Latest news with #Guidepost
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Preschool company abruptly closes three of its central Ohio locations
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — With just weeks' notice, multiple central Ohio preschools under the same company are closing by the end of the month, leaving employees and families with little time to adjust. Guidepost Montessori is closing three of its four central Ohio locations by March 31. Nationwide, the company has closed almost 50 of its more than 150 schools with minimal notice. An administrator said the situation has been 'miserable.' 'We have parents begging us to do something,' she said. Alumni societies pull donations after Ohio State cuts diversity officies The administrator — who asked to be anonymous as she is staying with the school until its closure — said staff learned the schools would close on Feb. 25. Guidepost locations at Dublin, Muirfield Village and Powell will close, with the Worthington location remaining open. Although Guidepost and its parent company, Higher Ground Education, had significant financial backing from groups like LearnCapital and the Walton Foundation, its rapid expansion appeared to overtake the costs needed to maintain its schools. Higher Ground's CEO and founder also resigned in the last two weeks, adding to the confusion. Interim co-CEO Maris Mendes said via internal newsletter that the company's overextension has led them to close nearly a third of the company's schools. All closing Columbus locations provided care for kids between 12 weeks and 6 years old. Guidepost Montessori's website does not indicate these locations are closing and still invites families to reach out. The Muirfield Village webpage says the school is accepting applications for infant through kindergarten programs. Community plan aims to revitalize Eastland Mall property Guidepost schools across the country are affected. News outlets have reported closures in at least 10 states this year. In October, Guidepost's missed rent payments at a facility in Virginia led to the building's landlord locking the doors without warning. Dozens of workers and families were left without access, and news outlets reported children's and teacher's belongings were locked inside. In a letter to Denver television station KMGH, Guidepost Montessori said the specialized education, training and educational materials are expensive. The representative said many schools were running losses of $50,000 per month and that the company's creditors were no longer willing to bend. Financial reports for the company are difficult to track down, as they only have four SEC filings and are not a nonprofit, so their tax documents are not readily available. The most recent public data comes from lease agreements, where Guidepost was reported to be nearly doubling its revenue each year through 2022. Father behind Lauren's Law in Ohio sues disability care facility after eviction The administrator said she wished the company had given them at least a few months' notice. She said Montessori schooling, which emphasizes independence in learning, is a niche educational experience, which makes it harder to bounce back from the closures. 'Now there's faculty scrambling to find employment, because Montessori is so specific,' she said. She said families are also struggling to find new childcare options, as the Worthington location had minimal openings. Among the three locations, there are 91 students left without childcare, according to the schools' most recent state inspections. Using that same data, even if the Worthington location enrolled kids to its maximum legal capacity, at least 16 would still need a new school. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Yahoo
Wheels stolen off of vehicle and other reports
Mar. 4—Three wheels were reported stolen off of a vehicle at 10:58 a.m. Monday at 310 W. Seventh St. 1 arrested for DWI, test refusal after traffic stop Police arrested Wenter Western, 44, for DWI, driving after revocation and DWI test refusal after a traffic stop at 2:04 a.m. Monday on the 200 block of East Pearl Street. Attempted scam reported Police received a report at 10:31 a.m. Monday of an attempted Guidepost subscription scam of an Albert Lea resident. Vehicle rummaged through Police received a report at 2:48 p.m. Monday of a vehicle that was rummaged through at 929 S. Third Ave. Items were missing. Tail light broken on vehicle A tail light was reported broken on a vehicle at 4:21 p.m. Monday at 235 S. Pearl St. Gas siphoned out of vehicle Gas was reported siphoned out of a vehicle at 5:24 p.m. Monday at 820 Happy Trails Lane. Hit-and-run reported A hit-and-run crash was reported at 6:34 p.m. Monday near Bridge Avenue and Marshall Street. Backpack stolen A backpack was reported stolen from a vehicle at 7:50 p.m. Monday at 902 S. Fourth Ave. Toolbox stolen A Milwaukee toolbox was reported stolen from the front porch at 8:05 p.m. Monday at 602 Water St.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Montessori group to close 2 Minnesota schools amid nationwide closures
