Timeline
| 1975-76 | • Larry and Pat Schaefer move to Minneapolis to work at the St. Paul Montessori school sponsored by the Montessori foundation at the invitation of Larry O’Shaughnessy |
| 1976-77 | • Lake Country School is established, incorporated and opens at the Basilica of St. Mary’s with 65 children in one Children's House and two elementary classrooms • The first Board of Directors is appointed • The first elementary performance is Panic in a Desk Drawer |
| 1978-79 | • First class graduates from 6th grade |
| 1979-80 | • Kathy Coskran and Sarah Endsley open second Children's House classroom • Millie Dosh establishes the Research Center • Madame Fisk starts teaching French • A building search committee is formed; LCS moves to Cleary Hall on 38th St. and Pleasant Ave. on July 12, 1980 |
| 1980-81 | • LCS opens in Cleary Hall with 210 enrolled; cafeteria is shared with Incarnation School • First year elementary students go to “Widji” |
| 1982-83 | • Junior High opens in the Incarnation Building • First Junior High Odyssey to Campsville, Illinois • First Junior High bike trip • First ISACS accreditation self-study • Research center is remodeled • 225 students enrolled |
| 1983-84 | • First Junior High Odyssey East to historic Williamsburg • Third Children's House classroom added • First year of Extended Day • LCS is accredited by ISACS |
| 1984-85 | • First Odyssey West to Crow Canyon |
| 1985-86 | • First capital campaign planned to buy Cleary Hall, renovate Children's House and build the gym and Junior High |
| 1986-87 | • LCS purchases Cleary Hall; children “hug the building” during spiral dance celebration |
| 1987-88 | • Children's House moves into newly remodeled classrooms • Twins win the pennant and Children's House writes Let’s Go Out to the Ballgame |
| 1988-89 | • First observance of Wisdom Day • Building of gym and Junior High completed • Back lot purchased from U.S. West |
| 1989-90 | • First Future’s Day Celebration—trees planted • First exchange with Moscow School #31 • LCS cosponsors National Montessori conference on the Humanities |
| 1991-92 | • First all-school recitation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech |
| 1992-93 | • Jane Goodell visits LCS |
| 1993-94 | • Roots and Shoots environmental club is established • Larry Schaefer hosts Adolescent Conference in St. Paul |
| 1994-95 | • First Amity scholar, Paul Alain, arrives from Cameroon • Field of Dreams is auction theme to raise money for playground equipment • Pat and Larry Schaefer announce their retirement as co-principals |
| 1995-96 | • Kathy Coskran begins as Associate Principal • Board approves purchase of the Land School • Playground is renovated • First Winter Count alum gatherings • LCS staff create quilt portraying the first twenty years of the school in a spiral of block prints • 301 students enrolled |
| 1996-97 | • Kathy Coskran becomes new Head of School • “Great Gatherings” auction tradition established • First Land School harvest • First exchange with Swedish students • Steve and Mimi Fisher present the sculpture “Montessori’s Vision” to LCS in honor of their daughter and alumna Carly |
| 1997-98 | • Pat Schaefer’s class writes award-winning symphony • Astronaut Sally Ride visits LCS |
| 1998-99 |
• LCS launches For the Children, its second capital campaign, to renovate the |
| 1999-2000 | • Elementary students return to newly renovated classrooms • Planning begins for construction at the Land School • LCS buys the property next door on Pleasant Avenue • Junior High plants 6,000 trees at the Land School |
| 2000-01 | • 25th Anniversary Year • Endowment established with $226,000 on gifts and $408,000 in pledges |
| 2001-02 | • Land School committee hosts charette to involve community in designing lodge |
| 2002-03 | • Council of Children established and writes school pledge • LCS breaks ground on the O’Shaughnessy Homestead at the Land School |
| 2003-04 | • LCS dedicated as a peace site • O’Shaughnessy Homestead at the Land School dedicated • Kathy Coskran retires as Principal |
| 2004-05 | • Paulette Zoë begins as new Principal • First Junior High residency at the Land School • First year of the 9th grade with one 9th grade student • First Odyssey South to Mississippi with focus on Civil Rights and marine biology • Class H works with Mike Hazard, a.k.a. Media Mike, to produce The Magic Green School Bus, a documentary about the life of Paul Wellstone • LCS receives $500,000 endowment gift from the Drake-McLaughlin alum family |
| 2005-06 | • 30th Year of Lake Country School • Junior High play, Much Ado About Nothing, is performed with two casts |
| 2006-07 | • Montessori Centenary: Maria Montessori opened the first Casa di Bambini in Janurary of 1907 |
| 2007-08 | • Aaron Lockridge begins his teaching career in Children's House 2 alongside his former Children's House teacher, Sarah Endsley • LCS participates in 100 Steps for Montessori, a global event to celebrate the Montessori Centenary • Auction is chaired for the first time by an LCS alum |
| 2008-09 | • Katie Mullin becomes the first child of an LCS alum to graduate from the Junior High • Children's House 2 is so captivated by the Junior High performance of Wizard of Oz that they produce their own version |
| 2009-10 | • A 15-day Farm Stay is initiated allowing Junior High students to live at the Land School while focusing on the work of the farm, microeconomy, and occupations. • E2 collaborates to write, produce, and perform A Sea of Stories as their level play. • A special classroom observation and luncheon is held at the urban campus for Friends of the Future Circle members. • The JH play is As You Like It. • Through a camera placed in its den, Children's House 2 follows the birth and first months of life of Hope the bear. Their interest in bears culminates in a classroom performance of Little Black Bear Goes For A Walk. • Remodeling at the Land School homestead greatly increases the number of sleeping areas, allowing for full elementary class overnight stays. On one such visit, Class C plants over 1000 corn and pumpkin plants! • Eleven Junior High students participate in a thirteen-day educational and cultural exchange with El Colegio Montessori de Tepoztlán, our sister school in Cuernavaca, Mexico. |
| 2010-11 | • 35th anniversary year of Lake Country School! • Larry and Pat Schaefer begin work on a memoir of the founding years of the school. • The 9th grade has 5 students, and 15 LCS alums have their children at the school. • Jean Melom is in her 30th year of teaching. • Year one of Lake Country's fifth ISACS 7-year accreditation cycle. |
This is a work in progress. If you think we've made an error or should add something else to the timeline, please send us an email.
A more comprehensive version of the timeline is available in the Alum section of the LCS website.