Letter from the Founder

Dear Prospective Founding Family,

In this process of starting a school, I, of course, think a lot about the role of early education. I keep returning to the above quote, by Maria Montessori, the pedagogist behind the method we implement at Three Chairs. 

A child would crush a butterfly if they try to put it in their pocket, to keep for themself. But if that child's interest is awakened in the life of the butterfly–how it moves, what it needs, how it contributes to the world around it—the desire to possess gives way to a desire to understand. This shift honors the life and difference of another, fostering an understanding of others as essential as oneself.

To me, this is the role of education. As educators, it’s our job to create environments which allow for children to tap into their tendencies to love others, to love learning.  At Three Chairs, we are building a school where curiosity can follow its instinctive path: towards an understanding that every individual plays a vital role in the whole. I believe that building a more peaceful and just world begins with how we tend to our youngest. Imagine, if we all had received an education which prioritized care over self-interest, where could our world be?

Let’s see if we can answer that question together. As a founding family, you would shape the culture of this community. Your ideas, your curiosities, and your child’s first steps into our classroom all will be the very beginning of the Three Chairs’ story. 

With love,
Sophia O’Brien-Udry
Founder, Head of School, Lead Teacher