Montessori Week!

More exciting action; This time taking place in Ohio! Congratulations!

The Ohio Montessori Alliance is a collaborative group is working to share teacher training resources, host community celebrations, coordinate workshops and seminars and be in support of Montessori programs around the state to further promote Montessori methodology.

 

We are very excited that our Governor has approved a resolution recognizing Montessori Education Week! More details can be found at this link:

http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a03df04fc84f3ce901c355522&id=0197b483b5&e=090d69889e

 

 

We are looking forward to hearing from others of you around the country. The momentum is fantastic! Let's help one another as we move Montessori Forward!

Advocacy in Action: Washington state

Take a look at this! Strong work in WA. Congratulations to our fellow Montessorians.

Please share your "Story" with the rest of our community. Send your post to montforward@gmail.com.

Thanks~

Montessori Forward

 

 

 

We are in high gear in Washington state.  Our QRIS, Early Achievers, is well underway and Montessori schools are generally scoring a three out of five for all the reasons that we are concerned about.  We use the CLASS scale and the ERCERS/ITERS scales. Our local organizations, Pacific Northwest Montessori Association (PNMA) and Washington Federation of Independent Schools(WFIS), are working hard with Early Achievers and Montessori schools to move us toward a fair rating. In the meantime, there is a bill moving very quickly through the state legislature to turn Early Achievers into law once the grant is done.

 

The bill as it currently stands does a number of things that are of concern.  One major intent of the bill is to help parents find quality care for their children. To this end, the bill requires the rating to be posted online. In Early Achievers and in the future law, participation is voluntary, but all schools that accept state subsidies must participate. However, high quality schools that choose not to participate may not be seen as such by potential parents.  Just before the Washington state House Early Learning committee voted to send the bill on its way to appropriations and other committees, WFIS raised some concerns about the bill.  They sent out a call to action which was forwarded by PNMA to ask private schools, both early learning and K-12, to talk about the concerns with this bill and the affect it would have on school choice.  Several schools also forwarded it on to parents.

 

The result was encouraging and empowering.  On the Friday before the vote and the day the call was sent out, the vote was expected to be 11-2 for sending the bill out of committee.  At the hearing on the following Monday several legislators sad they heard from their constituents and voiced concerns about Early Achievers working well with Montessori and other mission-driven programs.  They ended up voting it out of committee anyway, however, the vote was 8-5 and the committee gave the Early Achievers organizations specific instructions to make it work with Montessori and other programs.  The bill continues to move through committees and we are tracking it closely.  We do expect that the House will pass it and it will be passed in the Senate as well.

 

In the meantime, we are working closely with the Department of Early Learning to see if we can make modifications to some aspects of Early Achievers so that Montessori schools can more easily participate and be acknowledged for the quality program they provide.  Efforts in the works include:

·         Using the ECERS Rater’s Guide to Montessori Classrooms currently in development by a subcommittee of Montessori Forward.org (and possibly making a video to use in QRIS rater training).
·         Exploring accreditation by AMS or NWAIS (or other Department of Education-approved organization) as means to either get a base score, replace elements of the system, or waive schools out of participation while still giving them access to the incentives.
·         Developing a modified ECERS and ITERS based on research studies that have done cultural modifications when using the ERS in other countries.
·         Developing some training for Montessori teachers who are in classrooms that will be rated to know what to expect and how to maximize rater’s understanding of what is going on in their classrooms.

 

The success we have had is due to two things. 1. Our Montessori community understand that it is more than just our programs that are negatively affected by some of the elements of Early Achievers and we have worked to identify those and connect with organizations that can work with us to open up the system to accommodate a greater variety of programs. 2. Multiple organizations are coordinating and strategizing quickly and effectively to make our collective voice heard in this process.  We/re not there yet, but we are working hard.

 

 

Charis Sharp, Ph.D.

Head of School

(425) 271-9614

News from you

There is so much outstanding work taking place across the country. Many of you have made plans to meet with representatives from your state's Office of  Early Childhood Education ( or Departement of Education, Departments of Human Services, or Children and Families, or the licensing folks) to begin conversations about the value of Montessori education. As those responsible for the implementation of education policy (both early childhood and K-12) are struggling to meet time lines and schedules, we are finding that they are grateful to hear from the Montessori community. This presents a wonderful opportunity for us to begin to share what is so special about what we do.

As you are preparing for these meetings, we urge you to re-read the blog on Diplomacy and Tact. Especially at your first meeting, the  conversation should be more about shared goals than concerns. Familiarize yourselves with the concerns for the Montessori community and if they naturally arise in the conversation, make an offer to provide information and assistance to the state people. Offering to work with them in partnership gives us the opportunity to support Montessori education while offering our voice to the ongoing conversation.

As you have these meetings, and follow ups, with your state agencies, please take a moment to share your experiences with the rest of us. We are always looking for blog posts (2-3 paragraphs is absolutely fine-( mail to montforward@gmail.com) and we encourage you to use the Montessori  Forward Google Group List serve ( easy to join from the link on MF). The more we can interact and support one another, the more we can be supported in our work at the state level.
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Look for some fantastic new changes to Montessori Forward. Coming soon!