Montessori school unveils yurt months after students targeted by racist rant at Denver City Council meeting

DENVER — Afternoon showers on Thursday didn’t stop the unveiling of Monarch Montessori’s newest classroom — a yurt. But the journey to this day hasn’t been easy.

“When we first started looking at the yurt, I was told there is no possibility that you are going to get a yurt permitted in Denver, that would be impossible,” said Monarch Montessori Executive Director Laura Pretty. “That’s why the girls went to city council.”

In May, a group of young girls from the school stood in front of the Denver City Council and asked council members to help bring to life a new space for their music classes. During the meeting, the girls became the targets of a racist rant from an attendee watching via Zoom.

“We can use this as not something that’s going to tear us down, but something that’s going to build us up,” said Jerod Sarlow, a teacher at Monarch Montessori.

In the months that followed, Petty said the community rallied around them, raising money and getting permitting done in record time.

“What’s neat to see is it’s not impossible. We are a democracy, and we can raise our voice and we can make things happen,” said Pretty.

The round dome will serve as a space for music classes for grades K-5.

Packed with instruments, the room is an extension of the school’s other outdoor learning areas. The yurt has also become a symbol for the school.

“I hope that’s the lesson that the girls are taking away from this, that you can speak up and you can make a change and make something happen,” said Pretty.

“I don’t just feel that a child changed history. A child did change history,” said former Monarch Montessori parent Janice Resendez.