From the Organizations
All Montessori membership organizations are invited to share information in these pages. Next deadline is February 12.
Zhejiang Conference Marks Opening of AMI Teacher Training Center
Conference Sidetrip: Shared Journey Beginson the Road to Nanjing
Public Conference Draws 97 Educators
Washington Conference Will Have ‘Leadership’ Theme
Coe to be Honored as AMS 2008 Living Legacy
Accreditation Fosters School Improvement
Grants Available to Fund Peace Initiatives
AMS Participates in a Pre-K Now Roundtable
Own a Hand-Painted Montessori Portrait
AMS Board Elections Coming Up Soon
AMS Membership
Barron Heads AMS Asia Task Force
Conference Set for Feb. 22-23
AMI/USA
Zhejiang Conference Marks Opening of AMI Teacher Training Center
By Virginia McHugh
The Centenary year has been a special year to everyone in the Montessori community. AMI is especially pleased to be opening our new training center, the International Training Center of Montessori Education of China. To celebrate the opening, a conference was held on Oct. 27-28 at the People’s Conference Hall of Zhejiang in the providence’s capital city, Hangzhou. Hangzhou is located approximately 112 miles from Shanghai and is considered one of the seven ancient Chinese capitals.
People from all around the world came to celebrate the special occasion, to work together to embrace a better humanity, and to help children to realize their potential through better education.
American Donna Bryant Goertz was inspired by the other attendees. She noted, “We can all work with greater inspiration and hope, knowing that we share this earth with a multitude of fellow human beings working on a great number of significant issues who have a deep appreciation for our work and who depend on our doing it whole heartedly.”
The theme of the celebration was ‘Living and Growing Together.’
“The title could well be a reflection of our professional relationships as AMI trainers and teachers,” said Lynne Lawrence, interim General Secretary of AMI. “For we have ‘lived’ Montessori pedagogy for many years, we have supported the work of AMI and its affiliates for many years, and we are celebrating with many, many Montessorians worldwide this very special Centenary year.”
In a growing effort to improve pre-school and elementary education for the more than 200 million people living in the Zhejiang Province, the provincial government has decided to support Montessori as its solution to their early education situation. As part of the celebration and conference, AMI attendees were able to tour the local Montessori schools, Wulinmen School being one of them.
The conference brought over 500 attendees, including 68 AMI representatives from around the world. It included sessions given by AMI trainers and professors from Zheijang and Beijing Universities. The speakers brought excitement to Montessori topics such as the discussion that correlated the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori with that of Confucius.
In January 2008, the International Training Center of Montessori Education in China will offer its first training course, Assistants to Infancy, by Judi Orion. This course will be followed by a primary course facilitated by Shannon Helfrich in a three-summer format. Jean Miller, Ph.D. is slated to offer elementary training in 2010.
This initiative in China is an important element of AMI’s outreach. It is a continuation of the international work begun by Dr. Montessori with the establishment of AMI in 1929.
As Dr. Maria Montessori pointed out after a lifetime of work with children around the world, “The child…is the true means to attain unity among the human beings of the world.” (San Remo lectures 1949)
For more information contact AMI at www.montessori-ami.org or AMI/USA at montess...@amiusa.org.
Virginia McHugh is executive director of AMI/USA.
Conference Sidetrip: Shared Journey Beginson the Road to Nanjing
By Don and Donna Bryant Goertz
The afternoon began with a spectacular dance program. We snapped shots of the performances. During a brief interlude, I noticed a lovely child sitting behind us. I signed to take her photo. Her accompanying adults nodded and she smiled. And then, in fluent English, the woman introduced herself and her staff, all 12 of them, and told us about their school in Nanjing. We introduced ourselves and told about our school in the U.S.
During a break, the group members approached us and invited us to Nanjing to visit their school and tour the city. We would ride with them in the school van. They would put us up in a hotel and get us back to Hangzhou. We were tantalized, but wondered about taking off by ourselves on a 4-hour drive at night with new acquaintances, going from one city of over 6 million to another one the same size, in a country we were visiting for the first time when we could pronounce no word of the language in a way anyone could understand. We said we’d think about it overnight and let them know the next day.
