Greene Towne Montessori School —Timeline & Highlights

1966 School opens with one classroom and 25 students on the upper floors of St. Clement’s Church

1966 School establishes a financial aid fund to assist families with financial need to attend Greene Towne

1976 Founding parents Portia Sperr and Mary Anne Hunter leave Greene Towne to found The Please Touch Museum

1986 First Fundraising Auction

2001 Doors open at 2121 Arch

2002 First year of Toddler program

2007 Doors open at expanded location, 2215 Arch, including Toddler House with full licensing from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning

2008 GTMS receives 10 year accreditation from both the American Montessori Society and Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools

2009 First Greene Towne teacher offered full sponsorship for Montessori certification (a program that has fully sponsored 11 Greene Towne teachers for Montessori certification as of 2022)

2012 First year of All Day Montessori program (8am-6pm) for Toddlers and Primary

2013  First win of the PHS Gardening and Greening “Garden of Distinction” award

2016 Greene Towne’s 50th Anniversary

2016 The Children’s Diversity Library, renamed the Helena A. Grady Library of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, was introduced

2021 Greene Towne was one of the first schools in the Philadelphia area to re-open for in person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

2022 Greene Towne breaks ground to expand to 55 N. 22nd Street

2023 Lower Elementary and Montessori & Me programs begin