The Alta House was founded in 1895 by Alta Rockefeller Prentice, the third daughter of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Alta was a noted philanthropist of education and social reform in her own right.
She established Alta House as a settlement house for Italian-American immigrants and continued to invest in it as a vehicle to empower these families and their children to value education. Alta House programs promoted learning and socialization for family members to maintain pride in their own cultural traditions as well as understand and appreciate the traditions of their adopted country. This beautiful building, with arching 30 feet windows, is currently one of the oldest settlement houses in the city of Cleveland.
In 2015, Cleveland Montessori School partnered with the Alta House to renovate this historic building and create a facility that could serve the needs of the school and the neighborhood. While Cleveland Montessori occupies and operates the facility the majority of the time, the Alta House maintains their programs including the Bocce leagues, tournaments and other social and recreational activities that are so embedded in the traditions of the Little Italy community. Together these two cornerstone entities strive to meet the educational, cultural and recreational needs of their community.
In November of 2025, Cleveland Montessori School will launch its Reach for the Stars Capital Campaign. The goal of this exciting endeavor is to meet the ongoing needs of the community allowing the school to build on its strong foundation and embrace a bright future. The focus will be threefold: Innovation, Renovation and Preservation.
The Alta House was founded in 1895 by Alta Rockefeller Prentice, the third daughter of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Alta was a noted philanthropist of education and social reform in her own right.
She established Alta House as a settlement house for Italian-American immigrants and continued to invest in it as a vehicle to empower these families and their children to value education. Alta House programs promoted learning and socialization for family members to maintain pride in their own cultural traditions as well as understand and appreciate the traditions of their adopted country. This beautiful building, with arching 30 feet windows, is currently one of the oldest settlement houses in the city of Cleveland.
In 2015, Cleveland Montessori School partnered with the Alta House to renovate this historic building and create a facility that could serve the needs of the school and the neighborhood. While Cleveland Montessori occupies and operates the facility the majority of the time, the Alta House maintains their programs including the Bocce leagues, tournaments and other social and recreational activities that are so embedded in the traditions of the Little Italy community. Together these two cornerstone entities strive to meet the educational, cultural and recreational needs of their community.
In November of 2025, Cleveland Montessori School will launch its Reach for the Stars Capital Campaign. The goal of this exciting endeavor is to meet the ongoing needs of the community allowing the school to build on its strong foundation and embrace a bright future. The focus will be threefold: Innovation, Renovation and Preservation.
