News Type: Montessori Community Updates

Great Work, an organization that promotes and supports Montessori education near Denver, Colorado, is proud to be a permanent host of AMI primary training. Its first academic course, to be offered annually, will begin in the fall of 2016. Mary Raudonis Loew is to be the Primary Director of Training. Great Work hopes to offer elementary training courses beginning in 2017. The Montessori Institute of North Texas will be offering a two-summer Assistants to Infancy course with Director of Training Sara Brady, during the summers of 2016 and 2017. MINT is excited to bring A to I training back to the Dallas area. In addition, MINT has joined with Southern Methodist University to offer a Master’s in Education with Specialization in Montessori Education for its primary and elementary students. Congratulations to both Great Work and MINT on their new courses and the work they have done to expand access to AMI training.

  Montessori Northwest is now fully accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education at the Elementary Level!   MACTE, a Department of Education accrediting body, has granted full accreditation to the Elementary training program at Montessori Northwest.  MNW is the first AMI training center in the United States to be fully accredited at all three levels.  AMI teacher trainees at MNW will now have access to increased opportunities for federal financial aid, and in many states, a more seamless pathway to teacher licensure for working in the public school system.  Congratulations on this achievement!

This year, 92 schools responded to the survey questions as compared with 87 schools from 2013.  The information gathered represents a cross-section of schools from various geographic regions as well as different types of school communities.  As always, in addition to presenting comparisons of salaries for teachers, administrators and classroom aides, the report also breaks down pertinent information regarding benefits offerings for employees and child tuition assistance plans. Thank you to those schools and individuals who dedicated themselves to this process.  We hope the information will be beneficial as you continue your work. 

The Montessori Public Policy Initiative, a joint collaboration of AMI/USA and the American Montessori Society, brought together 80 Montessorians from 26 states for the first ever MPPI State Advocacy Retreat this October 25-27 in Washington, DC.  The Retreat participants learned from national education figures, learned from each other’s successes and challenges, and had an opportunity to make a commitment to continued work in their states. For more information, or to share this with others in your community, please click here.

The Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI) is pleased to announces the launch of its NEW WEBSITE!  Please visit http://www.montessoripublicpolicy.org to learn more about the MPPI, Montessori advocacy and how you can get involved!  For questions about the Montessori Public Policy Initiative, please email Alyssa Schwartz, MPPI Administrator.

The Montessori Institute of San Diego and Montessori Northwest have received MACTE accreditation!  The Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education has granted full accreditation to the Montessori Institute of San Diego at the primary and elementary levels; Montessori Northwest has held primary accreditation since 1997, and is now accredited at the Assistants to Infancy level as well. This initial accreditation cycle lasts for 7 years—AMI teacher trainees at both training centers will now have access to increased opportunities for federal financial aid, and in many states, a more seamless pathway to teacher licensure for working in the public school system. Please join us in congratulating MNW and MISD on completing this important milestone. Montessori Schools San Diego

The Wisconsin Montessori Association, WMA, has successfully secured an alternative Montessori teacher-licensing track. WMA sponsored this legislation by hiring a lobbyist, Sarah Archibald, former legislative aide to Senator Luther Olsen. Sarah, along with Phil Dosmann, former WMA Board Treasurer and Montessori consultant for WMA, met with key legislators to advance this legislation. Wisconsin becomes one of a handful of states, including Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina, that recognize a credential from a MACTE-accredited Montessori teacher training for a state-licensing pathway. The Wisconsin legislation allows a graduate from a program accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education, MACTE, to apply for a Wisconsin state teaching license to teach in a public or charter Montessori school. Montessori trained teachers who complete a rigorous MACTE-accredited teacher training program that includes lectures, practicums, and student teaching will be eligible. Trained Montessori teachers will need to complete the following requirements: a.) hold a bachelor’s degree, b.) complete a three credit course in special education, c.) earn a passing score on any standardized examinations required by the State Superintendent for a license to teach the same education levels and subjects issued in accordance with existing state law regarding teacher license, including an examination identical to the foundations for reading test administered in 2012 as part of the Massachusetts tests for educator licensures. These tests will include the Praxis I and II.  Candidates will also be assigned a mentor teacher who is an experienced Montessori trained teacher during their first year in order to support their professional development in preparation for meeting the requirements for a professional educator license. Additional details will be forthcoming once WMA and DPI representatives meet to define the requirements stipulated in this legislation. For more information regarding MACTE and MACTE accredited teacher education programs, please contact www.macte.org. –Phil Dosmann On behalf of the Wisconsin Montessori Association

