As you know, “giving back” is a recurring theme of our work with the students. Our children have donated more than 2,500 pounds of clothing and close to 1,000 pounds of food to area charities, sent shoes to Mexico, donated to the Humane Society, and Rocked (Their) Socks for Down syndrome awareness. It is in this same spirit that I invite you to join us in the FSMA Annual Fund +1.
The reality remains: the state covers only a portion of what FSMA needs to give your child an excellent and tuition-free Montessori education. Most notably, the state does not provide any funding for charter school facilities. That means we must pay for our two buildings—the rent, maintenance, and improvements—on our own, each and every month. All those renovations we need to do to get the Upper School ready for seventh and eighth graders? There’s no state funding for any of that. We also need private resources to fund our school nurse and certain other key positions. The bottom line is that FSMA receives about 25 percent less than traditional public schools of comparable size.
FSMA is fortunate to have volunteers who run our entire food-service program, landscape both properties, chaperone field trips, and help teachers in the work room with copying, cutting, and laminating. But there is still a gap—and the Annual Fund +1 is the most important way we fill it.
By running a lean and effective operation, FSMA ensures that your tax-deductible contribution will have an impact where it matters most: in the classroom, with the children. To give you a sense of the difference your gift will make, here are just a few examples of what it costs FSMA to provide our children with the specially designed learning materials that are a hallmark of Montessori education:
- $50: wooden Montessori continent puzzle map
- $100: ten hardback literature classics
- $250: “45 layout” Montessori math material
- $500: bead cabinet Montessori math material
- $750: classroom set of Montessori grammar materials
Quite simply, the Annual Fund +1 provides the margin of excellence in all that FSMA does. Exceptional teachers trained in the Montessori Method, classrooms filled with joyful learners working with Montessori materials, students accessing the cultural resources of the Delaware Valley—your gift helps make it all possible.
You may also wonder: “Why is it called the ‘Annual Fund +1’?”
The +1 recognizes that the FSMA community is continually enriched by the active engagement of families—not just our students and parents, but also grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, cousins, and friends. By coming to school events or volunteering their time, these people have seen what makes FSMA so special. You and our +1 community help to make FSMA unique.
So as you consider your gift to the FSMA Annual Fund, please also ask a family member or friend to contribute to the margin of excellence for your child’s education.
to make your tax-deductible gift to FSMA, you can send in a check directly to the school or you can click here.
At FSMA, we take seriously our role as the first and only school of its kind in Delaware, making Montessori education a tuition-free option. We are grateful for any gift you can make and will leverage your contribution to maximize its impact on the children’s educational experience. Thank you for all your support and encouragement, which makes possible everything FSMA does.