The time has come for us to say a warm farewell and many thanks to Michelle Talus, who is
retiring after many years as a steadfast pillar of our Montessori community.
Michelle joined Kalispell Montessori in 2003, first as a parent. She was an active volunteer in
her daughter Miriam’s classroom and often helped with big school events and field trips. In
2007, she became a co-administrator, taking on the parent communication and business
responsibilities of our school.
In 2013, Michelle transitioned into a behind-the-scenes role as business manager for KME, helping with budgeting, financing, and serving as a consultant to our board and administrator. When Michelle moved out of state to live closer to family, she agreed to continue working with KME remotely because of her love of Montessori and desire to
see our school thrive. Michelle established many programs and procedures that have contributed to both past and current KME operations and events.
As administrator, Michelle used her experience as a small business owner of a restaurant to bring KME into a more modern financial approach, converting our finances from paper files to QuickBooks. She also added to our fundraising efforts with creative meal opportunities by preparing delicious school lunches and family dinners for purchase.
Michelle has always had a big heart for her community and the community at large. Michelle
created the beloved Montessori Magic event to showcase student talents outside of the
classroom. She also signed KME up to participate in the Meals on Wheels program, driving our older students in the school van to pick up and deliver meals to senior citizens. Additionally, Michelle coordinated visits to local retirement homes, where students could share song and theater performances or play cribbage with residents. She supported staff efforts to set up field trips to our local food banks. Through the school, she gathered donations for local reservations and organizations who shared the goal of supporting our community during the holidays. Michelle always encouraged and modeled for staff and families what it was like to be a part of the change they wanted to see in their communities.
Many families have knowingly and unknowingly been the recipients of Michelle’s work to keep dedicated families in our community during times of financial hardship. Michelle created the scholarship committee in her earlier years and has continued to support our school in providing scholarships to new and current families annually, including founding our new student scholarship organization in 2023.
She has also done much work securing grants, especially during the financial stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, when our school transitioned to online learning and required many materials and building updates to support our families.
Whether you’ve known Michelle personally or have felt her impact second hand, her legacy will continue to live on at KME. It has been an honor and a privilege to have her work for us, and we wish her and her family well on the journey that lies ahead. If you know Michelle or have just read about her and wish to reach out to share a personal story or note of gratitude, we invite you to do so by reaching out to frontdesk@kalispellmontessori.com for her contact information.