One more first day of school. One more back to school picnic. One more parent orientation dinner. One final, exhilarating, exhausting, surprising, inspiring year. One last graduation day.
Frank and Annette Kulle have been the guiding spirits at Countryside Montessori School since they opened their first classroom in Glenview 43 years ago. Each event they host at the school this year will feel like a conclusion, a “one more time” event, a final celebration before they retire at the end of the year.
Annette composed her speech for the Parent Orientation Dinner over the summer. “I could talk about the kids who remain in my mind and heart, or the families who remain in my heart,” she said. “I think I will talk about what I am proud of . . . . I will tell stories. I love the stories.”
The Kulles founded Countryside in 1967. It was then a single classroom in Glenview United Methodist Church. After filling satellite classes in Skokie (1969) and Northbrook (1970), the Kulles purchased a piece of property. In 1971, they moved the school to the house on Pfingston Road that has remained the school’s home.
A major renovation and a large addition to the house were completed between 1995 and 1999. Today, Countryside is a not-for-profit Montessori school with an enrollment of about 150 students. The school accepts students as young as 16 months into the toddler program. Children graduate from Countryside at the age of 12.
When Countryside students enter the school through carpool each morning, the words printed above the vestibule door remind them of their school’s mission: “respect, responsibility, resourcefulness.” Most Countryside students can read the words independently by their kindergarten year.
The Kulles said they knew very little about Maria Montessori’s philosophy or educational method when they opened their first classroom. Frank had just been discharged from the army and was working as an engineer; Annette was at home with three young children. When their eldest daughter was ready for pre-school, every school Annette called had a waiting list.
“Frank came home one day in May, and I said, ‘how hard would it be to start a school?’”
Marty Fishman, a Lincolnwood accountant and life-long friend of the Kulles, has served on Countryside’s board since they founded the school. “I spent a lot of time with Frank on the phone from the outset, considering options, paying attention to progress and failures,” he said.
Fishman said he will continue to serve on the board after the Kulles retirement. “It started out as friendship and business,” he said. “With something like this, that you start and watch grow . . . it’s something you just don’t let go of.”
Fishman said the school’s purchase of property in 1971 and the subsequent renovation were pivotal events. “It was a large, courageous undertaking for the school,” he said.
The Kulles were not able to obtain a loan from the bank for the purchase – their classrooms were not yet profitable -- so they borrowed money from Frank’s Uncle Charlie.
“Uncle Charlie loved little kids,” Annette said, smiling. Uncle Charlie was then approaching his 100th birthday. He came to live with the Kulles and their three children shortly after they moved the school to it current location. He lived with them, watching the school he helped establish thrive and grow, until he was 103.
Fishman remembers how strong and firm the Kulles were -- and have remained -- in their commitment to the highest educational standards for very young children. “We are a school, an educational facility.” he said “We did not want to be billed as a babysitter.”
“There were times when things were rough, when (the board) had to consider day-care as a revenue source,” Fishman said. “Annette absolutely would not let the school grow into a day-care facility.”
Countryside is one of only two schools in Illinois to earn and maintain the highest, international accreditation for Montessori schools, granted by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). The school has also met or exceeded all requirements for accreditation through the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA-CASI).
Dr. Elizabeth Raspanti is a Countryside alum and parent. She attended the school from 1973 through 1979. Her two oldest daughters are now enrolled in the school’s elementary and primary programs. “Montessori helped me develop self-discipline, patience and tenacity,” she said. “I learned to be methodical and pay attention to details, as well as take pride in my work.”
“I believe that with the Montessori materials, learning the basics comes in a fun, appealing, and natural way. The grammar I learned in Montessori helped me show my classmates how to diagram a sentence in sixth grade.”
“Everything I learned at such a young age became a part of me,” Raspanti said of her years at Countryside. “I had a great foundation on which to build. I wanted to pass on that experience to my girls.”
When the Kulles retire at the end of the year, their multiple responsibilities and ongoing projects will be distributed among the administrative staff they have been training for many years. Current Director of Education Wendy Calise will assume the position of Head of School.
Calise also attended Countryside as a child. She has three children enrolled in the school, the oldest of whom will graduate this year. After graduating from Northwestern University and completing AMI primary training, Calise began teaching at Countryside in 1990. Calise completed elementary training and began teaching in an elementary class in 1998. Soon thereafter, she began her work as Director of Education.
“I would like to preserve the benefit that comes from the Kulle’s 40-plus years of experience,” Calise said. “I hope to have their steadiness when steering us all in the CMS community through difficult times of a dizzying variety.”
What about the Countryside experience is unique? What distinguishes Countryside from the many other options available? “The classroom experience children have,” Calise said. “Teachers who care deeply about their profession, who understand intellectually and practically that every child has a unique path.”
The Kulles will remain in Norhbrook. The enjoy traveling. They have enjoyed “dabbling” in local and national politics. They hope to volunteer, and to enjoy the company of their seven grandchildren. They will continue to enjoy the stories they have collected through four decades of innovative work in education.
Fishman said that of the many stories he has exchanged with the Kulles, his favorite is now more than 20 years old. At that time, he was developing a hotel in Minneapolis. Several times a day he collaborated with an interior designer he had worked with on previous occasions. She was extraordinarily smart, talented, hard working and friendly, he said. The project was long and plagued with difficulties. “She was a great help to me,” he said.
“I knew she had a grandson who was born with everything in the world wrong with him. He had learning problems and physical problems.” On the plane ride home from Minneapolis, Fishman said he asked her how her grandson was doing. Though they were exhausted, Fishman said her face “immediately lit up.”
“She talked for the whole ride to Chicago about how well he was doing, told me all about the great school he was attending, all they were doing to help him. She went on and on,” Fishman said. “ You know when I finally asked her where he went to school, she said ‘Countryside Montessori School!’ I’ll never forget that.”
