Creative Montessori Learning Center (CMLC) was built in 1967 by the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, through the efforts of Sister Christina Trudeau, head of the Montessori Teacher Training Center at College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California.

Helen Bunje, a student of Sister Christina, facilitated the licensing and opening of the school, then called St. Francis of Assisi Montessori School. Helen Bunje and Sita de Leeuw, graduates of the Notre Dame Teacher Training Program, served as teachers.

The classes included a racial and socio-economic cross-section of children from East Palo Alto as well as surrounding communities such as Stanford and Palo Alto. In the fall of 1976, St Francis of Assisi Church withdrew their financial support and the school was incorporated as the CMLC, a non-profit corporation. Sita became Director and Head Teacher. She continued to enroll students from the surrounding communities.

In the fall of 1978, CMLC accepted funding through the State Department of Education, Office of Child Development to provide subsidies for eligible families. The school now provides full day child care and high quality pre-school education. There are now six classes.