They invited us to dinner that night and we had a wonderful time eating in a traditional Chinese restaurant in cubicles behind curtains. We ate spicy food and drank Chinese liquor. We laughed, joked and got to know each other. There were fifteen adults and a child, including Chinese, an American, a Filipino, and Don and I. It was delightful.
The next morning we agreed to go with them to Nanjing. After all, they wanted to develop a Montessori school, and we had allowed ourselves extra time in China for service work.
Two days later, they sent three of their staff back to Nanjing in a bus while Don and I piled into the school van with the rest of them. The drivers, Fred and Uncle Bob, switched places half way there. It was dark so we couldn’t see the countryside. We ate Chinese snacks they had purchased, instead of stopping for dinner, to save time. It was pleasantly companionable. We were glad we’d decided to go with them.
Upon arrival, we stopped at the front gate of the school to pick up food they had a staff member prepare for us to take to our room and then drove around the corner to the hotel. All of the passengers came up to our room with us to inspect it and make sure it was right.
The next day, Don and I met the staff and toured the school. We spent time in the office of the director, Janet, discussing her plans for becoming an AMI Montessori school. Janet suggested that Don and I spend a couple of years living in Nanjing helping her oversee the process. We said we would return to spend a month as soon as she had three people in AMI training, one at each level. Then we’d have something we could work on together.
Janet and her 6 year-old daughter, Malena, will come to see our school and us on her way to Montessori training. In the meantime, I offered to meet with the staff to give a workshop. I presented on Grace and Courtesy and then on Choice, Independence, and Concentration, with an emphasis on the power of The Cycle of Activity.
We spoke of how the school served an international community and how important it was in the minds of that community for the teachers to come from international backgrounds. The teachers were Venezuelan, Argentinian, Filipino, South African, American, etc. The problem was that the teachers did not tend to stay at the school for many years, and Montessori training is expensive and time consuming—well worth the school’s investment for teachers who would stay longer but not for temporary teachers.
The solution seemed to us to be to send the Chinese teachers to Montessori training, which would give the school stability.
How to satisfy the parents?
We brainstormed and came up with the possible solution of having each of the trained Chinese teachers guide a classroom community, while providing each with an assistant with an international background. That would accomplish both the necessary stability of a Montessori staff for the school while giving the parents the international element.
We talked about parent education for the home environment and family life, through which the school could begin to develop a community of likeminded parents, parents who could understand the deeper value of Montessori child development and Montessori’s mission for humanity, the earth and world peace.
Donna Bryant Goertz is director of Austin Montessori School in Austin, TX.
Public Conference Draws 97 Educators
By Virginia McHugh
Great networking! I think we are seeing public Montessori, AMI-style, really starting to take off.
The theme of the third annual AMI/USA Public School Conference was “Honor the Past, Celebrate 2007 and Create the Future.” That is exactly what 97 Public School Montessorians did Nov. 2-4, in Hartford, CT.
The goal of this conference was to strengthen and support our public Montessori schools. We are giving them a forum to network with colleagues and discuss common challenges they face each and everyday.
The growing support of public Montessori schools could be seen by the 39 school districts represented at the conference, up from 11 last year. The districts are located in 12 states, as well as Canada.
They gathered together for networking, roundtable discussions and presentations on topics like Supporting the Struggling Reader, Parent Involvement, a Bilingual Montessori School and Response to Intervention in a Montessori Setting.
“I found the conference to be very informative. The breakout sessions had important strategies that will be beneficial to be used with my students. It was also a great eye-opener to see what is happening in other public schools in the country,” said one attendee.
On opening night, Dr. Jacqueline Cossentino and Dr. Keith Whitescarver presented a comprehensive overview of Montessori public schools in the United States.
Dr. Cossentino is head of the Williamsburg Montessori School in Williamsburg, VA, which serves as the site of her current research on educational culture and practice.
Dr. Whitescarver is an assistant professor at the College of William and Mary and has written articles on Montessori education.
The focus of day two was on the Essential Elements of Successful Schools in the Public sector, agreed by AMI, AMS and NAMTA.
Tim Nee of CREC Montessori Initiatives facilitated a presentation on the Essential Elements, while the breakout sessions all provided some concrete examples of how schools across the country are implementing many of the elements. The day concluded with schools doing a self-assessment of their level of success with the Essential Elements.
On closing day, there was a lively panel: Ask the Trainers.
