“The strengths of the course are the excellent faculty, quality of instruction, and all the resources. I’m grateful to the excellent modeling and support.  Plus it was a superb cohort!   Thank you to K.T., Melanie, and Deirdre.  I am a better person, teacher, and administrator because of your course!”-- Neil Patrick O’Brien, Principal of Geiger Public Montessori, Tacoma, WA

"Thank you so much for an inspiring training. I enjoyed every minute of it, and it has been wonderful to return to our school with a fresh outlook."-- Lucille Carra Tachikawa, Gold Material Montessori School, New York, NY

"In the past week, I have been asked to explain whether Piaget aligns with Montessori, to explain the four planes of development and to describe the key components of a Montessori elementary classroom - all from prospective employees.  Thanks to you and your instructors, I was able to coherently answer those questions.  So, I have put my coursework to use already!" -- Cindy Curry, Head of School, Omni Montessori School, Charlotte, NC

Leadership Matters

Why Now?
Adults play a critical role in creating child-centered Montessori environments.  In addition to the teachers who prepare the classrooms for children to flourish, administrators must be able to incorporate Montessori principles in managing the community school to enable the entire organization to flourish. The role of teacher and administrator are quite distinct and each requires a unique training experience.

 

 

Schedule:

For July 2020 we are offering Part 2 only:

Monday, July 13 though Saturday, July 18, 2020, for returning adult learners working toward their credential and others interested in attending for 6 days only for professional development.

Classes meet Via Zoom.

The Instructor/Adult Learner ratio is 2:10.

Part 2:  Program Development, School Operations, and Educational Leadership  57 Hours

• School operations
• Problem solving
• Legal issues
• Fundraising and grants
• Strategic planning
• Nuts and bolts
• Communication skills
• Working with parents
• Educational leadership
• Connecting parents
• Leading and managing teachers
• Teacher assessment
• Recruiting, terminating, and hiring
• Sustaining staff

Building a Montessori Community Practicum Experience: September 2020 - June 2021

The practicum experience is designed to enable Credential Candidates to meet the specific goals of their position at their own school.  The Credential Candidate engages in a Case Study that focuses on meeting the challenges and goals for the school that each Credential Candidate establishes for him/herself.  During the school year, the Part 4 Credential Candidate receives three consultation Field Visits from CME|NY faculty members, who observe, coach, and offer recommendations about specific challenges and areas for enhancement, focus, and attention as well as document the Credential Candidate's progress toward meeting the AMS competencies. The practicum experience is 720 hours during a full academic year, with the Credential Candidate at work at the practicum site.  Assignments are integrated throughout the practicum year.

To meet AMS standards, the school community of the Practicum Site must have at least one Montessori class with an appropriate age range for children and a complete complement of Montessori materials.

The travel expenses for any necessary overnight accommodations and travel costs for a Practicum Field Visit are the responsibility of the School or Candidate.

 

Certificates

The Administrator's Credential is awarded from the American Montessori Society (AMS).  Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE) does not offer accreditation for Administrator education.  Upon successful completion of the Administrator Course, you will receive an AMS ADMINISTRATOR'S CREDENTIAL if you hold a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or equivalent.

If you have already taken Part 1, 2 and 3, you may continue your course of study starting September 2020 through June 2021 with the Part 4 Practicum.

If you have only taken Part 1 and Part 3, you may complete your academic course by attending Part 2, July 13 - July 18, 2020 via Zoom and then take Part 4 Practicum. 

Those completing their practicum in June 2021 will return for their case study presentation in July 2021.

Part 4:  Practicum

Description of Part 4   

Part 4 is designed to guide Credential Candidates in the application, practice, and mastery of leadership and school management skills.  When successfully completed, the Credential Candidate will demonstrate the AMS competencies for the AMS Administrator credential.  In Part 4, the professional growth, application, and practice through didactic coursework are adapted and customized to the needs of each adult learner.  Thus Part 4 creates an ideal experience for ongoing learning and development, as well as individualized study, course work, and practical application. This aspect is critical for gaining a greater understanding of the local educational landscape, building community advocacy for Montessori, and ensuring continuous professional growth as a school administrator.

The following describes the elements of Part 4:

1) 10 hours - Monthly distance education classes (1 hour each) with a CME|NY faculty presenter.

The goals of the year-long distance education classes are to provide expert guidance from a  CME|NY faculty member for the Credential Candidate over the course of a school year focusing on the  “Ten Professional Standards for Educational Leaders” (National Policy Board for Education Administration) while presenting relevant information responding to the issues and questions experienced by the Credential Candidate in the course of study, and to create an opportunity for positive encouragement on a regular basis and to provide instruction following the arc of the school year.

