Giving at MSE

A shared belief of our community is that the way we raise and educate our children is one of the most meaningful legacies we will leave. We at MSE are deeply honored to be involved in our students’ lives in this way. It is one of the reasons that MSE is resolutely committed to offering our students an unparalleled, well-rounded, challenging, and nurturing experience. Join in this legacy with your support.

There are also ways you can support MSE through corporate sponsorship, matched giving through your employer, planned giving, donating a vehicle as well as through our partnerships with King Soopers and Safeway.

If you would like to learn more about the ways you can support MSE and the incredible impact you can make as a Montessori Champion, please email our Director of Advancement, Ella van Wyk evanwyk@montessori-evergreen.org or call her at 303 674 0093 ext 1060.

Gagarin family story

Please join us in celebration of the Gagarin family who have bestowed a $100,000 gift to MSE in honor of an impactful and deeply loved educator, Dorothy “Dottie” Reeves Carter, grandmother-in-law to our own Marshdale Toddler teacher, Nicole Cappelletty. Dottie’s story and her dedication to her students reflects and extends our same mission at MSE and we are honored to be a place of remembrance for her. 

Born in 1920 in the South, Dottie grew up in one of the immigrant boroughs in the Pittsburgh area. A child of the Great Depression, she had a lifelong “waste not, want not” philosophy and a love of kitchen gardens. Throughout her life, she believed in the value of a good education and that she had a duty to help others.

Although awarded an academic scholarship to attend the University of Pittsburgh, as a young Black woman, she was not allowed to live in the dorms and couldn’t find another place to live. She went on to attend the Historically Black Hampton Institute, where she studied English literature, participated in debate, and graduated in 1942. During the war she moved to Washington where she met and married Dan Carter, her inseparable partner for 53 years. 

They eventually settled in Sudbury MA, where for over 20 years Dottie taught high school English in nearby Framingham and coached the debate team. She was devoted to her students and they returned the feeling. Once, she came to school early and found a student already there. After questioning him she learned that he was homeless and was secretly living at the school. Rather than turn him in she arranged for him to stay in her classroom for the rest of the term. 

Dottie carried her love of teaching and literature throughout her life and took every opportunity to share that love with others. She read books for the vision impaired. She volunteered at Reading is Fundamental, an organization that promotes literacy by inspiring a passion for reading among all children.

After her husband died she moved to Austin to be near her daughter Donna, son-in law, Michael Gagarin, and grandchildren Daniel and Alexandra Gagarin. Always active, she was a volunteer docent at the LBJ library in Austin well into her 90s. She died at the age of 97 in 2017.

The gift is designated to the Annual Campaign in support of the school as whole. Please join us in honoring Dottie’s memory and in our gratitude to the Gagarin family for their generosity. 

Marilyn Van Derbur Atler family story

Announcing a gift in support of MSE given by Marilyn Van Derbur Atler and her husband Larry Atler! Marilyn was so moved by the MSE teachers finding ways to still teach during the pandemic, she sold her Miss America crown to raise $20,000 to thank and bless them.

The transformational power of this gift makes each day of learning and discovery for our students that much better. Their gift will provide specialized Montessori equipment for our classrooms. 

The entire MSE community is lifted by the generosity and care of Marilyn and Larry. Please join us in our appreciation of their commitment to MSE in the betterment of each child’s journey through their montessori education.