News
News
Greetings from the Springmont Parent Association (SPA)!

Dear Springmont Families,
Welcome to all new families, and welcome back to our returning families! We are writing to introduce ourselves as your Springmont Parent Association (SPA) Co-Chairs. We are excited to serve the Springmont community!
- Steve Little has Carter, who begins Lower Elementary, and Eli, who continues in Primary this school year.
- Kathleen Phelps has Jack, who begins Upper Elementary, and Nicholas, who continues in Lower Elementary this school year
- Mary Kamau has Isaiah, who continues in Primary this school year.
Our objective as SPA Co-Chairs is to build community by helping to connect parents/guardians and recruiting parent volunteers for various school events and faculty/staff appreciation opportunities. In order to meet our objective, we need everyone's participation. We want each of you to feel a connection to our unique community. So, whether you have only 30 minutes or a couple of hours, your ideas, time, talents, and voices are truly needed and appreciated. There are endless ways in which you can contribute.
The best way to stay up to date is to follow the Springmont Parent Association Facebook group. This Facebook page is not affiliated with the official Springmont Facebook page but is a forum where parents can connect, share resources, ask questions, etc.
We have a busy schedule of events for the 2025-26 school year, including meetings at the dates and times listed below!
- Thursday, September 4, at 5:00 p.m.
- Friday, October 3, at 8:45 a.m.
- Friday, November 14, at 8:45 a.m.
- Friday, January 16, at 8:45 a.m.
- Tuesday, February 10, at 8:45 a.m.
- Thursday, March 26, at 5:00 p.m.
- Friday, May 1, at 8:45 a.m. (Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast)
We thank you in advance for all the support you offer our great school and ask that you not hesitate to ask us any questions; if we don’t know the answers, we will happily point you to someone who will.
We’re looking forward to a great school year!
Sincerely,
Steve Little, Kathleen Phelps, and Mary Kamau
Springmont's Elementary & Middle School Music Program now includes Strings and Chorus!

Chorus – NEW!
We are excited to announce that Upper Elementary and Middle School students can elect to participate in Chorus this year! Practice, led by Springmont Music Teacher Stefanie Freinkel, will be held before school (7:30-8:15 am) each Monday morning and one Friday morning per month. Open to a maximum of 30 students, Chorus is included in tuition. Students will perform in the fall and spring Recitals. If your Upper Elementary or Middle School student is interested in joining this program, please email Stefanie (sfreinkel@springmont.com) by August 15. If more than 30 students are interested, participants will be selected by lottery, and the remaining students will be added to a waitlist.
Beginning Strings – UPDATED!
Students interested in joining our Strings program as beginners will be offered 30-minute private lessons once a week after school from late August through December. Instruction is included in tuition and will be provided by Music Teacher Stefanie Freinkel and/or a second Strings instructor selected by Stefanie and who has passed Springmont's background check process.
In mid-December, Stefanie will decide which beginning students are ready to join an ensemble group in January. Students who are not yet ready to join an ensemble group may continue with private lessons at the family’s expense until they are proficient enough to join an ensemble. These lessons can be with Stefanie or an instructor of the family’s choosing.
Springmont will cover instrument rental costs during the school year, but families will be required to sign an Instrument Rental Agreement. Families wanting longer lessons or additional private lessons may arrange these with Stefanie at their own expense.
If your Elementary or Middle School student is interested in joining this program, please email Stefanie (sfreinkel@springmont.com) by August 15. If more than 10 beginner students are interested, participants will be chosen by lottery, and the remaining students will be added to a waitlist.
Intermediate to Advanced Strings
String ensemble instruction, included in tuition, will continue to be offered to Elementary and Middle School students who play at an intermediate or advanced level once a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings before school (7:30-8:15 am). Ensemble students will perform in the fall and spring Recitals.
Springmont will cover instrument rental costs during the school year, but families will be required to sign an Instrument Rental Agreement. Families wanting private supplemental lessons may arrange these with Stefanie at their own expense.
If your Elementary or Middle School student plans to continue in this program, please email Stefanie (sfreinkel@springmont.com) by August 15.
Pizza Shop & Ordo!

Springmont offers optional lunch programs Monday-Friday for all students (Toddler - Middle School) who eat lunch on campus!
- Pizza Shop, part of the Middle School micro-economy curriculum, is offered to students and staff as our Monday lunch delivery option. Funds raised are used for Middle School class activities, including their annual End-of-Year Trip. Fall 2025 orders are due by 3 p.m. Friday, August 16, 2024. (Orders received after this time incur a $15 per student late fee.)
- Please note that Pizza Shop does not include beverages or side items such as fruits or vegetables. Parents are welcome to supplement Pizza Shop orders with items sent from home each Monday.
- Click here for additional information, delivery dates (which begin Monday, August 18), pricing for cheese or pepperoni slices, and Fall Semester or Academic Year ordering information. Questions about Pizza Shop? Email Gretchen Stamps at gstamps@springmont.com.
- We are happy to introduce Ordo, our new lunch provider!
- Beginning Tuesday, August 19, Ordo will offer fresh, hot lunch deliveries Tuesdays - Fridays.
- Ordering is done weekly via a Springmont-dedicated online portal and may be done up to a month in advance. Offering 4-6 menu items each day, lunches are made fresh and delivered directly to campus daily.
- Learn more about Ordo here.
- Click here to sign up for an Ordo account.
- If you have any questions or need help, reach out to support@ordo.com or text (855) 756-2909.
Summer Greetings!

