Montessori school offers child care, education

Gretchen George knows Boulder well. She grew up in town and she now lives “over the hill” in Clancy—and she knows that Boulder has an acute need for licensed child care. Since Jan. 3, she’s been helping to meet that need, overseeing the opening of the new Nature Story Montessori at Boulder United Methodist Church.

The Montessori school, aimed at caring for children from 3 months to 4 years old, is located in the church hall at 108 N. Monroe St. and occupies the entire upstairs of the building, complete with a full kitchen and bathroom. George, who has worked for Nature Story in Helena and Montana City for about three years, and helped open the latter location, said that “I actually went to preschool in this building … that’s why I was super interested in getting back into this building.”

She knew Boulder needed child care “because there was nothing here,” and Nature Story originally began looking for a space to purchase about two years ago before deciding to pursue a rental. Separately, the city of Boulder partnered with Jefferson County to purchase a building from north of Helena and relocate it to Boulder Elementary School, where a newly formed nonprofit plans to eventually establish a low-cost child care operation. But that operation has yet to be established.