Supporters of the Hill View Montessori School gathered on Saturday, March 21, at The Roma Restaurant for a benefit dinner with a live and silent auction.
But guests got more than just a chance to win a ski getaway, Red Sox tickets and other auction items.
They got to celebrate the school's renewed charter by the state to continue running a Montessori curriculum at the public school for the next five years and raise money for a possible new facility that would help the school continue to grow.
School administrators and board members announced they are considering a move to the Ward Hill Business Park.
With enrollment that has doubled since the school opened in the fall of 2004, up to 244 from 122, the school has outgrown its location on Washington Street. Their current facility, the old Bartlett School, can't hold their growing population and doesn't offer adequate outdoor space for activities and parking.
Each school year, the school adds another grade level with the ultimate goal of serving children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Right now, the school accepts students up until sixth grade and rents two kindergarten classrooms at Temple Emanu-El on Main Street in Haverhill to make room.
The move to the Ward Hill location, at 75 Foundation Ave., is far from certain, but the possibility is an exciting next step for the growing school.
The school has been celebrating since last month when the state renewed the school's charter for another five years. The school will receive state funding to operate independently from the Haverhill School Department at least until the 2013-2014 school year.