Dear Families,
We are getting our summer sea legs after wrapping up a wonderful 2024-25 school year with employees the last week in May. Both Springmont’s Toddler & Primary Summer Camp and Steve & Kate’s Camp are in full swing, and the campus feels happy and busy. My visits to Steve & Kate’s drop-in camp for ages 5+ housed in the Lower Elementary classrooms show we have a mix of Springmont students and children from the surrounding community. What a great way for us to gain additional visibility while also offering a broader range of camp options for Springmont families and employees.
New School Van
We recently purchased our new school van. This 15-passenger vehicle is easier to drive and park than our buses and will come in very handy for our Going Out and Landschool Trips. By the end of the summer, it will be wrapped in Springmont glory, a mobile advertisement for our great school. Thank you, parents, for your generous donations to the Springmont Fund and for participating in the Raise the Paddle at the Auction!!
2025-26 Calendar
In the coming days, we will update our online school calendar to include additional important dates, as well as school and class plans for various activities and events. See the highlights below. Please note that this is a living document subject to change, although we strive to keep those changes to a minimum.
You will note that we have added an additional professional day after Labor Day on September 2. On this day, all Springmont employees will gather at the Landschool for a day of community building and educational activities. Many of our employees have never visited the Landschool, including some who have worked here for over a decade! We believe it is essential for the entire community to be familiar with our Landschool campus so we can fully support this unique and wonderful resource!
Facility Highlights
Summer is a busy time for making upgrades to our facility. This summer, our work includes:
- New carpet and paint in the Primary classrooms and the Middle School Liberal Arts classroom
- New flooring and exterior doors for the front reception area
- An exterior door for the Human Resources office (Currently, employees can only access this office through another office.)
- New drainage system installed in the front Courtyard
Program Enhancement Highlights
Springmont will issue Chromebooks to all Middle School students. Previously, students shared school devices, or families purchased devices for their students, but now everyone will receive a school-issued device, included in tuition. This provides equity of resources for our students, makes it easier for our tech department to maintain and service equipment, and allows both teachers and parents to monitor student device usage and internet access.
Chorus is coming to Springmont! Upper Elementary and Middle School students will have the option to join a school chorus led by our Music Teacher, Stefanie Freinkel. Rehearsals will take place 1-2 mornings a week before school. More information will be shared in our second summer communication.
There is so much to look forward to in August! All of us at Springmont wish you a safe and happy summer. I’ll be back in touch next month with more news and information about the upcoming school year.
Warm and sunny regards,
Elizabeth
Springmont's Updated DEI Statement
Dear Friends,
Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. I wish to abbreviate neither the words nor our thinking about them.
This spring, the Board of Trustees reaffirmed our commitment to action under these community principles. A committee comprised of faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees has worked hard to update Springmont’s DEI Statement to clarify and commit to the work ahead, and the board approved the statement in May. Further, the Board of Trustees has centered Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as one pillar of our new Strategic Plan framework.
You can read the statement here. My favorite sentence follows: “By becoming part of our community, you embrace these values and actively contribute to bringing this shared vision to life.” I love it because the active clause begins with “you.” As Springmonters, you and I will take real action to foster a community of dignity and belonging, built upon these three cornerstone values.
Springmont is well-suited to develop children to become peacemakers and changemakers for a pluralistic world. While we share core values, we are a school community that will always think, worship, vote, and live in diverse ways. This statement affirms that we find strength in those differences. Our shared commitment is to honor the dignity of each other and teach our children that we all belong together, in this community and in this world.
By reaffirming our commitments and sharpening our focus on actionable plans, we are standing for accountability. Over time, words and slogans may change, and ideas and plans will be debated. But the dignity and worth of you, me, your child, my child, and any other community member is not up for debate, ever. Montessori education provides a rich toolkit for educating minds to live in diversity, to stand up for equity and fairness, and to do hard things inclusively. At Springmont, we expect nothing less for our children and from each other.
The Board would like to thank the DEIJB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging) Committee for their efforts to update and reaffirm our statement of commitment. And thanks to each of you for being part of advancing that commitment.
Sincerely,
Will Johnson
Chair, Board of Trustees
today
3 weeks ago