The Summerland Montessori School and The Prairie Valley Preschool are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year.
The school was formed in 1999 and operated upstairs in the Harold Simpson Memorial building. It has since developed into an independent school since its inception, having moved into the current facility in 2003.
In this facility the school blossomed from 14 students to a peak of 68 elementary students and 25 children in the preschool.
Some highlights for the Summerland Montessori School and Prairie Valley Preschool include winning community awards for Business Excellence and Community Service as well as being named the Best Private School in the South Okanagan by Okanagan Life magazine last year.
The focus in 2014 to 2015 is to remain an affordable option for Summerland and area families.
The school established a parent equity program in better economic times where families invested in the school in an effort to improve facilities and add a Middle School.
This program has been dropped as it made it difficult for some families who were interested in joining the school to do so, and this went against the school’s pledge of being an affordable option, said Cal Johnson, head of school.
Instead, the school is lowering its tuition rates by 15 per cent to mark its 15th anniversary, he said.