Each distance class focuses on one of the “Ten Professional Standards for Educational Leaders” (National Policy Board for Education Administration). This gives a centralizing area of concentration to each distance education class. The first 8 distance education classes have a focus on Course Component 6.5.5.1 (Program Development/Leading a Montessori School). The last 2 distance classes have a focus on 6.5.5.5 (School Operations). Each standard serves as a springboard for the Credential Candidate to identify areas of strength and areas that need additional focus. Recognizing that effective school leaders act as agents of on-going professional development and seek to bring about improvements, these ten national standards offer a framework for monthly self-reflection, goal setting, and study.

2) 5 hours - Distance education class sessions on Case Study (1 hour each)

The Case Study is a practical application of the leadership and school management concepts learned through the CME|NY Administrator coursework that is applied to bringing about a change or improvement in a particular area of focus that the Credential Candidate determines will be beneficial to his/her school.    The Credential Candidate will create a project or a change model related to a problem or issue observed and submit the project plan/change model.

Each distance class focuses on one step of the Case Study project process:

1) Identify possible issues
2) Plan and develop project
3) Research and refine project
4) Measure success or challenges
5) Prepare for presentation

The Case Studies are then presented at the end of the course during the final two wrap up days.

The academic year-long Case Study project requires the participant to design, implement, and evaluate a leadership/school management challenge within his or her own school.  The purpose of the Case Study is to guide the Credential Candidate through a disciplined process of identifying a problem, defining the problem establishing goals, objectives, and a plan, implementing the plan, engaging partners/community, using qualitative and quantitative data, evaluating the outcome. The Credential Candidate then reports to the cohort during her/his second summer, with a presentation of the outcome and lessons learned as a leader and change agent.  The emphasis of the Case Study experience focuses on telling the story: what worked, where it missed the mark.

Just as Montessori environments offer a climate of acceptance for the errors of children to support their ongoing love of learning and discovery, Credential Candidates must also learn to recognize and embrace failures and mistakes in a way that strengthens their understanding and skills, while engaging in continuous learning and improvement, without feeling a sense of failure. We can help our Administrators to accept missteps and to face their challenges as learning opportunities. Thus the CME|NY Administrator Course is an environment of acceptance rather than judgment so that each and everyone in our community can be uplifted to persevere.

3) 25 hours - Pre-Approved Independent Study with pre-approved attendance at other CME|NY (or other) workshops, courses, conference, AMS webinar or conferences, or other pre-approved conferences or workshops

A purpose of the Independent Study is to provide the Credential Candidate with opportunities to meet her/his specific goals and attend detailed workshops on particular issues. If the Credential Candidate does not have previous Montessori Experience and has Early Childhood Montessori classes at her own school, a great source of detailed information would be to participate in the CME|NY Three-Day Early Childhood Overview. CME|NY now offers an array workshops. We will send updates to each Mentor and Credential Candidate as new workshops are announced.

Another goal of the Independent Study is to provide opportunities for the Credential Candidate to expand her/his own network closer to home:

1. To interact with local and/or regional Montessori counterparts
2. To create connections with other educators in the region
3. To develop leadership responsibilities in the local education community

 For this reason, we would like to encourage live workshops, seminars, conferences, rather than webinars or on-line classes, to meet the 25 hours of Independent Study.

The 25 hours of Independent Study hours are dedicated to meeting specific leadership development needs and goals through attendance at various professional workshops, seminars, courses, webinars, conferences which are pre-approved by the Coordinator. After the Montessori Leadership Competencies Self-Assessment is completed (outside of class hours) the Credential Candidate will identify his/her professional and practical leadership skills and set individual goals for additional learning.  The Credential Candidate will prepare summaries for each workshop or session attended which will be presented to the Coordinator for review. 

Model 1B Credential Candidates will focus their independent study as follows:

10 Hours on topics related to Montessori Philosophy
10 Hours on topics related to Montessori Curriculum
5 Hours on topics related to School Operations

 

Model 2 and Model 3 Credential Candidates will focus their Independent Study as follows:

9.5 Hours on topics related to related Montessori Philosophy
15.5 Hours on topics related to School Operations.

 Credential Candidates will reflect on questions such as the following and prepare a summary to cover the 25 hours.

1. What do I wish to better understand from this seminar/workshop?
2. What ideas/actions do I take away from this experience?
3. What will I do differently?
4. What will I change?
5. What will I re-enforce that is already in place?
6. What inspired me?

