In 1896, four Baltimore families hired a German schoolteacher, Fraulein Martha Auguste Schurmann, to conduct traditional kindergarten classes for their children. Pleased with the children's progress, they quickly decided to build on their success. They researched the best primary school methods, and in 1897, opened a school for 15 students in kindergarten, first, and second grades. It was called the Boys' and Girls' Primary School and located above a pharmacy in Baltimore City.