Mi Escuela Montessori Awarded $75,000 Grant to Expand Early Childhood Access in New Bartow Campus
- Apr 15
- 2 min read
Funding from GiveWell Community Foundation honors the legacy of Mabel Schaefer, a lifelong educator whose dedication continues to impact generations of children.
LAKELAND, FL — April 14, 2026 — Mi Escuela Montessori is proud to announce it has been awarded a $75,000.00 capital grant from GiveWell Community Foundation. This project is funded through a grant from GiveWell Community Foundation in honor of Mabel Schaefer's Legacy, a tribute to her lifelong dedication to education.
The grant arrives as construction is well underway on the school’s new 57,000-square-foot permanent campus in Bartow. With the structural shell completed this month, these funds allow the school to fully equipping a new Children’s House classroom with high-quality Montessori furniture, math, literacy, science, and social-emotional materials.
“This investment transforms a newly constructed space into a nurturing environment where children can feel safe and inspired from their very first day,” said Kelly De La Cruz, Founder and Executive Director at Mi Escuela Montessori. “By fully funding this classroom, we can focus our resources on high-impact programming for our students rather than long-term debt payments.”
Expanding Impact and Access The "Nurturing Foundations" project addresses a critical need in Polk County, where Mi Escuela Montessori remains the only dual-language immersion early childhood Montessori program. The expansion will increase the school's early childhood capacity from 96 to approximately 178 children ages 1–5.
The program specifically targets:
Early Literacy: Addressing the "word gap" by providing language-rich environments for children ages 1–6.
Equity: Ensuring intentional access for families from low-income households and emerging bilingual learners.
Sustainability: Creating a permanent classroom expected to serve approximately 500 children over the next 20 years.
Construction
The new facility is purpose-built for Montessori instruction, featuring eight early childhood classrooms with child-sized fixtures and access to outdoor learning gardens, six lower elementary classrooms, 6 upper elementary classrooms, a dedicated adolescent branch, and spaces for dance, art, music, cooking, maker's space, and dedicated intervention and gifted classrooms.
About Mi Escuela Montessori:
Mi Escuela Montessori is a tuition-free public charter school (K–8) and a provider of high-quality, tuition-based childcare (ages 1–6) serving a diverse student body in Polk County. By combining the Montessori method with dual-language immersion, the school fosters independence and academic excellence in an inclusive, developmentally responsive environment.
About GiveWell Community Foundation
GiveWell Community Foundation (GWCF) partners with individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits to build stronger communities throughout Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties and beyond through charitable funds and competitive grant cycles. Since its founding in 1997, GWCF has awarded more than $525 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. Today, the Community Foundation is home to more than 400 charitable funds and the Impact Polk and Empower grant cycles. To learn more about GWCF, visit givecf.org or call 863-683-3131.
Media Contact:
Kelly De La Cruz
863-337-5563
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