Hilltop Montessori breaks ground for new addition

Hilltop Montessori School celebrated its new addition with a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Sept. 18.

Around 100 people attended the event, and several students participated by singing for the crowd.

“Today marks a new future for Hilltop,” said Head of School Michele Wilensky. “The groundbreaking for our $3.4 million expansion will allow us to offer a state-of-the-art, improved campus to serve our students and the community around us.”

Hilltop founder Cindi Stehr also spoke at the event, thanking the community for its support and thanking Wilensky for her work.

“I most of all want to thank Michele for her wisdom and her knowledge to bring this school to where it is today,” Stehr said.

The expansion will be built on land recently gifted from EBSCO Industries and will include a community center, gymnasium, science laboratory, classroom space, multi-media center, art and music areas and a teaching kitchen. It will be two stories and the same size as the school’s existing building.

Wilensky said the expansion will be used as an after-hours resource and offer more programming opportunities for students. Just like the school’s existing building, the expansion will be built with “green” principles, maintaining the school’s LEED certification with the U.S. Green Building Council.

Hilltop received a $5.3 million loan, which was approved by the Shelby County Commission in July, to construct the expansion. The loan will also be used to refinance the school’s current investment. The new addition is set to open in August 2016.

“This addition will further set us apart in the city and permit us to continue to fulfill our mission – to provide a quality Montessori education in an environment which fosters a child’s love of learning and a respect for self, others, community and the world,” Wilensky said.