A $10 million Montessori school is coming to Hollywood. Who can go? When will it open?

Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
·3 min read
3

The construction of a $10 million Montessori school in downtown Hollywood is coming to an end and will soon open to students, the administrators have announced.

It’s part of a growing network of private Montessori centers in South Broward.

The 17,000 square-foot Academy of Thought and Industry at Hollywood Beach, 2216 Hollywood Blvd., is expected to have over 100 middle and high school students from 7th to 12th grade, and about a dozen teachers. Different from most schools, institutions that offer a Montessori education allow students to learn at their own pace to meet individual learning goals in student-led, multi-age classrooms.

Enrollment is open throughout the year and tours are available for interested parents and their children.

Fortec, a developer with offices in Miami, leased the school for 20 years to Higher Ground Education, a California-based Montessori school network founded in 2016, after paying $4.1 million for the property in January 2022.

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Pablo Barreiro, chairman of Fortec, told the Miami Herald that his firm turned a long-vacant building in downtown Hollywood into a modern learning center.

“This is the main road of Hollywood,” Barreiro said. “We have a great operator of schools that will also offer a great education to their kids.”

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Higher Ground Education, with over 100 Montessori institutions across the United States and virtual courses for home-schooled children, already operates two schools in the area.

▪ Guidepost Montessori at Hollywood Beach - Elementary Campus (first to sixth grade), 2402 Hollywood Blvd.

▪ Guidepost Montessori at Hollywood Beach - Primary Campus (18 months to third grade), 2230 Hollywood Blvd.

These institutions, along with the new academy, will form a network in which students can start as young as 18 months old and continue all the way to 12th grade.

Rendering of the Academy of Thought and Industry at Hollywood Beach, 2216 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, FL.
Rendering of the Academy of Thought and Industry at Hollywood Beach, 2216 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, FL.

More Montessori schools coming

A law signed signed in March by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which expanded the state’s taxpayer-funded school choice program for students in Florida by eliminating financial eligibility restrictions and enrollment caps, is the main force behind the construction of more schools like these, according to Barreiro.

“There is a lot of demand for private schools,” Barreiro said.

Fortec and Higher Ground Education have recently opened other Montessori schools in South Florida:

▪ Guidepost Montessori at Riverside, 10300 Riverside Dr., Palm Beach Gardens.

▪ Guidepost Montessori at Palm Beach Gardens, 353 Hiatt Dr., Palm Beach Gardens.

And another school is opening in a few years:

▪ Guidepost Montessori at Hallandale Beach, 214 E Hallandale Beach Blvd.

Rendering of the Academy of Thought and Industry at Hollywood Beach, 2216 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, FL.
Rendering of the Academy of Thought and Industry at Hollywood Beach, 2216 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, FL.

When will classes start?

Classes at the Academy of Thought and Industry at Hollywood Beach will start Sept. 5. Broward County public schools begin class on Monday, Aug. 21.

Who can enroll?

Any middle and high school-age children can apply for enrollment. The school welcomes students from any county as long as the commute is reasonable for their families.

How much is tuition?

Tuition is $2,070 a month for middle school students and $2,120 for high school students. The school accepts funds from the Florida Step Up Program and it also offers financial aid for those who qualify.

For more information, parents are encouraged to visit thoughtandindustry.com/schools/hollywood-beach.