Elm City Montessori School

495 Blake Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06515

Sade Jean-Jacques
sade.jean-jacques@elmcitymontessori.org
Phone: 475-220-4113
http://www.elmcitymontessori.org