Horizon Montessori moves into 33,000-SF digs

HARLINGEN – Horizon Montessori School now occupies the 33,000-sf building, located at 2801 S. 77 Sunshine Strip, which once housed the Lack’s furniture store.

The school relocated in August 2014 from 801 N. 13th St., where it had less than half the space it now has to educate children in pre-kindergarten through seventh grade, according to Principal Richard Atkinson.

“We have a brand-new computer lab that we didn’t have at our previous site. We have a brand-new science lab and an art room” said Atkinson. The school’s enrollment grew from 170 students in 2013 to 238 in 2014, with the addition of an eighth grade.

The Montessori Method emphasizes more hands-on activities than in public schools, an approach that appeals to both parents and teachers.

Horizon Montessori belongs to South Texas Education Technologies Inc., which owns two other Montessori schools in McAllen and Weslaco, with Alim Ansari as the superintendent.