4) 20 hours - Documented Observations

Half of the observations are completed at the Credential Candidate's own school and half by visiting other schools. The observations are tied to the assessments and learning outcomes and reflect directly back to the work that is being led in the monthly distance education classes and the goals of the Credential Candidate for the school. To assist in the development and understanding of Montessori methods of observation, a variety of observation formats are provided, which are to be completed and submitted to the Coordinator for review.

5) For Model 3 Credential Candidates only: 50 additional hours

Model 3 Credential Candidates will have additional hours (22.5) to learn more about the Montessori method in theory and in current practice through a series of lectures, discussions, viewing and videos in the Early Childhood Philosophy course.  An in-depth study of Montessori’s life centers on both theoretical and practical aspects of her experience as it relates to current work in the field.  Credential Candidates will specifically learn about Dr. Montessori’s view of the child, the method of education that she developed and the adult’s role in the child’s life.  Participants will create a Philosophy Album as well as a collection of personal reflections and Montessori quotes to document their learning and understanding.

Model 3 Credential Candidates will have additional hours (27.5) to participate in the Practical Life course for Early Childhood Adult Learners. The goal of this module is to enable the Credential Candidates to understand the purpose, structure, and components of Practical Life in the Montessori classroom.  The Credential Candidates will take an active role participating in the Early Childhood Practical Life curriculum component of the CME|NY teacher education course. The course will assist the Credential Candidate to develop an understanding of the aims of the Practical Life exercises in the child's life and in the environment, with particular attention to the unfolding of order, concentration, coordination, and independence. Participants will create a Practical Life Album as well a lesson plan.

For future administrators with no previous training in Montessori, these two courses will help develop the necessary foundation of knowledge and understanding of Montessori Philosophy and Practical Life, along with human growth, development, and pedagogy and will assist the aspiring administrator in her/his task of comprehending Montessori and demonstrating an understanding of the Montessori curriculum, its implementation, and expectations for Montessori teachers.

Practicum

The year-long practicum provides the Credential Candidate real-life practical experience in school administration. The Credential Candidate will be able to demonstrate his/her knowledge and skills as a leader of a Montessori school and draw on the knowledge and information gained from the coursework.

An effective school administrator must execute a number of tasks during any given day and over time.  These expectations are diverse and extensive.  Each task requires multiple competencies and the ability to draw on knowledge, experience, and problem-solving skills to do what it takes to provide an effective and safe learning environment.  Administrators deal with students, teachers, parents, board members, authorizers, lawmakers, community members throughout their work day/week/year, and the practicum allows them to improve their competencies in as many areas as possible, with guidance and support of the year-long Zoom classes and three on-site visits from CME|NY Field Consultants.

• Three On-Site Field Consultation visits with the participant by CME|NY faculty member at your own school
• Assignments related to your own goals for yourself and your school
• Working on Case Study Project

These practical experiences fully engage participants in an individualized course of study to reach their unique objectives as they fulfill the AMS competencies, while guided by a trusted CME|NY Faculty member adviser self-selected by the participant.

Three On-Site Consultation Visits

During the Practicum, the Credential Candidate receives three field consultation visits from a CME|NY faculty member.  The purpose of these visits is to observe, interact, and provide guidance to the Credential Candidate in their own school environment.  Depending upon the needs and goals of each participant, all three visits may be conducted by a single faculty member or two of the three visits may be by one faculty member and the third by a different faculty member or the participant may have three separate visits by different faculty members.

The Credential Candidate received three written reports from each of the consultations.

The Practicum concludes with the Credential Candidate returning to the CME|NY training center for two days of classes and case study presentations.

The case study presentations are a concrete demonstration that leadership is a journey. While the quest to meet specific goals is important and is the direct focus of the project, the underlining experience is to uplift leadership, enabling participants to recognize for themselves and then voice to their peers not only what they lead, but how, and -- most importantly -- why. Thus, the ends and the means join in this formal presentation that brings the cohort together as they contribute to something greater than themselves. The success of the process is contagious and speaks to the transformative nature of our course. The cohort is inspired and uplifted by the words and work of their peers to enter their next year with possibility and hope ahead in overcoming their own difficult challenges and/or continuing to be change agents at their schools.

Graduates emerge from our course refreshed, rejuvenated, some might even say, exhilarated -- and with new knowledge and practical skills, as well as the deep satisfaction of knowing their work and leadership is effective.

 

Click here for detailed Course Descriptions