History
From 1887 to Today
Information was originally collected by students in Marilyn McGovern's Local History classes using Seward School, 1887-1987 by Ingmar A. Lee, Seward Montessori, and Northrup Montessori Yearbooks.
1887 - Seward Elementary School is established. Four teachers instructed one hundred and eighteen students. Lilla Hayes was the first principal. The school building was about half of the size of our current school building.
1901 - An eight-room addition was built costing $22,000. At this time Seward employed thirty-five teachers to instruct 1,253 students. That's almost 500 more students than we currently enroll!
1916 - Seward has over fifty rooms - kindergarten, manual training, cooking, sewing, gym, auditorium, medical inspection, laundry, library, mechanical drawing, sheet metal, electricity, showers, conservatory, laboratory, and print shop - to name a few!
1920 - Mother's Club is formed, consisting of kindergarten moms.
1936 - Mother's Club grew to include all grades and became the PTA during this year.
1948 - Seward provided students with additional elective classes that included Make up, Lampshades, and Sewing for girls; Gym, Woodworking, and Chip-carving for boys. Students could even take a Personality class. At this time the PTA raised $287,000 for renovating the school.
1950 - School renovation is complete. Seward purchases its first TV.
1959 - Plans for the new Seward were underway.
1965 - The official groundbreaking ceremony takes place on October 21. Students carried their school supplies from the old building to the new building.
1966 - The dedication ceremony is held on December 11. The new school had a staff of forty-one teachers and an enrollment of 821 students.
1969 - The Park Board added Matthews Center to the school.
1991 - The Northrup Dolphins become the Seward Sharks! Northrup Montessori, a K-6 school, moved into Seward Elementary. The School changed its name to Seward Montessori and included grades K-8. The Seward Montessori Leadership Council is established. This team of teachers, staff, principals and parents is charged with working together to define school goals, solve problems and improve student achievement. The Seward Splash is published.
1993 - The Middle School wing and Media Center are added. Construction is complete the following year.
1997 - The Peace Garden is established under the guidance of Principal Marilyn Levine. The garden is used in a variety of ways to promote wellness and to cultivate environmental awareness.
2002 - Seward becomes an Arts for Academic Achievement site.
2007 - The Green Committee began meeting in the spring of 2007, and currently meets on a monthly basis in the Craft Room of Matthews Center at 6:30. The Green Committee seeks to work collaboratively with parents, teachers, staff and students to educate our school community about environmental issues, and increase awareness of and action around improved environmental stewardship.
2009 - The student body changes its school colors from blue and gray to green and silver.
2010 - Seward Montessori continues to be a K-8 school with approximately 870 students. The principal was Dr. Marilyn Levine and Patrick Palan was our assistant principal. There were over 80 staff and faculty members and 37 classrooms and specialist rooms. Go Sharks!
2013-2014 - Seward Montessori student population is 890 students. There are four all-day kindergartens (Children's House), eleven E-1 classrooms (1st-3rd grades), six E-2 classrooms (4th-5th grade) and a Middle School (grades 6-8) with approximately 100 students. The principal is Tammy Goetz and the Assistant Principal is Verlene Green. There are over 80 staff and faculty members and 37 classrooms and specialist rooms. The MPS School Board approves funding for the addition of nine classrooms and other building improvements to Seward Montessori.
2014-2020- Seward Montessori student population remains consistently strong. The principal remains Tammy Goetz and Seward gets a new assistant principal, Meghan O'Connor-Fischer. A school edition is completed in 2016 where the entrance is redone, third floor is added, media center is reconstructed, and lunchroom and offices reconstructed. It remains a strong Montessori elementary school and middle school with a passionate community.
2020-2021- The pandemic moves students into distance learning in March of 2020. Students remain in distance learning for the remainder of the school year and into the next. The Comprehensive District Design passes and Seward will have to close its doors to the Middle School.
2021-2024- With the passing of the Comprehensive District Design, Seward Montessori School becomes a PK-5 magnet program that serves students city-wide. It increases its enrollment and there are over 650 elementary students within the building. The staff increases to over 100 staff members strong with 5 Children's House classrooms, 12 E-1 classrooms, and 7 E-2 classrooms. The school gets a new principal, Ana Bartl, and assistant principal, Clare Foley Peters. While the school rebrands parts, changing its colors to blue and green, the school remains focused on providing the strongest public Montessori education to all students in Minneapolis.
2024-Present- Seward adds an outdoor classroom with nature spaces, Montessori circles and several backyard chickens. Seward adds 6th grade. Seward welcomes Katie Hoffman and Kevin Jachymowski as its principal and assistant principal.