AMI primary trainers, Joen Bettmann and Shannon Helfrich, along with AMI elementary trainer Allyn Travis, answered questions that had been submitted throughout the weekend.
Helfrich ended the session with an overview of the international work that AMI is currently involved with and upcoming opportunities. Of particular note was her recent trip to China, where AMI and the Chinese government hosted a conference to celebrate the centenary.
Helfrich will direct a primary training course in Hangzhou, China in April, followed by Judi Orion, who will offer the Assistants to Infancy training in January 2008.
As part of the event, attendee’s were able to visit the CREC Montessori Magnet School, selected as “School of Excellence” by Magnet Schools of America. Another attendee reported, “It was a wonderful experience to observe the Montessori Magnet School, directed by Tim Nee. What a beauty! It was just awesome!”
American Montessori Society
Washington Conference Will Have ‘Leadership’ Theme
The AMS Annual Conference, Montessori Leadership for the Next 100 Years: A Capital Idea, will bring together in Washington, DC, educators and child advocates to explore the many ways the world and its children can benefit from the Montessori approach during the movement’s second century.
A wide variety of presentations and workshops throughout the conference will offer practical information and new ideas for teachers, administrators, teacher educators and parents. A special track will offer sessions of particular interest to those in public school education. There will also be an opportunity to visit several well-established Montessori schools in the DC, metropolitan area.
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund and a longtime advocate for disadvantaged Americans, particularly children, will deliver a keynote address on “Empowering Children to Become Socially Responsible Leaders.” Joining her as keynoters are Betsy Coe, PhD, principal of School of the Woods Middle and High Schools in Houston, TX; Art Costa, EdD, author of The Enabling Behaviors and co-author of The Habits of Mind Series; and Gail Blanke, author of Between Trapezes: Flying into a New Life with the Greatest of Ease.
Please visit the AMS 2008 Annual Conference webpage to view the full program and find hotel and travel information: www.amshq.org/conference2008annual.htm.
Coe to be Honored as AMS 2008 Living Legacy
A quintessential doer, Dr. Betsy Coe (see above) has been selected as the American Montessori Society’s 2008 Living Legacy. This is an honor bestowed on Montessori professionals who have steadfastly served the education community throughout their years of work and are held in high regard for their multiple contributions.
Betsy’s work will be honored during the AMS Annual Conference in Washington, DC, where she will present the opening keynote address. At a reception that follows, she will receive a specially created guestbook of well wishes from her many friends, colleagues and family. If you would like have your message included in the book, post your message at: www.amshq.org/lltribute/tribute.cgi.To read more about the Living Legacy, please visit: www.amshq.org/livingLegacyIntro.htm.
Accreditation Fosters School Improvement
Several Montessori public schools have successfully completed the self-study process and achieved AMS accreditation. One of the real values in accreditation is that good things happen to the school as it achieves and maintains accreditation. The self-study process is one of discovery and empowerment. The school examines itself in light of its own philosophy, involving all its constituents. It results in strong self-evaluation and a strategic plan that fosters continuing school improvement.
If your school is interested in this process, you can find information on our School Accreditation Webpage: www.amshq.org/schools_accreditation.htm. Or feel welcome to contact Marie Conti, AMS senior director for school accreditation and member programs at ma...@amshq.org or (212) 358-1250.
Grants Available to Fund Peace Initiatives
If you are involved with a peace education project and are looking for funding, we encourage you to apply for an Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grant, which grants annual awards of up to $2,000. The deadline for application is Feb. 1, 2008. The grant honors the memory of Ursula Thrush, whose dedication to fulfilling Maria Montessori’s vision for peace through children opened doors to many Montessori educators, inspiring them to include peace education in their classrooms and communities. www.amshq.org/peaceseedconnection.htm.
The 2006 Peace Seed Grant was awarded to the Victoria Montessori School in Uganda, to help implement the Uganda Montessori Peace Education Initiative in six schools in war-torn areas of the country. For more information, contact Lawino Christine Kijange & Olanya Joseph Okwonga via e-mail atlawinockija...@yahoo.co.uk.
AMS Participates in a Pre-K Now Roundtable
A Round Table session with representatives from Pre-K Now and AMS was held at the National Association for the Education of Young Children annual conference in Chicago on Nov. 8.