Montessori Schools of Connecticut, an association of AMI and AMS independent and public schools, announces its annual professional development conference for Friday, October 30, 2015 at the University of Hartford located on 200 Bloomfield Ave. in West Hartford CT. Sandra Girlato, Primary Director of Training of the Foundation for Montessori Education in Toronto, Canada, will be the key note presenter. This year’s topic will be ‘Freedom and Responsibility~ Liberties, Limits and the Development of Self-Discipline’.  Heads of Schools, Administrative, teaching and support faculty, student teachers, teacher trainers and consultants are invited to attend this event and this timely topic.  Professional Development validation hours will be available for AMS certified teachers. Updates will be posted on the new MSC web site in late July. Questions​?- please contact Anne-Marie Fenn, MSC Administrative Consultant

It is with great excitement that I announce the Assistants to Infancy section on MontessoriGuide.org! A good deal of work and dedication have gone into preparing each clip and article to inform viewers; to help deepen the practice of adults working in these environments; and to help educate visitors about the true nature of the developing child. As with the primary and elementary sections, Assistants to Infancy is replete with remarkable images of the child at work, and captures the relationship of the trained adult and child in harmony together in the prepared environment. It is also supplemented with detailed articles and extraordinary interviews of the AMI Teacher Trainers, sharing their wisdom and knowledge of the child’s mental and physical growth from birth to three years of age. The launch of this new addition to the site provides the viewer with a complete picture of the child through the first three planes of development, from birth through twelve years of age, thus helping enrich the understanding of all adults working with children at any age. It creates a visual bridge of the changing needs and abilities, and most critically, beautifully dispels common misunderstandings about the immense capabilities of human beings from the moment they come into this world. Let us know what you think!  Please share your feedback with us about these new additions; about the site in general and how you use it in your daily life; and about ways it may have changed your thinking or how it can continue to support your professional growth. Bonnie Beste Executive Director

The Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI), a joint initiative of AMI/USA and AMS, is pleased to launch its new website, hosted by AMI/USA.  Read about recent advances in Montessori advocacy, find out more about your home state advocacy group, and sign up to join the MPPI discussion group.  Questions?  Email our administrator to find out more.

The Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI) is delighted to announce that Anna Lovejoy will be taking the position of State Liaison. Anna is a Montessori parent in Washington, DC, and an independent early childhood policy consultant. Her areas of expertise include state and federal policies that impact the well being of young children and their families. As the State Liaison, Anna will be coordinating with the AMI/USA and AMS representatives for the state advocacy groups nationwide and will work to connect these groups with each other and with MPPI. Prior to consulting, Ms. Lovejoy served as program director for early childhood at the National Governors Association (NGA) where she advised the nation’s governors and their policy staff to advance a comprehensive early childhood agenda. She also directed the gubernatorial Task Force on School Readiness and authored its final report, Building the Foundation for Bright Futures. Ms. Lovejoy also has extensive experience as a policy researcher, strategic consultant and grant writer for many national early childhood and education policy organizations including the Alliance for Early Success, Child Trends, the BUILD Initiative, the Center for Law and Social Policy and the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds. She has a BA degree in politics from Princeton University. MPPI is thrilled to have Anna Lovejoy join its work—her knowledge and connections will be invaluable as it broadens its impact in Montessori advocacy across the country. For more information on the State Advocacy Groups and MPPI’s work, please visit our website or email Alyssa Schwartz.

