Our Mission

Rivendell School, founded in 1995, is a uniquely comprehensive early childhood environment whose services range from progressive Montessori education to leading edge early intervention programs for children with special needs.  Our goal is to promote excellent early childhood education in a wide variety of inclusive programs. We are a New York State approved not-for-profit organization and hold an Absolute Charter from the New York State Board of Regents.

We are deeply committed to providing coordinated and individualized support to the families that we serve. When a child has been identified with special needs, our service providers collaborate closely with each other, parents, classroom teachers, and school administrators to tailor services to that child’s needs and abilities. As an educational service, we actively share our collective knowledge with other educators and professional colleagues in the community to help formulate and shape best practices in early childhood education. That breadth of experience allows the School to approach each child holistically, integrating academic learning with the development of positive social relationships and a genuine sense of belonging.

Rivendell Preschool, a pre-primary Montessori school, opened in September 1977 in a Park Slope brownstone with twenty-five students and was called The Children’s House of Park Slope. In 1998, it became part of Rivendell School as its model inclusion setting.  Rivendell Preschool is an Associate Member of The American Montessori Society.

Rivendell believes that learning to get along with a wide range of people and accepting and respecting their differences has lasting benefits for everyone. This approach shapes our firm commitment to each other and to Montessori education. Our preschool classrooms typically include children with a variety of learning styles and abilities. Students discover materials especially designed for their levels of readiness and maturity in a warm, creative atmosphere. Our Montessori teachers, along with the special education itinerant teachers and therapists who help children with identified special needs, provide a rich, inclusive community for all the children, for each other, and for parents.