Sally Anne Benson retires after 29 years at Worthington Montessori School

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Brian Korthals/Daily Globe Retiring educator Sally Ann Benson (center) sits with her Montessori students Thursday night at the Westminster Presbyterian Church.

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WORTHINGTON — Kneeling among the 3- to 5-year-old students in the sunny Worthington Montessori School (WMS) classroom, Sally Anne Benson would be difficult to spot were it not for her gray curls.

Her diminutive form, native intelligence and enthusiastic, energy-filled demeanor have made her an ideal directress of the preschool since 1981.

Now much nearer to age 62 than 6, Benson will retire after being a part of WMS for 32 of its nearly 40 years in existence, having served as a WMS program aide for three years prior to training for and assuming the directress role 29 years ago.

“It has been a privilege to have spent years of my life with young children,” said Benson. “They are affectionate, honest and forgiving, and I have learned so much from them.”

A dedicated proponent of the Montessori method, Benson has seen roughly 600 children come through the Worthington program, which typically has an enrollment of 20 students annually, over the past three decades.

“The goal of the Montessori method is to help children develop their whole personality,” Benson explained. “In her work, Maria Montessori studied children, watched them develop and found the essential humanity of each child, and their innate desire to learn.

“I saw my role not so much as a teacher but as a guide to help children learn the things they are most interested in, and to help them develop good work habits and social skills.”

Based on the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori, an early childhood educator and philosopher who taught and founded schools for children around the globe in the first part of the 20th century, WMS embraces several goals — to offer the best educational start possible to all children; to enhance a child’s emotional and social development through creation of a warm and understanding environment in which to work and succeed; and to complement parents’ efforts in rearing the child.

“A huge part of the Montessori philosophy is the social interaction of the school community, working on positive contacts with each other and developing mutual respect — all skills that are great preparation for kindergarten,” Benson stated.

A team of local parents, spurred by former Worthington residents John and Joan Mork, helped start WMS in 1971. Today, the school continues to be a parent-run, non-profit organization led by a parent board and an advisory committee that serves children ages 33 months to 6 years. Benson pointed out that, because classes run Monday through Friday from 8 to 11 a.m. during the academic year, WMS is also cost-competitive on an hour-by-hour basis compared with other area preschools.

Westminster Presbyterian Church has provided classroom space in its lower level for WMS from the beginning, and Benson is grateful the church has proved so accommodating over the years.

Benson also acknowledges the support of the school’s parents, as well as that of her three successive teaching assistants — Nancy Raboin, Donna Reimer and Gail Rahn.

Other than noting that families — most with two working parents — seem busier in 2011 than when she began in 1981, Benson believes that most aspects of working with children and the Montessori method still hold true today.

“Although Maria Montessori devised this over 100 years ago, it is still as germane now as it was then,” she stated. “Kids still respond favorably to the Montessori method, and their own curiosity, sense of discovery and motivation remain the same.

“One delightful change is the increase in cultural diversity within the classroom, which reflects our community,” she added, explaining that in recent years she has had students of Hispanic, Laotian, Thai, African and Indian descent. “That’s been a wonderful change.”

Benson began her Montessori directress role when her youngest child, Anton, was five years old and starting kindergarten. Now Anton and his older sister, Heather, live on opposite coasts — Anton works for the Nature Conservancy on Long Island, N.Y., while Heather is a horticultural therapist in San Francisco, Calif. — so having more freedom to visit them with husband David Benson is one thing she looks forward to in her retirement.

She and David, an 18-year member of the Nobles County Board of Commissioners, live in rural Bigelow at Meadowlark Farm, where they have engaged in organic farming and built their own earth-sheltered house over a period of years.

While Benson’s place at WMS will be filled next fall by new directress Leann Enninga, she will not be soon forgotten.

“Sally Anne has had a profound influence on the children in the Montessori program,” said Sam Becker, current president of the WMS parent board and a Worthington High School teacher. “Her approach prepares children, yes, but I can see in the experience of my own daughter and my students who have gone through Montessori that she instills a curiosity about the world. Worthington has been fortunate to have this program, and Sally Anne, for so many years.”

Affirmed Benson, “I find one of the magnificent pieces of the Montessori program is the respect it demands for each child, all the people of the world and the environment.

“Children have such a love for life and for learning,” she said. “I feel so lucky to have spent my work life with children and their big smiles, hugs and unconditional love.”

An open house retirement party for Sally Anne Benson is scheduled for Thursday, June 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Town Hall at Worthington’s Pioneer Village. For more information about enrollment at Worthington Montessori School, contact either Sam Becker at sam.g.becker@gmail.com or write to Worthington Montessori School, P.O. Box 434, Worthington, MN 56187.

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