The Patagonia Montessori Elementary School‘s board of directors voted on March 19 to close the school at the conclusion of fiscal year 2026.
With little publicly available information about the decision, questions have inevitably been raised in recent weeks across the community as to what precipitated this decision, what will happen to the 31 private preschool and charter school students currently enrolled at PMES, and how the nonprofit corporation that runs the school will wind down its affairs and dispose of its property.
The PRT is currently gathering information for a full story to run in an upcoming issue. In the meantime, here is a letter to the community from Jessie Beebe, the school’s principal and superintendent.
The End of an Era in Patagonia Education
By Jessi Beebe
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Jessi Beebe, and my husband Jerrin and I have been working at the Montessori School for the past 19 years. I want to share with you a bit of insight about myself as well as an official update about the future of our school.
I was first introduced to the Montessori philosophy purely by happenstance. During my graduate studies, I took a part time job at a Montessori school. The classrooms looked so peaceful and inviting, and the children were all engaged in the materials before them. I was fascinated by what I saw – young children working independently in a purposeful environment, guided, rather than directed, by their teachers. Working in the classroom was exciting, and I soon realized that I wanted to be a Montessori teacher. This revelation was followed by years of studying and training to learn all I could about the Montessori philosophy.
In 2007, Jerrin and I were led to Patagonia Montessori School. What we thought would be a temporary move turned into something much more meaningful. Patagonia became our home. Over the years, I have served as elementary teacher, middle school teacher and principal/superintendent, while Jerrin has supported the school in countless ways – from office management to classroom assistant to maintenance man and beyond. Jerrin and I have worked as a team to continue the Montessori legacy in Patagonia. Our entire adult lives have been intertwined with Montessori.
While we had originally planned to make this our forever home, we have recently come to the realization that we need to be closer to our families. After much consideration and lots of prayers, we have decided to move back to our hometown to be closer to our parents and our extended families. This was a really tough decision for us, and we are definitely sad to close this chapter of our lives.
The decision to close the school was not an easy one. Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to hire Montessori trained teachers. With most of our teachers and staff moving away at the end of this school year, we feel this is the right time to close our doors. After all, a Montessori school needs Montessori teachers; without them, it is not possible to continue our mission in a way that our students deserve. Rising costs and lower enrollment were also factors in this decision made by the board at the March 19 board meeting.
Right now, we are focused on providing the best education to our students and a memorable close to the year. While the future of the school property and the nonprofit is still unknown, we are confident that our students will continue to thrive in the many excellent schools in the area.
We are so very grateful for all of the community support the Montessori School has received over the years. We are so proud of our students, past and present, and feel we have provided a great education and amazing memories for so many. We have been truly blessed to have worked with some of the most incredible students and families and will carry these precious memories with us always. We will definitely miss our Patagonia community but know we have made some lifelong friends that we will cherish always.