Northeast Stars Montessori (NES) is an entity of Southwest Stars, LLC (SWS).


Southwest Stars LLC was founded to educate children and inspire community activism and global awareness. NES is a private preschool that was established to accomplish that goal under the auspices of Southwest Stars, LLC. NES is first and foremost a Montessori educational program serving the needs of young families in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.

Private schools operate as for-profit or not-for-profit corporations. There are advantages and disadvantages of both these types of organizations. Although NES is an educational institution, its governance and business plan is more compatible with a for-profit entity. NES was founded by a sole individual (a mother who saw a need in the early education offerings on Capitol Hill), not an existing non-profit organization or a board of trustees which a non-profit school would require to operate.

Despite its continuous growth, the vision and governance of NES has not changed and neither has the fact that NES continues to operate as a subset of Southwest Stars LLC.  Fundraising has become part of the culture of the NES community, although it has never been, nor will it ever become a method for creating revenue for the business. Fundraising is a tool used to give families options for meeting the financial obligations of their child’s private education. Families are not required to participate in fundraising efforts. However, most choose to support these activities in an effort to strengthen parent involvement and also to fulfill their financial obligation to the school by leveraging community support.

What charitable causes does NES support?

NES believes that diversity and global awareness are important to raising responsible children who become productive, civic conscious citizens. Therefore, NES introduces diversity and civic consciousness to its students by participating in several domestic and international giving efforts including:

  • Healthy Babies Project, Washington D.C.
  • Feed the Poor program
  • UNICEF
  • Humane Society
  • Thanksgiving baskets for at-risk youth
  • Doorways for homeless women and children (Arlington, VA)
  • Providing learning tools, immunization supplies, clothing, food, and other necessities to four children in Africa and four children in India

NES is always considering new opportunities to educate and inspire community activism and global awareness.

How is SWS/NES connected to Global Educational Council  (GEC)?

Global Educational Council was founded by the founding member of SWS,LLC and NES. GEC is a not-for-profit that trains local teachers and staff, provides teaching staff and materials that enhance schools so children will  succeed academically and socially. Both domestically and internationally, this type of intervention provides a foundation that equips young people for a life of social productivity and success protecting them from  abuse, criminal activity and sometimes death. The relationship between these companies benefits NES by providing  teacher training and curriculum development. Additionally, SWS/NES and GEC collaborate on community outreach projects that seek to educate children and raise funds to further their missions.