The Patricia Clancy Montgomery papers include files relating to Clonlara School and to the Clonlara Home Based Education Program, as well as to Montgomery’s work with various organizations, including the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools and the National Homeschool Association. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical, Writings, and Personal; Clonlara School; Clonlara School Outreach to Japan; Clonlara School Litigation; Legislation; People file; Organization file; National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools; Home Schooling Background Material; Clonlara School Home Based Education Program; The Learning Edge newsletter; Videocassettes; and Audiocassettes.
Patricia Montgomery was born October 13, 1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A life-long teacher, she began her teaching career as a nun with the Sisters of Divine Providence in various schools in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan (1953-1961). She received her Bachelor of Education from Duquesne in 1961, then went on to teach in Westland and Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her Master of Arts in Education in 1967 from the University of Michigan. At this time, she determined to establish an elementary school to be an alternative to the public school system. Her school, she believed, would encourage humane and non-structured education. The result was the founding and establishment of Clonlara School, a "free school" based on the Summerhill school of A. S. Neill. Beginning first as pre-school, Clonlara soon became a full elementary school, and then later a high school.
The success of Clonlara and the encouragement that she received led Montgomery to develop the Clonlara Home Based Education Program that other like-minded individuals could incorporate into their own community or home schooling efforts. The need for a network for those engaged in the alternative schooling movement also spurred Montgomery and others to establish the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools.
Publicity about Clonlara drew attention from journalists and teachers both nationally (e.g. appearances on the Donahue program) and internationally (the visit of a Japanese television news crew to Ann Arbor). Montgomery was called upon for numerous speaking engagements and television appearances; she wrote frequently on topics of home-schooling and non-traditional educational methods; and she corresponded with educators, students, and others who shared her philosophy.
