June 2, 2008 — A few years back, the head of the V.I. Montessori School and International Academy, Shournagh McWeeney, and her teaching colleague, Aideen Keating, were riding the school's float in the Carnival parade when the music suddenly died. The float's generator quit, and so too did the happy feet of the little Montessori children who had been performing their quadrille dance.
Momentarily flustered, McWeeney and Keating put on their thinking caps, took a deep breath, cleared their throats, and burst into what might politely be called a rendition of the missing melody, cajoling the students back into quadrille formation.
While McWeeney is highly regarded for many things, singing isn't one of them, according to Keating, who added that she herself is no Pavarotti.
Asked whether their public display of a cappella prompted a decline in enrollment at the school, she laughed and said, "I think it accounted for a surge!"
These days, as the school year draws to a close, the surge that the V.I. Montessori School is experiencing is one of gratitude for McWeeney, who has spent more than 30 years at the school, 28 of them as administrator, or head of school. McWeeney is retiring her administrator's hat and passing it to Peter J. Samaranayake, Ph.D, known as "Dr. Sam," who will take the overall helm beginning July 1, as well as spearheading the planned conversion to an International Baccalaureate Program in grades six and up. McWeeney will stay on as director of the Montessori program in the lower grades. But for the first time in nearly three decades, the buck will stop elsewhere.
Montessori in Her Blood
A slight woman with a soft voice, a warm face and graying hair, McWeeney's unimposing stature belies her stamina and effectiveness. Words such as "dedicated," "organized," "hard working" and "fair" were just not enough to sum up McWeeney, as PTA President Caroline Morrison struggled to find the right words.
"If Shournagh cut herself, she would bleed V.I. Montessori blue, for sure — royal blue," Morrison said, noting the school color.
McWeeney herself was raised in a Montessori school in her native Ireland. It's an education predicated on a structured approach to student-driven — rather than teacher-driven — learning, and does not use a grade system. Different-aged children are pooled into a single classroom to promote collaborative learning and mentoring skills. Teachers must learn to guide, but not dominate. From her earliest days, McWeeney wanted to be a Montessori teacher — an ambition clearly supported by her calm demeanor.
"She is unflappable," said Thomas B. Brunt III, whose three grandchildren now attend the school also attended by both of Brunt's son, and who has been one of the school's biggest benefactors. "I've never seen her angry. She is a consummate administrator."
According to Michael Bornn, president of the board of trustees, "She is the face and the flavor and the philosophy of the school."
A Changing School Tied to Cultural Traditions
When she arrived, the V.I. Montessori School educated some 120 students, Pre-K through the equivalent of grade six. Under her leadership, the school expanded to approximately 200 students and now includes a toddler program, a middle school and the beginnings of an upper school, with students enrolled through grade 10. In addition, McWeeney established an all-day program, 7:30 a.m. till 5:30 p.m., for students of all levels and after-school programs that include sports, arts and crafts, and other activities.
Programmatic expansions have been supported by land acquisition under McWeeney. The one-time half-acre campus now covers six-and-a-half acres, with a capital campaign in the offing to construct new buildings to support an anticipated enrollment expansion.
In keeping with Montessori tradition, which shuns rankings of any kind, the self-effacing McWeeney pooh-poohed the notion of public recognition. The school's board and parents charged ahead, nevertheless, and established the Shournagh McWeeney Scholarship Fund. Sunday marked the first of what is slated to become an annual effort to build the fund as the school hosted a steel pan music fest, featuring bands from the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School and Eudora Kean High School, raising $6,000 for the fund.
Born and raised in the British Isles, McWeeney relinquished her heart to St. Thomas almost upon her plane's landing 31 years ago. She loves Carnival, is a devotee of steel pan music, and her personal affection for the local culture dovetails with the school's approach to learning.
"I remember being encouraged at all times to bring the culture into the classroom," said Sen. Basil Ottley Jr. who attended Montessori from pre-school to sixth grade, and who now sends his three-year-old daughter, Serafina, to the school. "Some of the first stories that I wrote were in the dialect, and I was encouraged to do so and share it with the rest of my classmates. I was never made to feel that the dialect was not an important and relevant part of communication, and I think people like McWeeney embraced that."
She also embraces some customs that others have foregone in this day of instant electronic communications.
"She's very proper," said Kathy Huttle, McWeeney's administrative assistant for the past 10 years. "She writes 500 thank-you notes a year — personal thank-you notes, by hand, in a card. Easily 500 a year, if not more."
One parent was apparently so impressed by her note that she in turn wrote a note to thank McWeeney.
"And Ms. McWeeney sent a thank-you note for the thank-you note," Huttle recalled, laughing.
The Extra Mile
Asked what her detractors might say about her, McWeeney ponders and confesses, "Probably that I am too soft." She admits that in some cases they're right. "Others would say, which always amazes me, that I don't do enough, and I always love that one."
If there are those who believe she doesn't do enough, it appears most would argue that she goes the extra mile — literally. Such as the time she had to abandon a summer cruise midway to fly to Ireland and knock on the doors of three teachers — two of whom already worked at the school, and one who was a new hire — to gather up their documentation in hopes of securing visas for them.
She had received notice during her cruise that their paperwork had been denied by the immigration authorities. With school starting in a matter of weeks, the prospect of being short three Montessori teachers — whose training is unique, thus making hiring a challenge — prompted McWeeney to board a plane right away and solve the matter herself. In the end she pulled it off, with days to spare.
McWeeney looks forward to a somewhat slower pace in her new role, which brings her closer to her roots as a teacher — not only because she will be more closely tied to the classroom goings-on, but because she will be available to serve as a substitute teacher when the need arises.
While she herself doesn't have children, her ability to connect with them is legendary. Alumni return regularly to visit with her, if not enroll their children in Montessori.
Huttle recalled how McWeeney, a vegetarian, prepared homemade chicken soup for her a few years back during a serious illness and delivered it to her home.
"She's not a parent, but she is a mother to the staff and to the kids and to the parents," Huttle said. "She's never been in that position herself, but she's done it for so many people.
"Her heart belongs to Montessori School."
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