Montessori Initiative Joins International Effort

Judith Cunningham

Head of Toronto Montessori Schools and an editor of M: introduced Minister Michael Korvig, Mission of Canada to the UN and a former Montessori student and the M: celebration at the UN.

Michael Jacobson and other leaders of the Montessori Initiative have announced a partnership intended to help build as many as 100 Montessori schools in developing countries over the next five years.

The announcement was made at a gathering celebrating the first edition of the organization's publication, M: The Magazine for Montessori Families at the United Nations on Feb. 15. The partnership is with Kids Can Free the Children, a children's rights organization, to build Montessori schools in developing countries.

Jacobson said M: has pledged a portion of its advertising revenues for the program.

The school-building effort is intended to equip schools with computers and Internet access via satellite, and then promote communication between students in North America and students in developing countries. The first schools, organizers announced, will be in Kenya, Uganda, and the Dominican Republic.

M: editor Jack Brady is quoted as saying that a curriculum is being developed by Montessori educators to "address topics such as geography, measures, even government, cultures and political theories." Funding for the curriculum project, according to a press release, is from "a grant made by M: on behalf of its corporate sponsors, all of whom are also supporters of the Montessori Initiative."

Kids Can Free the Children, founded by Craig Keilberger, has more than 250,000 student volunteers supporting efforts to build schools in developing countries.

Brandweek Article Details M Magazine

Insight into M: The Magazine for Montessori Families was available for the reading in a note on Brandweek magazine's website Feb. 13.

According to the article, the bi-monthly magazine, which premiered in January, had a reported press run of 100,000 and an anticipated circulation of 300,000 by September.

The magazine is described as 100-percent subscriber underwritten with target audiences of parents in their mid-forties, and households with a net worth of at least $1 million.

Subscriptions are $49.50 a year, or $8.50 for newsstand sales.

Jacobson took issue with Brandweek presentation in a e-mail, writing that "Brandweek, only covers the stuff that makes a good headline." He said the magazine ignored advertiser approval mechanisms that include parents. He also wrote that the target "parallels PBS. Same level of intellect as well as consumerism and interests. They are not all millionaires, but they are discerning."

INFO: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001996004