A record 1047 AMI teachers, administrators, parents, and assistants gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, Presidents’ Day weekend for the 2015 Refresher Course and Workshops.  With the addition of the 143 attendees at the NAMTA Adolescent Workshop, this made for an incredible 1190 Montessorians all in one place! The weekend was kicked off by a fascinating Keynote Lecture by Dr. Alison Gopnik, who shared her research and insights into early childhood development.  She was preceded by the first addresses to the AMI/USA membership by AMI President Philip O’Brien and AMI/USA Executive Director Bonnie Beste. Over the course of the three days spent together, participants sang and danced, learned and drew inspiration from the course lecturers and from each other.  The closing ceremony on Monday morning featured special guest John Snyder, who Skyped in from Texas to talk about his new book Tending the Light: Essays on Montessori Education.  All agreed this was a meaningful way to close out the 2015 Refresher Course. Check back often for new photos! We look forward to seeing you next year in Los Angeles!

Mappings of representative AMI curricula in math and geometry and language to the Common Core State Standards are now available for download from the AMI/USA website. Previously distributed only to AMI members who joined through AMI/USA, the mappings are now available to the Montessori community at large. AMI elementary trainer Phyllis Pottish-Lewis’s white paper on implementation guidelines is also available for download. Each mapping shows for every standard in the Common Core those lessons and materials in the AMI curriculum that address that standard. The mappings were produced over an eighteen-month period by a team of close to fifty AMI-trained teachers, consultants, administrators, and trainers. The AMI/USA CCSS page also includes links for communicating feedback and questions to the Implementation Support Team that has ongoing responsibility for administering and maintaining the mappings

In 1960, Margaret Elizabeth Stephenson was commissioned to initiate teacher training in the United States on behalf of AMI. She conducted training courses in this country for nearly 40 years. The MES Fund, Inc., was established in her name to provide scholarship money to deserving AMI teacher training candidates. This year, AMI/USA is proud to celebrate the fund’s 15th anniversary. Please join us in supporting the MES Fund and its dedication to AMI training across the country. Donate here  and by check at 206 N. Washington St., Suite 330, Alexandria, VA 22314.

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS MAPPING COMPLETE The CCSS Mapping Project has successfully completed its project, building comprehensive maps of the Montessori elementary curriculum.  These maps directly complement the Common Core standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics and Geometry. The mappings have been distributed to all AMI/USA members. A special webpage on the AMI/USA website features other CCSS resources and provide a form to ask questions and offer feedback about the mapping.

Keep an eye out for a new addition to AMI/USA’s professional development website, MontessoriGuide.org! The creative team has been filming, and they are working to prepare the assistant to infancy section for its debut. New videos and a fresh set of articles will help foster further inquiry for practitioners looking to learn about and/or deepen their practice with the youngest of our children.  MontessoriGuide.org users will soon be able to access a new feature on the site: a subject archive. Organized by topics, the subject archive is an index that will enable viewers to look up a topic and find  the exact locations(s) inside the many videos and articles that each topic is addressed. This new feature will facilitate user navigation of the site. We look forward to introducing these new additions later this summer to deepen your professional inquiry. In the meantime, we encourage you to dip in and explore!

In her latest booklet Negotiating The Minefield: Obstacles That Endanger Cosmic Education, Phyllis Pottish-Lewis writes in her introduction: Done right, Montessori education is a truly wondrous thing for all concerned: the child, the teacher, the family, and society. But because its principles are so seamlessly integrated, it also is fragile. The slightest departure from its faithful implementation can fatally disrupt its operation. And the Montessori teacher is faced with a horde of such evils, sometimes of her own making, sometimes imposed on her. The purpose of this paper is to inspire teachers to recognize and confront such threats with the confidence that staunchly resisting them is worth the battle. Click here for more information on this booklet.

Help us tell the world about Montessori education. The We Are Montessori Project aims to celebrate Montessori alumni and bring more awareness to the benefits of Montessori education. We are collecting information to visually showcase successful alumni and the schools that fostered their education. These profiles will be used in a variety of locations to celebrate and raise more awareness.