Pre-K Now is a project of the Pew Charitable Trusts and other funders to advance high quality pre-k for all children, collaborating with advocates and policymakers to lead a movement for high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three- and four-year olds. At this session, the ten standards for quality developed by the National Institute for Early Education Research were discussed and evaluated, particularly in light of how Montessori schools can meet these standards in order to be considered for state pre-K funds.
Own a Hand-Painted Montessori Portrait
A special Centennial Year painting of Maria Montessori, created by Habbas Studios in cooperation with AMS, is now available to help decorate your school or office and celebrate Dr. Montessori’s legacy. A version of this original oil painting is produced on canvas through the Giclée process, individually enhanced, and signed by the artist to become a one-of-a-kind piece of art available framed or unframed. Discounts available for AMS members.
To view the painting or for ordering details, please visit: www.amshq.org/portrait_of_Maria_Montessori.htm.
AMS Board Elections Coming Up Soon
Every year, the AMS Board holds elections for available positions. The AMS Directorship Committee accepts nominations and applications for candidates who are then interviewed and reviewed to determine the best possible slate that considers experience, geographical location, diversity, and leadership in the Montessori world.
This year, the Committee also made special efforts to ensure that the candidates have a wide range of talents and experiences, including experience in public schools, fund-raising, international schools and government systems, systems analysis, marketing and public relations. The pool of capable applicants was narrowed to six candidates vying for the three open seats.
The candidates are Nanci Andvik, Sharon Damore, Tony Kambich, Anita K. Hanks, Melinda Harris and Mary Ellen Kordas.
To view the candidates biographies and learn more about the AMS Board, please visit:
www.amshq.org/society_boardOfDirectors.htm.
AMS Membership
The American Montessori Society is dedicated to encouraging and supporting the use of the Montessori teaching approach in schools both public and private. Our teacher education programs prepare quality Montessori teachers for the classrooms, and our expanded scholarship opportunities help increase the number and diversity of Montessori teachers. As a member, you benefit directly from our position as the largest Montessori organization in the world, and from our commitment to advancing principles and practices that encourage better outcomes for children. For more information, please visit our website at www.amshq.org/membership or call (212) 358-1250.
Submitted by the American Montessori Society
Barron Heads AMS Asia Task Force
Marlene Barron will chair a task force intended to clarify the response of the American Montessori Society (AMS) to opportunities in Asia and especially China.
Barron, who heads teacher education program for West Side Montessori School in Manhattan and for New York University, said the task force will report in March and will address five issues:
• Teacher education—Planning to support high-quality, indigenous teacher education
• Ethics—Developing controls and monitoring systems for the use of the AMS’s name
• Collaboration—Working with Montessori groups in China to put on conferences
• Organizational support—Supporting the development of Montessori societies both national and regional
• Accreditation—How to approach school accreditation outside the United States.
—Dennis Schapiro
Montessori Educational Programs International
Conference Set for Feb. 22-23
Montessori Educational Programs, International (MEPI) will again host its Southeast Montessori Conference at Myrtle Beach, SC, Feb. 22-23.
From its humble beginnings in 1995, MEPI was created as an outgrowth of the work of Dr. Helen K. Billings – an inspiring leader in the field of Montessori education. Today, MEPI has training centers for Teacher Preparation across the United States and in Croatia, Mexico, Egypt, Israel and Canada.
The conference will feature a Friday keynote speech by Dr. Gene Rollins, titled “The Masks We Wear.” Dr. Rollins is active in Native American spirituality, affairs and issues and is, himself, of Cherokee Heritage.
The Saturday keynote will be delivered by Dr. Jane Bluestein, titled “The Win-Win Classroom.” Dr. Bluestein has worked with thousands of educators world-wide and much of her work focuses on interactions between adults and children.
To help with the weekend festivities, Bil Krauss will be on hand to entertain attendees with his interactive acoustic music and comedy.
This is a wonderful opportunity to gather with wonderful Montessorians from the public and private Montessori community at a beautiful beach setting. Our smaller venue conference allows a personalization between presenters and participators while enriching our lives through the goals and aspirations we all have as we continue on our personal Montessori journeys.
For information about MEPI, and about this and other upcoming conferences and events, please check the MEPI website at: www.mepiforum.org.
—Cara Bockholt
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