Updates for the Montessori community: RTT-ELC grants; Infant Floor Beds; QRIS- Next Steps

The US Department of Education announced the latest Race to the Top- Early Learning Challenge grant recipients yesterday morning. They are:

Georgia
Kentucky
Michigan
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Vermont

This now brings to 20 the number of states receiving these funds to improve early childhood education and provide greater options for families and children. The Montessori community is active and thriving in Georgia and Michigan and already engaged in  great advocacy work. However, our organizations in the other states are non-existent (as far as we have been able to determine) or are not particularly active. Now is the time to come together as a strong, organized community. If you know people in these states that would like to begin the advocacy process, please refer them to the Resources page on this web site.


Infant Floor Beds are becoming an issue in several states. If your state licensing rules and regulations allow for use of infant floor beds, could you please share your state name and anything that you might know about the process for this variance? If you are able to use floor beds due to a waiver, what information could you share about that process. We are looking for precedent to assist Montessori state organizations as they advocate for the continued use of floor beds in high quality Montessori Infant environments. Thanks.


QRIS- Next Steps

Our next webinar QRIS-Next Steps is scheduled for January 22 from 7-8:30 pm. We will be reviewing past and current information regarding these state systems and will be providing information which will help you advocate for Montessori education.

There are several specific areas of impact on our community, such as recognition of the Montessori teacher credential, alignment with state Early Learning Standards, adaptation of the environmental rating tools, use of materials, and recognition and value of accreditation with a national Montessori organization.

We'll talk about the approaches you can take, the actions you can engage in, and the kind of support and information Montessori Forward can provide. We will share success stories from Montessori organizations across the country, current engagement in several states, and how we can support one another's work.

Register at AMS. This webinar is being provided free of charge. Spread the word.

And, finally, we at Montessori Forward wish you all a happy season. Congratulate yourselves for the hard work you have done!

Montessori Environment Rating Scales

There is a great deal of concern in the Montessori community over the use of inappropriate environmental rating scales to rate Montessori programs for QRIS.  In some states, these scales penalize Montessori programs for not having blocks, plush toys and dress-up corners.  While there are environmental rating scales (such as MRS) that offer a Montessori friendly alternative, they are problematic for a number of reasons and, as of this writing, have not been accepted by any state QRIS agencies.

Is there an alternative that the Montessori community could use?

There are rating scales that have been specifically created for use in a Montessori environment. The problem in using these, though, comes on several levels.

First, QRIS is a state initiative and is managed by a state office or agency. QRIS is, at one level, supposed to be a uniform measure of quality that can be easily understood by any number of stakeholders, and primary among them is parents. Using a different rating tool for each of the early childhood programs that would like to be seen as "unique" opens the state agency to a great deal of time and money and a complication that is not consistent with the goals of QRIS and serves "no purpose" for the state.

Secondly, the commonly used scale has been used for many years. A tremendous amount of reliability and validity research has been done, the instrument has been studied as to its predictive outcome value, and it has a history. States are looking to one another for precedent, states with RTT-ELC grants are working within a specific timeframe, and have requirements within their application that require compliance.

Thirdly, the commonly used scale rates a classroom and program on a variety of components. Environment, and curriculum materials is just one of these. The program's administrative practices, family involvement, staff qualifications and teacher-student interaction, inclusion of special needs students and the programs responsiveness to cultural diversity are all included. The Montessori specific tools which we have seen are limited to specifics of the classroom environment and/or teacher-student interactions.

Montessori educators, just like anyone else, can take the specified training to become a rater using the state tool. However, these raters are "employees" of either the state agency administering QRIS, or are contract workers for the independent which has been contracted by the state to do these ratings. Using Montessori experienced educators to complete ratings in Montessori environments could be an interesting proposal to advocate for within your state.

We do have some precedent for state agencies being willing to work with Montessori educators to adapt the currently used scale, and we are working on precedent for schools which are accredited by a national organization (like AMS or AMI) to earn points within QRIS.

All of these initiatives are issues which the Montessori community can advocate for. By organizing, sharing information, and showing a willingness to work with state agencies, we can help educate, in real, understandable terms, the benefits of high quality Montessori education taught by high quality Montessori teachers.

Look for tools and resources on Montessori Forward. Share your questions, ideas and successes on the List Serve.

Ready or Not, Here it Comes

Why  should we continue to care about QRIS? It's voluntary, right? It's only for public schools, right? It's only about schools that want government funding, right?

Wrong on all counts! What it is, ultimately, is about the definition and assessment of "high quality."
As Montessori educators, we know all about "high quality" in our classrooms and our schools. Certainly there are differences, but we hope we can all agree on certain basic essential standards. The problem is that these are not the standards being considered in the world of early childhood education these days.

If you take a good look at almost every QRIS in the country, you will find certain basic essential standards in the measurement of "high quality."

• Standard 1: Classrooms with the right numbers and kinds of toys, classrooms with the right numbers and kinds of dramatic play and dress up opportunities, classrooms with teachers who interact with their young students in clearly defined ways, classrooms that meet a low teacher: child ratio and maximum group size, and particular furnishings with appropriate labels. Curriculum must align with state set early learning standards.
• Standard 2: "Staff qualifications" which are awarded points for defined levels of education. To be ranked above the level equal to a high school graduate with a Child Development Associate credential (and this is considered lower than an Associate's degree), certain criteria must be met. Professional development approved and/or required by the state Office of Early Childhood Learning and Care. 
• Standard 3: Program criteria which include standards for working with families, including those of diverse cultural backgrounds, standards for inclusion of special needs children, assessment of defined health and safety standards, including materials which can be used by children and in some cases, even the use of floor beds.
• Standard 4: Each program will be required to participate in an improvement plan to be monitored by the QRIS.
• Standard 5: Each program and school will have its level, or star rating, shared with the public- including parents new to the world of ECE who are trying to make the best choice they can for their child. A 5 star rating looks much better than a 2 star rating and if you didn't know anything about Montessori, what program would you choose to look at?

We all want the highest quality early childhood education that can be offered to our children. It's in the definition, the assessment tools, and the implementation of quality that we Montessorians find ourselves in a bind. So let's look at a few facts.

• In many states, especially those with RTT-ELC grants, QRIS is not voluntary. It is, or will be, required of every early childhood program in the state. This means private, public, funds or no funds.
• In many states, the Montessori Early Childhood credential, or diploma, is often ranked at the level of the above mentioned CDA- unless a particular Montessori teacher also has a college degree in early childhood education.
• Most states are using an environment and program rating tool that often results in a low score for a high quality Montessori program (see Our Stories under the Resources tab). We are gathering more and more information from around the country on how Montessori programs are being rated.
• In many states, there are financial incentives for programs with a high star rating. These funds can be used for professional development and a variety of other program needs.

QRIS is only one initiative which is seeking to define and measure quality. The newly proposed Strong Start for America's Children bill, takes QRIS components to a new level. The proposal for universal pre-K relies on very similar standards and measures of high quality. Like it or not, the compliance with standards is not going away any time soon.

If we want to protect an education which know is so beneficial for children and their families, we don't really have a choice but to be a part of conversation. Even in states which have had QRIS for years, these systems are being reassessed, new standards are being included, even national accreditation of programs is being reevaluated.

This website is one attempt to provide you with the information you need to support high quality Montessori education. These QRIS are not set in stone and many state agencies are wanting to hear from the Montessori community. We can have a voice in the decisions which are being made. But we have to speak up.

Let us know at Montessori Forward what you need, ask questions, share your challenges. And look for the successes that your fellow Montessorians are having in their states. We must work together for the sake of our children.