Did you know that Dr. Montessori never trademarked her name or patented the materials or the method she developed? It was Dr. Montessori's hope to benefit all children with her method. Unfortunately, this kind intention has resulted in the phenomenon that many childcare centers embed Montessori in their names, even when they don’t adhere to the method.
Why is it important to attend an authentic Montessori school?
In a high-quality Montessori program, your child will:
learn through a personalized approach, according to her own developmental stages, personal characteristics, and interests
develop a powerful sense of independence and confidence
be empowered to take initiative and resolve problems
develop an analytical mindset
develop cooperative social skills
experience leadership in depth and length (rather than being simply told “You need to be a leader.”)
very importantly, develop a lifelong joy, excitement, and love for learning
The list continues. If these benefits sound desirable, you will want to find an authentic Montessori program.
A high-quality Montessori school has AMI-trained guides (teachers) and the school understands and follows standards set forth by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), founded by Dr. Maria Montessori. Typically, these schools are committed to an AMI recognition.
Why AMI-trained guides? Their year-long, vigorous, masters-level training ensures that they possess deep and rich knowledge of stages and characteristics of early childhood development, the guiding principles of the Montessori approach to education, how to observe children, the purposes and progression of the materials, how to connect children with the materials… None of these can be easily obtained through other available training methods such as a two-week online Montessori training. Be alert: when a guide is claimed to be “Montessori-trained”, it could mean very differently from “AMI-trained”.
However, just having AMI-trained guides is not enough. Without a school leadership that understands the Montessori approach and is committed to adhering to the AMI standards, an AMI-trained guide's work with children would be largely compromised.
For example, one of the AMI standards requires that each environment has a complete set of high-quality materials to ensure that children receive the full benefit from a Montessori environment. Of course, this translates into a significant upfront financial commitment, as well as significant on-going maintenance and replacement costs. Unfortunately, while they may appear to have a roomful of Montessori materials at a glance, many childcare centers/schools choose not to make the investment in certain costly materials or in quality materials. They count on the fact that most parents are not equipped with the knowledge to differentiate such an environment from one that is authentic.
As a new school, TCI Montessori is committed to obtaining the AMI recognition in the shortest amount of time possible. While the recognition process typically takes 2-3 years, we adhere to all AMI standards from Day One to ensure the quality of education provided to our children.
Did you know that there are only 13 AMI recognized schools within the Twin Cities area?
Did you also know that there are no AMI recognized schools in Edina, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Eagan, or anywhere in the suburbs further to the south and west?
To find out more about our school, schedule a tour, or email us with any questions you may have.
