VIP Profile: Jenn Hewett
If you have the opportunity to walk into The Montessori School of Bowling Green on a normal school day, you could have the joy of seeing children buttering biscuits they just helped make, molding clay into unique objects, weaving colorful yarn on a large loom, or working on a geography lesson using big wooden puzzles. And you would likely see Jenn Hewett, moving from one child to another, bending down to be at eye level with each student, attending to needs and encouraging children in their individual pursuits. Hewett first opened The Montessori School of Bowling Green in 2008 and has watched the school grow and change to fit the unique needs of the community, all while maintaining a unique Montessori-based early education program for children in Bowling Green. She hopes that the school is a staple in Bowling Green for years to come and is one of many Montessori schools for families in the community.
“I was born and raised in Canada and I was Montessori-trained there and I worked there for several years in a couple of different schools,” Hewett says. “When we moved here for my husband’s job, I, along with a friend, decided we needed to open a Montessori school here and I was excited to continue with what I loved. After we wrote a business plan and found a place for the school, we opened in August of 2008 and it truly took off.”
Hewett admits that often times she finds that the Montessori method is misunderstood by people and that many think that the program is either too strict or the exact opposite, that it lacks any structure. She says the program is designed around children following and learning about what they are interested in and the instructors let children be the guide in that, with some parameters in place.
“We like to say that Montessori is the perfect combination of following the child, but not over the cliff,” Hewett says. “It comes with boundaries. I’m going to give you all the freedom you deserve, but only when you have healthy limits. We cultivate an environment where we help to encourage happy, peaceful people, who respect other people and their environment. Then we will jump into their interests.”
The Montessori method, developed first by Maria Montessori, an Italian medical doctor, focuses on mixed-age classrooms, with an individualized approach to each child’s interests. There are stretches of unstructured time where students can pursue lessons that scaffold with the next lesson to promote growth and learning. Hewett says students learn phonics early and learn how to count, but also children may learn to sew, arrange flowers and many other activities that promote gross and fine motor skills.
When the school first opened, Hewett had one classroom of 22 children. Now, they offer a baby program with up to six babies, a toddler room with 10 toddler-aged children and two primary classrooms, one with 24 students and one with 36 students, for children ages three to six years old. The growth has also required adding on and repurposing different areas of the historical home in downtown Bowling Green where the school is housed.
“We were so glad to find this space because when we were originally looking, it was really hard to find a location that met the requirements we had from the state,” Hewett says. “We needed good outdoor space, so when our realtor found this old home downtown, it looked like a bunch of work, but we jumped into all the renovations. We thought it might be temporary, but it is perfect and now we’ve built on, added additions and repurposed areas.
Away from school, Hewett says she loves traveling, being involved in the community and spending time with her husband of 24 years, Kevin and their two labs, Larry and Walter. Hewett is involved with the BG2050 project, a movement to focus the community on what improvements could happen in the area, and she has enjoyed helping to figure out ideas that will better Bowling Green, a place that she is thankful she gets to call home.
“I love how friendly and welcoming it is here,” Hewett says. “I truly can’t imagine opening a business and feeling so welcome. It is so family-friendly and a very dynamic city. Being involved in BG2050 is definitely one of my favorite things here recently and I’ve had the chance to meet such interesting, wonderful people and to get to work together with them has been really fun.”
Hewett says now, in her 17th year with the school, her first students in the program when she first started are now young adults. As she looks to the future of the school, and her life in and outside of the school, she hopes to see Montessori grow in the south central Kentucky area, and she knows that promoting a happy, healthy childhood will always be at the center of who she is.
“I think there is room for lots more Montessori schools and it would be amazing for other schools to grow out of the staff I have here, since some are Montessori-trained. While I hope they stay with me forever, I want them to do what’s best for them and I know there is room for more of us here,” Hewett says. “Personally, I’m 50 and I want to keep doing what I love for at least the next 10 years. But no matter what, I will always be connected to children, helping children in some capacity. The very best of humanity is in early childhood. They are the most wonderful, impressionable and full of joy. They are exactly who we are supposed to be.”