A company that operates private Montessori schools is closing multiple locations across the country, including its two schools in Minnesota. The pages for Guidepost Montessori schools in Roseville and White Bear Lake have been scrubbed from the company's website, with an email to families confirming both will be closed by the end of March. The letter also confirmed Guidepost is abandoning its plans to open new schools in Eagan and Apple Valley. "In short, the organization's ability and runway to embrace and tackle the enrollment and financial obstacles at these locations has shortened," the email read. "To be clear, this decision does not reflect any failure or lack of effort of our school leadership and staff. They have been working immensely hard to build thriving educational communities and deserve our admiration and recognition for their efforts. We are simply at a pass where we must recognize that we cannot sustain these particular locations in our long-term portfolio of schools after continued enrollment and financial challenges." The letter says Guidepost will "redirect our time, energy, and resources to the other schools in our network that are long-term sustainable." Guidepost Montessori added that it intends to provide transitional resources for families left looking for a new school. KSTP, which first reportedthe Minnesota closures, says the White Bear Lake location has a capacity for 52 children, while the Roseville location has a capacity for 74 children. There have also been reports that Guidepost Montessori is closing multiple locations in Colorado and Iowa. Guidepost describes itself as "the world's largest global Montessori network," saying it has more than 130 locations across the globe.
CBS News
05-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Colorado parents scramble after five Montessori schools announce sudden closure
Guidepost Montessori announced the closure of all Colorado locations next month, leaving 300 families scrambling to find new schools for their children. Parents are now faced with the challenge of finding care with limited time and resources. Guidepost Montessori families across five schools in the Denver metro area received the devastating email Monday afternoon. The Parker location email reads in part: "Despite our best efforts to sustain operations, and after a recent and thorough review of our operational costs, the difficult decision has been made to close Guidepost Montessori at Parker effective March 7th. We regret that we are unable to provide more notice, and we truly wish we could." Nora Johnson's child attends the school in Aurora. "It was totally out of the blue," said Johnson, a whose daughter had started to thrive in her Montessori environment. "They're leaving us in pretty dire straits. We're dual income, but neither of us can stop working given the housing crisis." Despite the refund of their deposit, the short notice has left families feeling unprepared and uncertain about their next steps. The closure leaves parents with just a few weeks to find new arrangements in an already challenging environment, where waitlists for quality programs often stretch months or even years. "We were on three different waiting lists when I was pregnant with my daughter," said Nora. "I was laughed at by four different day cares for not calling when we conceived." For many parents, the emotional toll of the closure is just as significant as the logistical burden. "The teachers are so loving and caring. It's sad that my daughter isn't going to be with the teachers that she's come to know and trust," said Cait, whose daughter has been at Guidepost Montessori since she was 4 months old. "Now we're given four weeks to try to find that that same availability and also aligning with the values and the care that we want for our child." Guidepost says the closures are not reflection of any failure or lack of effort on the part of school leadership or staff. Guidepost says if this could have been avoided, it absolutely would have. Over the last year, Guidepost has closed schools in Oregon, Virginia and Oklahoma. In a statement to CBS Colorado, Guidepost Montessori says: "A lot of the measures we took to survive COVID-19 and the labor market crisis of the past four years caught up to us in a big way in 2024. Our organization struggled to raise the capital necessary to support our schools, the majority of which were still recovering, and suffering major losses. At many schools, we were running losses of $50,000+ per month that our creditors were no longer willing to subsidize, and we've had to figure out how to manage. In some cases, our landlords have been able to help us navigate these difficulties. They have generously provided rent relief, or renegotiated lease terms, in order to help an individual school to overcome its challenges and reach a point of financial sustainability. In other cases, that hasn't been possible." Its website lists several schools around the country as "coming soon." Including a location in Greenwood Village, which the company says it did not open. Guidepost Montessori says it is fully committed to making these last few weeks as positive and supportive as possible. They remain grateful to its school leaders and teachers who are leading this transition on the ground. They will provide resources to help parents talk with their children about this change, transfer their records and explore other schools in the area. "As a parent, I'm crushed for her, but I know kids are resilient," said Cait. "It's made us question what we want in a school, and we'll be much more cautious about choosing where we send her next."
