PEPPER PIKE, Ohio — In a letter, The Lillian and Betty Ratner Montessori School informed parents it is closing on Tuesday, just weeks before the school year was scheduled to begin.
In the letter, which was sent to approximately 200 families, the Board of Trustees announced the school will close, effective Aug. 15.
According to the letter, the school has faced financial challenges, including "dwindling" admissions, rising operational costs and uncertain government funding.
The letter also said the school will help students and staff find others schools, and host a webinar for parents.
One parent, who is a News 5 employee, said the school has also notified parents that the Board of Trustees has authorized reimbursements for 2026-27 prepaid tuition.
News 5 Investigators reached out to the school through email to which it responded, "There are no spokespersons for the school available for an inquiry at this time."
Parent reaction
"I go from being very angry to very, very devastated," Erica Skubovius, a parent, said.
"It's heartbreaking because the school was our family," she said. "It's just mind-blowing that we're put in this situation."
Her 13-year-old son, Brayden, has attended Ratner since he was in first grade.
He said he was excited to begin eighth grade next month. It would have been his last year at the school.
"I was so excited to be the one to reign over the school, be the bigger man, be the leader of everyone — and now it just got swept away from me," he said. "I feel quite depressed that I won't be able to spend my final year there."
Skubovius said finding a new school won't be easy.
She has driven Brayden from their Olmsted Township home to the school's Pepper Pike campus because of the unique one-on-one education Ratner offers.
She said Brayden has a high IQ and needs special attention a local school district is unable to provide.
"It meant everything to me," he said about the school. "It was a community. There were so many people there who understood me and I understood them — and we just kind of clicked. That's what I loved about Ratner and its people."
The Lillian and Betty Ratner Montessori School was established 63 years ago and offers programs for students as young as 18 months through eighth grade.
