Montessori Graduate Relies on Faith to Build Her Own School

Oct 21, 2018

When Kate Riley graduated from Xavier with a degree in Montessori education in 1998, she had no idea she would be opening her own school 10 years later. But Holy Trinity Montessori in Nashville is still going strong, and Riley is amazed at its success.

"I tell people, be careful what you dream for," Riley says.

Unlike Cincinnati, with its wide diversity of public and private Montessori schools that teach every grade from preschool through high school, Tennessee Montessori schools are few and are generally available for preschoolers only. And they're expensive.

"Most of the schools in Nashville ranged up to $13,000 a year, and it really bothered me that most people couldn't afford it," Riley says.

"I tell people, be careful what you dream for."

It led Riley to start thinking about opening her own school. Her goal was three-fold: offer a school that was affordable, make it Montessori, and include a nondenominational faith-based curriculum. She started a wide-ranging fundraising campaign, receiving support from the Nashville community that continues today and helps pay for buildings and keeps tuition low.

Holy Trinity Montessori

Holy Trinity Montessori opened in August 2009 with 26 children in an unused building Riley rented from a Lutheran church. Today there are 80 students and a new building on 38 acres of land the school owns. Ultimately, she hopes to serve 130 students from age six months through eighth grade.

"My vision has been to really follow the child and follow the family, to have the family say, 'Let's go through kindergarten, go through third grade, go through middle school'," she said.

With its faith element built into the curriculum, the school provides more than just an education-it creates a strong and lasting community. Students learn how to work with one another and be good shepherds of the earth by living alongside the environment.

Learning from Failure

But none of this would be possible if Riley hadn't failed a nursing exam and visited a career counselor her freshman year. "I'll never know the woman's name," she says. "But she had me take a personality test. The first thing it said was I should be a teacher. I didn't want to be a teacher."

Then she visited Xavier's Montessori Lab School, and she realized the counselor was right.

"I was floored. I could not believe it. I was in tears," Riley said. "These kids were working on their own, learning and having fun. I changed my major that day and graduated with a 4.0. I had no idea that when I switched my major, I was getting the best possible training anywhere."

Riley credits her time at Xavier for the success she has seen with Holy Trinity Montessori. The education and experience she gained provided a foundation not only for her career, but for a blossoming school in Nashville as well.