The Montessori Early Learning Center and School of the Arts was founded on July 15, l976 . Founding Directress Ina Lightner-Fort opened the school for her two year old son.

While studying music in Europe Mrs. Lightner-Fort had seen the real Netherlands schools and considered the method non repressive and discovery oriented. She brought in an A.M.I. certified teacher (Association Montessori Internationale) from Sri Lanka and started with a small leased building and fifteen children. Thirteen of the original fifteen students have gone on to attend the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts. In 1978 a second son was born who grew up in the primary classroom with his now 4 year old big brother. Today both boys are adults and Ina continues to administrate the now much larger school in much the same way that she did in the 70's.

The school encompasses a campus type setting with a custom designed main building of 7,000 square feet ,built to Montessori specifications, housing 6 primary ,multi-aged classrooms of children 3-6 years of age. The school operates in the purest European tradition and is not modified in any way. The school employs teachers that are AMI or St. Nicholas (British) certified.All classrooms are fully equipped with imported didactic apparatus. The Arts School was built in 1993 adding an additional 2,100 square feet. A small house adjoining the property has been converted into a library to house a 5,000 volume library that was donated to the school in 1996.

While the school has always embraced the arts for small children, it now has an Arts Center with a stage and recital hall that seats 200. The center has sound proofed music studios and dance studios. There is also a small studio for visual arts. Artists with the highest qualifications are brought in for group and private instruction. Recitals are held regularly during the year. The arts' school houses the Children's Ballet Company of Columbia, a non-profit training company for young and talented children. The company performs regularly in Columbia and other cities in South Carolina.

M.E.L.C. provides a two and a half acre playground with many unique activites such as the Shell Garden.The school has a new 50'X20' covered and heated swimming pool custom designed for small children and also has an old fashioned "spray pool" for 3 year olds. Foreign Languages are offered at the school as well as gymnastics and private instruction in computer. The school has IBM as well as MacIntosh computers in the classrooms and also has a new sound proofed MacIntosh computer lab equipped with 10 Power Mac Performas, color monitors, 2 scanners and color printers for children as young as 3 years. Classes in "Poetry, Recitation and Drama" are very popular with parents and children alike. Strategy school teaches analytical thinking and chess and checker tournaments are held each Spring.