After almost 25 years, Quemazon Montessori School is getting new owners. Tammy Tucker is selling the school to Quemazon Community Childcare, a newly formed nonprofit organization. Courtesy photo
A student enjoys a snack at Quemazon Montessori School. Courtesy photo
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
After almost 25 years Quemazon Montessori School, 4600 Esperanza, is getting new ownership. Owner Tammy Tucker is selling the school to Quemazon Community Childcare, a newly formed nonprofit organization. Though the nonprofit has a unique name, the school will continue to operate under Quemazon Montessori School.
Madeline Bolding, a member of the Quemazon Community Childcare Board, explained this started about a year ago when parents of Quemazon Montessori School students received an email informing them that Tucker was retiring and was hoping to sell the school.
“When the for-sale signs went up I think a lot of people started worrying about … oh, no what’s going to happen, is it still going to be a daycare, is it going to be bought out by the lab … nobody wanted to see it closed,” Bolding said.
As for Bolding herself, she said “I kind of thought maybe a board could do her job and maybe this would make sense as a nonprofit.”
This set the transition in motion, and the new owners will close on the school March 12. The board also is working on its 501c(3) status.
Besides the new owners, an interim director is working until a permanent one is recruited and a business manager will be hired.
Tucker said now is a good time to bring in new leadership.
“It is a great opportunity for a new director to come in at this exciting time,” she said. “I think it’s going to be, for the right person, a great time to get things off the ground and make some decisions, be part of the decision-making process. I think it is a great creative opportunity.”
“It’s time to turn this over to a younger group … I think they are going to bring some new ideas,” she added.
There aren’t any major changes planned, Bolding said.
The school will continue to be a Montessori School and “We don’t really expect much to change at the school, especially in terms of quality,” she said.
However, Bolding said the hope is the board can build a close relationship between the staff and parents and there is better understanding on how to support the staff.
One of the nice things about a nonprofit, she added, is that the entire budget will go to the staff, programs and facility.
There are seven members on the board, Bolding said. It started with parents, but it has expanded to include more community ties such as Josh Stringer, the Chief Operations Officer of Los Alamos Public Schools Credit Union.
Bolding added that the board is doing outreach to the community and alumni to let them know of the change in ownership. They are also doing a brick fundraiser. QMS alumni interested in commemorating their time with a brick can fill out their information at tinyurl.com/qccbricks. Donations can be made online at quemazoncommunitychildcare.betterworld.org or to the Community Childcare’s account at Del Norte Credit Union.
Tucker said the whole transition has been a success.
“It’s been a real pleasure … the whole process and the transaction,” she said. “We both have a lot invested … I think we have a common goal of wanting it to continue for the community.”
“It feels like more of a partnership…,” Bolding said.
She added that the community, even those unconnected to Quemazon Montessori, have been supportive.
“They’ve really been supportive and know that Los Alamos just needs more day care,” Bolding said. “I felt that was pretty meaningful to have support from non-parents.”
“It’s a pretty nascent organization,” she added. “It just pulls from a wide variety of strengths. We can kind of already tell personality-wise, experience-wise, several of our board members just complement each other in a really respectful way. I think there is a community spirit that evolves from that.”
Tucker said she started Quemazon Montessori because she felt there was need in the community for quality care and a facility designed just for children. It is licensed to have 100 students and there are 69 enrolled. The school serves infants through children age 5 years old.
“We had great support from the community,” she said.
The school was also started for personal reasons, Tucker said. She had three pre-school age children herself and starting a Montessori day care center “seemed like a great way to give them a great start.”
She said she focused on Montessori education, “because its hands-on learning appealed to me. It seemed like a logical way for kids to learn by doing. I really believed in the philosophy, the materials and the methodology.”
Tucker said Montessori education fosters independence and transitions well into the public schools. Now that she is retiring, Tucker, who lives with her wife in Pennsylvania, said she is looking forward to traveling, doing art and spending time with their children.
“We are definitely going to miss Tammy’s history, and it has been really apparent that she just has a lot of business background, and we are going to try and siphon as much information off of her as possible,” Bolding said.
She added she wants to ensure it continues.
“Just seeing the need for daycare over the last how many years just made it obvious to me that someone should step in and buy this,” Bolding said.
To apply for the Director or Business Manager position, go to quemazonmontessori.com, click on Apply Now. Questions can be sent to QuemazonChildcare@gmail.com.
Quemazon Montessori School students take part in some hands-on activities at the school. Courtesy photo
A Quemazon Montessori School student takes part in some hands-on activities at the school. Courtesy photo