AVONDALE — A new preschool in Avondale will pull from the worldly experiences of its owner to help children start to grow.
Construction is underway at Pink Tower Montessori School, which is set to open in May in the former Our Baby shop, 3420 N. Elston Ave.
Like owner Ana-Maria Deheleanu's other school, Lincoln Square Montessori, Pink Tower will have three program options: the full day from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the school day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or a half-day from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The first-floor space has large windows and will be "very inviting," Deheleanu said. The proximity to Brands Park also means students will have a great place to play outside when the weather is warm.
Deheleanu, who lives in Lakeview, opened the Lincoln Square school five years ago. Prior to that, she spent 15 years with Chicago Public Schools, working as a music teacher and teaching a Romanian bilingual program at Walter Disney Magnet School, she said.
After leaving CPS, she got her Master of Education degree at Northeastern Illinois University.
But her first love was music.
Growing up in Romania, Deheleanu started playing cello when she was 10 years old. When she immigrated to the United States, she decided it working as a cellist wasn't going to cut it.
For years, she helped Romanian students at Disney Magnet, then taught music to children in all grades.
She continues to meld her two passions at her Montessori schools, playing cello for students and offering cello and violin lessons. Students can also learn Spanish during weekly lessons.
Like many other schools following the century-old educational method, the two Montessori schools let children choose their own activities during three-hour blocks of time. Students are free to explore and focus on five areas of curriculum like sensory exercise and language.
"Children are encouraged to choose their work, so they're learning how to become very independent," Deheleanu said. "And also, they let their curiosity as a young person grow."
While the Avondale school itself is (sadly) not located in a pink tower, its name will be familiar to those with Montessori know-how. The pink tower and its partnering brown stairs are common sensorial tools used to demonstrate size concepts. Children also use them as building blocks.
Like Lincoln Square, Pink Tower will enroll up to 35 children, who are separated into classrooms for children 2 to 3 years old and 3 to 6.
"The earlier, the better with education," Deheleanu said. "They'll have an easier time functioning if they start solving problems very early in life."
The school will be open year-round with winter and spring breaks.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
