MACTE Accredited Training Approved for Wisconsin State Teacher Licensure
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