Testimonials
SSMS Alumni Spotlight - Judd Iverson
Judd’s love for sports shined through even during his formative years at SSMS and were often referenced throughout his writing, class project research, and math. Following high school, Judd studied at the MSU College of Business, later earning his CPA certification, and recently receiving his MBA from Northwestern University. He currently spends his days in the Windy City as the Director of Finance for the Chicago Cubs – Go Cubbies!
What do you enjoy about your current position in life?
I really love my job, wife, location, just about everything. My job is about as fulfilling as a finance job sitting behind a desk can be. I'm happily married and living in Chicago, and we are currently moving into our first house. My family is doing well, and my sister/cousins are all around college and early adult ages, so it’s fun to watch them growing up and I look forward to more adult bonding.
What are your plans for where you would like to be in life?
Right where I'm at and continuing to grow and improve - I'd love to keep working for the Chicago Cubs and growing my career there, living where I do, and eventually having kids. We like to travel and explore, so a little more of that too.
What aspects of Montessori education have followed you into adulthood?
My wife always jokes that the way I think comes from my extended time in Montessori. I never know what or what not to attribute to my time in Montessori, but I certainly think about things my own way and am usually much more willing than most to approach problems differently. I also think I have a unique sense of relaxed informality around people in charge (not always sure this is a good thing, but usually I think it is) that I think stems from times in early school calling teachers by their first names and them treating me as more of an equal.
What is your favorite memory from Stepping Stones Montessori School?
Playing football and kickball with friends on the blacktop.
How do you connect with your community?
I volunteered as an assistant high school basketball coach at the school in my neighborhood and through work we host and are involved in a handful of community events. I also participate in a mentorship/scholarship program (although I'm not sure how great a mentor I am) and have a student I've been paired with for almost 5 years now.
How do you see the principles of grace and courtesy showing up in your life?
I always think that being kind and courteous are things that people list as secondary positive qualities but are really the baseline for forming fun and supportive relationships. I also don't know if my mother-in-law would have accepted me into the family without at least a tiny bit of courtesy.
SSMS Alumni Spotlight - Max Coolidge (attended through 6th Grade, 2012)
What do you enjoy about your current position in life?
I get to work with my hands, and I'm surrounded by folks who inspire and challenge me, both personally and professionally.
What are your plans for where you would like to be in life?
I would like to find a place to settle down and start building a space and a trajectory with a little more forethought and planning.
What aspects of Montessori education have followed you into adulthood?
Montessori education taught me an enormous array of skills and principles that I use every day - curiosity, a willingness to speak up and participate, a self-propelled interest in reading, a love for all things tactile, and a sense of spatial reasoning, without which I couldn't do any of the things I love. I think it also taught me patience and care in dealing with other people - which were not things I'm sure I innately felt, but which I hope have improved how I relate to people.
What is your favorite memory from Stepping Stones Montessori School?
I don't think I'll ever forget sitting down with everyone and listening to Michele Kopinski read to us - it was calm and engrossing and social all at once.
How do you connect with your community?
We watch films together, read together, travel together, work alongside each other, and talk constantly. I work in the wood shop at my current school and I constantly see people working on their assignments but also on things for their lives, for gifts, for practice, and for all kinds of applications - it's a great way to learn and meet folks and stay in touch.
How do you see the principles of grace and courtesy showing up in your life?
I think that grace and courtesy were something I was taught young - both at Stepping Stones but also by my parents, and I make an effort to use both principles not just in relation with other people but also in relation to space, and animals, and the sort of stewardship that comes up in communities. I think by trying to be gracious with other folks and with the places and communities I've been in I've actually received a lot too - people will often open up and reciprocate pretty readily.
Is there anything else you would like to share as a Stepping Stones Alumni?
Just that what I learned from the teachers and students at Stepping Stones gave me the tools to choose and pursue my own goals in ways I never would have expected or thought possible - I don't think I would have the kinds of relationships or work I have now without what I learned at Stepping Stones and I can't imagine missing out on either of those.
We have been part of the community since 2013 after we relocated to Michigan from Washington State for work. The philosophy is true to our family values of inclusion and kind treatment of others. SSMS is true Montessori, and the guides and staff are all devoted to the children and their success. The relationships that have been made by us as parents as well as our children’s have been amazing.
Many of the families are long time members with children staying throughout all of the available school years. As in any community we have areas for opportunity and growth. Overall though the community is all about the children and has always been inclusive and inviting to all. The model that Montessori utilizes is so successful and builds the whole child and prepares them to become a successful and caring adult.
- Tonisha and Abe J.
Our son benefited from having the same teacher guides and peer group for multiple years. We feel they all knew each other really well and had a strong community that wasn’t bound by one-grade level like in traditional schools. And the multi-year classrooms support the fact that kids develop skills at their own pace, so there isn’t an artificial standard that must be met or “you’re behind”. Our family was with Stepping Stones for 8 years and we all loved it.
- Deanna M.
When asked why our son goes to SSMS and why he has continued his education through the middle school (and to the farm school next year!), I have a couple answers. One is a warm and fuzzy answer; another is a cold and calculated one, but both are centered on the potential of our son.
The first answer is found in the name of the school. Stepping stones are the purchase by which we cross obstacles. It’s a plural noun. No worthy obstacle can be crossed with a single stepping stone! Like each stone leads to the next, each year of Montessori education builds upon the next. Our desire for our son to have a mind like Da Vinci, comfortable in acquiring all kinds of knowledge is why we chose Montessori and why we continue to choose Montessori: The process isn’t complete. If we stop now, there are a billion synapses that may never fire and trigger something indefinable in our son so when he seeks “the what”, he will also seek “the why.”
The other reason we choose Montessori is based on my professional career. I’m sure we’ve all worked with men and women – brilliant in their fields – who lack the thing. We want our son to be a person-in-full, balanced intellectually and spiritually. We believe that the longer we attend a Montessori school, the more developed our son will become and when he goes out into the world, the people with whom he studies and works will understand the value of a Montessori education.
- Justin and Sachiko J.
