September 17, 2024 

Dear Maryland Avenue Montessori Families, 

We are excited to share that our school improvement projects are continuing! There are upgrades happening during the 2024–25 school year that will improve our education environment. Many of these projects are made possible by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds known as ESSER III. 

Notable Projects 

• The Outdoor Classroom on the Maryland Avenue side of the building is complete.  The prairie grass surrounding the outdoor classroom / shelter has been replanted and we are expecting a beautiful prairie after winter.  These new prairie plantings will eventually replace the original butterfly garden (see greenhouse information below).   

• The internal building painting is partially complete, and the remainder of the building is scheduled to be painted through the MPS paint shop (hopefully throughout this school year).    

• We are also expecting a few more playground benches to be installed this year, including some for the basketball court sidelines!  

• Construction for our new greenhouse is scheduled to begin this week!  We are excited that this project is scheduled to be completed over the next 4-8 weeks so we can begin to utilize this for increased hands-on educational opportunities for the students.  The greenhouse will be located where the current butterfly garden is located, connected to the rain garden, near the Maryland door.   

• • There may be some necessary procedural changes in the area surrounding the greenhouse construction.  As soon as I am informed of the specific construction footprint and necessary space requirements for the workers, I will inform our school community of any necessary changes in routine, and areas that will be “off limits” for the safety of everyone in our school community.     

The safety of students and staff is our top priority. Every precaution has been/is being taken to ensure that our school community is not exposed to any hazards that would impact health and safety. 

Once the safety information is provided, please remind and role model for your children to stay away from the work zone. We ask that you use caution when your children and pets are near any construction areas.  Please also be alerted to construction vehicles coming and going. We understand that these machines and the construction process may be fascinating to children. Keeping true to the Montessori approach of supporting real life learning experiences, we will inform everyone of safe opportunities and locations to observe the greenhouse construction.   

We are excited about these upgrades and the beautiful new spaces we will be able to enjoy and use for extended learning. We appreciate your patience as the work is being completed. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.   

Peace,  

Joe DiCarlo, Principal 

dicarljp@milwaukee.k12.wi.us 

414-906-4805