In January 1984, Kitty and Steve Williams established Countryside Montessori School in their home. Kitty had five students, including one of her daughters, in that first group on the porch. Steve and Kitty worked together building a school for young children based in the Montessori philosophy and methods. Kitty was a certified Montessori teacher and Steve was an organic farmer who also maintained the property and created the early classroom environments.
In August 1984, Kitty’s class grew to 20. After a few short years, the Williams had converted their garage and Steve’s produce stand into classrooms, and in 1988 they moved out of the house and built a brand new building for a primary class. In 1989, the little Montessori school in the country consisted of three primary classrooms and one lower elementary classroom – approximately 70 students.
Kitty Williams had a big vision. Her vision was of a school that would educate children from very young all the way through high school. She believed that children should be afforded the opportunity to prepare for life not only in the academics but also in regard to building positive relationships, problem solving, making good judgments, and developing the ability to concentrate on meaningful tasks or projects from start to finish. She believed the Montessori philosophy and methodology would allow children to grow and develop into productive, resourceful, thinking, creative and collaborative adults.
Kitty realized that she and her husband needed assistance from others to fund this vision. So she made an important decision in 1992 to convert her sole proprietorship, for-profit business into a non-profit, charitable corporation. With the help of many committed parents the conversion was completed in 1993. The founding Board consisted of Coleen Brickhouse, Charles Clark, Richard Hayes, William Mahaney, Lorna McGrath, Robert Morris and Kitty Williams. As the school’s vision became clear, more people from Sarasota and the surrounding communities came to Countryside. The Board began a building project to open three new classrooms, a media center and an art room. This project was completed in the fall of 1993 and could house 140 students from 3 through 12 years old. Tim Seldin, president of the Montessori Foundation, signed on as a consultant to assist in creating Kitty’s dream.
As Tim became more involved in the school and its transformation, the Board appointed him Headmaster. During the years that Tim served the school many improvements were made in the quality of education, the facility and the clarity of vision. The program expanded to include children from 18 months through 13 years old. It was during this time that the Board chose to change the school’s name to New Gate School. The Board and Tim again felt the need for more classroom space. Through the generosity of two families the school was able to add another large classroom on the Ashton Road Campus. Toward the end of the time that Tim Seldin was the Headmaster, New Gate School purchased 100 acres of land for a new campus, east of I-75 on Clark Road.
In June 2000, Christopher Gallagher took over as Headmaster. That fall the first classrooms on the Clark Road Campus were opened. All of the students from 6 years old through 15 years old were able to move into the new facility. This move allowed the Ashton Road Campus to house the Early Childhood Program and to add new classrooms at that age level. The school’s enrollment soared to 242 students on both campuses. The additional classroom space allowed New Gate students to continue their education through 12th grade, and the first graduate received her diploma in June of 2004.
As Christopher Gallagher’s term came to a close, the Board of Directors sought, with the help of The Education Group, a new Head of School. They found an experienced head of school with significant achievement in a number of areas critical to New Gate in Paul Wenninger. Recently serving as the Head of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in San Jose, California, and with administrative and leadership experience in both public and private education, Paul had an undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University, a Master’s degree in Research and Information Science and an advanced degree in Education Administration from the University of New Mexico where he received distinctions including the UNM Graduate School’s Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. Paul and his wife Lavern, who is also an educator have two daughters, Wesley and Amelia. They were enthusiastically welcomed to the New Gate Community in July of 2005.