Lakeside Montessori school to move locations for upcoming school year

The exterior of 5610 Brook Road, the new home of Wild Fern Montessori School. (Jackie DiBartolomeo photo)

A Montessori school in the Lakeside area is relocating to a bigger space up the street for its upcoming school year. 

Wild Fern Montessori School, which is currently located at 7511 Brook Road, is taking over a former Wells Fargo bank branch at 5610 Brook Road. 

Founder and treasurer Brei Stevenson said the move means more space for the school, which opened seven years ago. With renovations of the two-story, 2,800-square-foot building underway, the new location is set to welcome Wild Fern students for classes in September. 

“We’re now taking the opportunity to make a building completely our own, redesign it and make it truly something special and meaningful and purposeful,” Stevenson said.

A mockup and floor plan of the new Wild Fern building. (Photos courtesy Brei Stevenson)

The new building will have two classrooms: one at 875 square feet for toddlers from 18 months to three years old, and the other at 825 square feet for children ages 3 to 6. With the Montessori school method emphasizing children’s independence, classrooms will be equipped with child height-level sinks and appliances like refrigerators, along with other details.

Per floor plans for the project, the classroom for younger children has a max occupancy of 25, while the classroom for older children has a maximum occupancy of 23. A separate room will also be dedicated as a nap room for students. 

Wild Fern currently has 35 students and a staff of 10 employees. With more space, Stevenson said it could add about five new students per classroom to its current capabilities. 

A new outdoor playground will also be built from on the premises from scratch. 

“We are installing environmentally friendly, kid-friendly turf and building very natural ‘playscapes,’” Stevenson said. “Everything is going to be much more light and airy. Beautiful wood floors.” 

The wall between the two classrooms will also be a pocket wall that can be removed to make a larger space for events. A reception area will also be added, a feature Wild Fern does not have at its current location, along with second-floor administration, break room and office space. 

Wild Fern was originally founded as the Glen Allen Community Montessori School in 2018, and gained nonprofit status in 2019. 

With only around eight children in its inaugural student body, the school started out in the basement of the United Unitarian Universalist Church of Glen Allen, then relocated to the Overbrook Presbyterian Church before finding a permanent, standalone home at its current Brook Road location in Lakeside in 2020. 

The interior, under construction, of the new Wild Fern building.

Stevenson said the school’s leadership sought out the move as a way to modestly expand its enrollment capabilities. 

“It was a great beginning starter space for starting a new toddler program and really solidifying more of who we are and what our community looks like,” Stevenson said. “We are wanting to expand just a little bit. We’re not adding any new classrooms, but we do want to add a few more students to the mix.”

Stevenson reached out to the local landlord who’d previously owned the building Wild Fern is currently in, and asked if he had any properties that might be a fit for the school. 

When the Wild Fern team saw the former Wells Fargo bank branch was up for lease, Stevenson said the school knew it was the right spot. Veronica Wiles of Sperity Real Estate Ventures brokered the lease agreement. 

Wild Fern has been working on renovations since November and is still in the midst of renovations, with the school waiting on some permitting to do structural things like plumbing. 

Once permitting comes through, final construction should take no longer than three weeks, Stevenson said. 

Stevenson said that while the building landlord is putting up the funds for much of the upfit, Wild Fern is contributing around $6,000 for the new flooring, around $20,000 for the turf on the outdoor play areas and funding for appliances and toilets. 

Wild Fern’s tuition costs for 3-to-6-year-olds range from around $1,000 per month to around $1,500 per month, while costs for 18 month-to-3- year-olds range from around $1,100 per month to around $1,700 per month. The school also offers an extended morning and afternoon care program, and has a sliding scale program that subsidizes tuition to eligible families. 

Wild Fern operated with $459,000 in revenue and $411,000 in expenses in 2024, according to its most recent public financial reports issued to the IRS. 

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