Buyer Beware! All Montessori Schools are NOT created equal!
Buyer Beware! All Montessori schools are not created equal!
The name “Montessori” is not trademarked or legally protected. Therefore, any institution can call itself a Montessori school.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to determine the “authenticity” of the schools you are researching.
Is the school accredited by Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)?
This organization, founded by Maria Montessori, represents the most exacting standards of excellence for Montessori schools. Only an AMI-accredited school delivers the authentic educational philosophy of Maria Montessori.
Are the teachers AMI-trained?
Montessori teachers need specific training in order to use the Montessori materials in the classroom and to teach the Montessori Method. Applicants for this year-long training must already possess a BA or BS.
CountrySide’s Accreditation
Arbor Montessori is accredited by AMI, the internationally recognized standard of quality for Montessori schools.
AMI (Association Montessori Internationale)
Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) was founded in 1929 by Maria Montessori to ensure the integrity of her pedagogical legacy. Because the word or name “Montessori” is not a trademark or franchise, any institution can call itself a Montessori school with impunity. Therefore, AMI provides schools that wish to offer an authentic Montessori program a set of internationally recognized standards of quality. Parents are assured that schools that are AMI-accredited follow Montessori’s principles and practices in their original integrity and completeness.
To receive AMI recognition, each classroom in the school must have:
A fully-trained teacher who has completed both a college undergraduate degree and AMI’s year-long training program;
A complete set of authorized Montessori classroom materials;
A three-year range of ages within the single classroom;
An uninterrupted three-hour work cycle each morning.
Schools apply to become an AMI-Montessori school annually. The recognition status is based upon the training of their teachers as well as their compliance with the pedagogical standards.
To verify that these requirements are met, trained consultants evaluate AMI schools every three years.
CountrySide is also a member of the following professional organizations:
MAG: Montessori Administrators of Georgia
NAMTA: North American Montessori Teachers’ Association
