Moving Montessori Forward?

This web site was begun as a volunteer venture by a small group of Montessori educators who were concerned by the impacts certain state initiatives seemed to be having on high quality Montessori schools and programs. It was hoped that by creating a space for sharing information about these potential impacts, a community of Montessorians would come together to support one another, guide one another, and  join their efforts to work with those who were charged with implementing these state initiatives.

In a few short months, we've worked hard to give you the tools you would find most valuable in your efforts at the state level. Some of you have shared your experiences with Our Stories: Grass Roots Advocacy in Action. These stories have included your personal experience having your school assessed for your state's QRIS, you have shared the successes you were able to create by working with state agencies, and we've shared both good times and frustrating times as you come together to form state coalitions for advocacy. Much great work has been done in so many states and in so many ways.

Let's take a moment to congratulate ourselves for the progress we have made, and for the efforts that so many of you are engaged in. We are coming together as a community. And we can be proud of that.

But what comes next? How do we continue to grow this grassroots effort? How can we use, and contribute to Montessori Forward to support our state coalition work, and to offer support and encouragement to each other?

What do YOU want from Montessori Forward? What would YOU like to accomplish and how can this community of dedicated Montessorians help you? What next steps do we need to make as a community? We know some of the issues facing us- how do we share what high quality Montessori looks like, and what the many benefits for children and their families are? How can we work together to align our curriculum with state Early Learning Standards, and common core? How do we gain recognition for our teachers and the competencies we have to offer? How do we share who we are, and what we do, and how we do it with those outside our own "Montessori community?"

We need input from each of you. Share your ideas, your thoughts, your frustrations, your questions. Volunteer to start a group to work on alignments, or information packets or.... you name it.

Comment on what you see here. Join the list serve and tell us all what you are thinking and what you need and what you want to offer. Let's build on what we have started here. This site belongs to us all. Together we can build it to be the community that will give strength to our goal- moving Montessori Forward.

QRIS: Next Steps

We are looking forward to "meeting" with all of you for the webinar

QRIS: Next Steps on Wednesday January 22 7-8:30 ET (register at www.amshq.org)

In addition to a brief review of the impacts of QRIS on Montessori education, we will be sharing some of your challenges and successes in working through these systems. This sharing of information will give you the chance to learn from one another and we hope will be an encouragement and support as you continue to advocate for recognition of high quality Montessori education in your state.

One idea you might want to use from our state Montessori group in CO (Colorado Montessori Association) is to use this webinar as an opportunity to bring your  members and interested Montessori educators and parents together. CMA has made plans to meet at a centrally located school to participate in this webinar as a group. A following discussion of particulars in the state can lead to an action plan of next steps.

We want this to be your webinar. Email us at montforward@gmail.com with your specific questions, issues you would like to be discussed, and contributions about the work you have been doing at the state level. We will do our best to include your concerns as we go through the webinar material.

Our Montessori community is growing stronger! This sharing of information, action, good news-and yes, some bad news can really contribute to our collective work. Be a part and let's keep this building!

Christine Lowry
Montessori Forward

What Will You Do?

Happy New Year! We hope all of you have had a relaxing break full of fun with family and friends.
And now, back to the routine? or is this a time to commit to new ideas, new hopes, and new ways of looking at business as usual?

In our role as Montessori educators, we have an amazing opportunity to benefit children and their families. We know what works for them and we work hard every day to give the best we can. We see the results of our work in the children that we teach on a daily basis.

So busy as we are running schools, preparing stimulating environments for learning, and meeting the needs of so many, how can we make the time to support this work we are so passionate about in the world outside of our school or classroom walls?

We know that there are disconnects between our high quality practice and competencies and current and proposed education policy at the federal and state level. Common Core Standards, mandated assessments, increasing demands for teacher performance and professional development and parent expectations are impacting both private and public Montessori schools. 2013 has seen more policy initiatives and accompanying mandates for early childhood education than ever before. And in 2014, this promises to be THE education issue nation wide.

How are we going to approach this dilemma of policy and its implementation in our Montessori practice? It's a question we need to ask at the national organization level, the state level, the school level and as individual Montessori educators. What will we do?

Will we just ignore it all and try to stay comfortable in our "Montessori bubble?" Will we give in, and accept these changes and mandates at the risk of losing "authentic" Montessori practice? Or do we decide to take action to support and advocate for the high quality we care so much about?

Advocacy can seem like an overwhelming concept and task. What do we do, where do we start, how do we take action? Think small, think one small doable step at a time. Feel successful in that one step and that reward will be your encouragement to take the next step, and the one after that.

Think about~

1. Contacting your state Montessori organization and becoming a member today. (The contact list is at montessoriforward.org)

2. Can't find a group in your state, start one! Reach out to 2 or 3 of your fellow educators who might want to help you. Look at Resources for a How-To or reach out to us for assistance if you need.

3. Read through Our Stories: Grassroots Advocacy in Action to become inspired. Read the blog posts, join the List Serve, check out the Resources section. Be in touch at montessoriforward@gmail.com

4. Search QRIS in your state. There is almost always an online power point presentation that you can read through in less than an hour

5. Sign up with your state Office of Early Learning and Care to receive newsletters and notifications

6. Plan to attend just 1 state agency or Montessori meeting some time in the next 6 weeks

7. Register for QRIS: Next Steps. This free webinar, January 22, 7-8:30 ET, is presented by Montessori Forward and sponsored by AMS http://amshq.org/Events/Webinars.aspx

8. Contact us at montessoriforward@gmail.com, or through our List Serve

One step at a time, one active person at a time, our Montessori community will become a voice to be heard.

Now share with us. What action have you taken that could be shared with others? Reps from state Montessori groups, share your ideas, your actions, your surveys, your experiences with policy. Let others learn from your work. Add to this conversation.

Thanks,
Montessori Forward