Hidden Gems: Meet Lori Eldridge of Music City Montessori

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Eldridge.

Hi Lori, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi my name is Lori Eldridge, I am a single mom of 5 kids and I have 2 grandkids. I have lived in the Nashville area since 1994.

I started working with children in a traditional preschool setting. Through my time in that environment, I felt I was missing something and was not sure what it was. I had two daughters at the time that were enrolled to start at the new public Montessori School. I started working there as a sub and fell in love with the Montessori Philosophy. While there, I was also working on my undergrad in Early Childhood Education focusing on the child’s brain development from the ages of 0-9 years of age. I then began working full-time at the public Montessori and started my Montessori Certification process.

I took time off from the public school for the birth of my 3rd child. During that time, I pursued opening my own Montessori School. The vision was to have one 3-6 years old classroom. In 2007 I opened my first Montessori school and it grew very quickly. By 2010 I was expanding and had a second location. I had kids from eight weeks thru 4th grade.

I have completed my Montessori Certification in 3 levels infant/toddler, 3-6 years old, and 6-9 years old as well as a BS from Belmont University in Early Childhood Education.

In 2015 I went through a personal separation from my partner who also opened the business with me. By 2018 things were not going as I envisioned them to go and I began making plans to go out on my own. Through the help of my amazing business partner and best friend, in December 2019, I closed my first school after 13 years. In January 2020, I opened up Music City Montessori in an amazing new location. This was done with the amazing support of my business partner, families of the school and staff. I am beginning my second school year as Music City Montessori in August 2021.

I have such a passion and love for working with children. It is my goal to provide a safe, loving environment for children of all ages. The goal is to foster the children in their natural development while embracing the Montessori Philosophy. The key is if we validate the children and their feelings and build a solid foundation then all of the academics will also fall into place.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The current project with Music City Montessori itself went very quickly as my business partner, Jerry Jernigan oversaw the construction and was there to help my vision become a reality. The biggest struggle came at the very end of the project with the permitting of the fire alarm system. The building was complete but we had a hiccup with the fire alarm system that held up the move.

The biggest challenge came by way of getting out of the very verbally abusive relationship that ultimately led me to have to close my former school and start over. I worried about closing my first school as it was my heart for 13 years. I knew though that as scary as this was taking this giant leap was the best thing. I had amazing support from my best friend and business partner Jerry, and felt it was the right decision to make. There was great peace when I walked away from such negativity. Once I made that leap and let my families and staff know they were so overwhelmingly supportive of this decision. I had no idea I would get such amazing support and it made it all worth it.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Music City Montessori is a small private school in Nashville located in the Donelson area. We have children eight weeks thru 4th grade. We follow the Montessori Philosophy while fostering the child’s natural development from the young babies all the way thru elementary.

One of the things that I believe sets us apart is that we really focus on validating the children and their feelings from an early age. I feel strongly that if we can build a solid emotional foundation from an early age, this helps support healthier mental health as well as provides the beginning connections for a child to talk about their feelings. When a child feels validated and safe, they are more confident.

By building this solid foundation, the academics fall into place easier and the children begin excelling in all areas not just academically but socially and emotionally.

We have a ten months school calendar and a full summer program where we bring in different “in house” field trips each week providing a variety of fun things for the children.

As the School Director, I am Montessori Certified in 3 levels. I believe this allows me to be a better support person for the staff as well as parents. I am at the school and hands on in the classrooms as well as speaking to the families. I am present with arrivals, dismissals and filling in where needed. One of my favorite parts about my job is having the privilege to watch the children grow and develop as they move through our program at Music City Montessori.

We have the most amazing set of families at Music City Montessori.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Staying true to the Montessori Philosophy. I also believe being present for the staff as well as the parents is very important. To me being transparent with communication is very important. I feel that being willing to always being open to learning is also critical in being successful and allows for growth on many levels.

Pricing:

• $950.00-$1375.00 per month based on age.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: musiccitymontessori.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musiccitymontessorischool/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musiccitymontessori

Image Credits
Photos by Lori Eldridge