School finds a new home in Medfield

The Montrose School today is much like the girls who enroll there -- young, but with big dreams and great potential.

An all-girls Catholic school for grades 6 through 12, Montrose plans to open its first permanent campus in January in downtown Medfield. Tomorrow, about 150 students, teachers, and family members will attend a groundbreaking ceremony.

Karen Bohlin , who heads the school, said things ``are not going to look romantic at the groundbreaking." However, she said, ``now we can really grow and flourish. It's going to evolve into something much more beautiful than it is at first glance."

Construction is underway at the 13-acre campus, which formerly housed research and development labs for Bayer HealthCare. The site's industrial buildings will be demolished and the property transformed into a campus that will include academic buildings, a chapel, and athletic fields.

Bohlin believes the school will become a visible presence in town, not just because the campus is behind Town Hall. She expects students, who wear a uniform of red sweater and plaid skirt, to study at the library, run along the sidewalks, and shop and work at local stores.

The school, founded 27 years ago, enrolls 134 students from 35 surrounding communities, but plans to grow to 280 students in the next decade.

``We expect to grow gradually," Bohlin said. ``We don't want to grow fast and large because we want to preserve the culture as we grow. It's not about more students sitting at desks; it's about students and families who want to come and add to the school."

The school's size allows it to focus on developing the academic abilities, spiritual life , and character of each girl, she said.

``People come to Montrose because they want to take learning seriously and they want to be challenged to be the best person they can be," Bohlin said. ``They're not going to get lost in a crowd."

The school currently rents classroom space in Natick and playing fields in Newton. It purchased the Medfield site for $7.4 million in February. The school is independent of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and relies on tuition and donations for its programs and facilities.

Lori B. Kelly of Walpole, whose two daughters have attended Montrose, is among those looking forward to the groundbreaking.

``It's ceremonial," said Kelly, ``but it's also a tremendous chance for the Montrose community, together with the surrounding Medfield community, we hope, to gather and celebrate."

Kelly's oldest daughter, Maggie, graduated in 2005 and is a sophomore at Rhodes College in Memphis, while her younger sister Elizabeth will be a 10th-grader.

The groundbreaking will be held tomorrow from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the school, 29 North St.

In a sense, the school is returning home. The first conversations about starting an independent Catholic girls' school that led to the creation of Montrose took place about 30 years ago in the living room of G. Edward Noonan, who lived in Medfield at the time.

``Your real estate is only as good as your people and your programs," Bohlin said. ``That's what's important."