Leading your Montessori School to
Excellence, Stability, and Harmony
The Course For Leading Schools
AMS Administrator’s Credential

The truly outstanding Montessori schools in the world today - the ones with programs and people that stand the test of time- have leaders who understand both the nature of leadership and Montessori education. They have learned to apply Montessori principles to their work with adults in leading their school communities to success.

THE THREE UNDERSTANDINGS OF SUCCESSFUL MONTESSORI LEADERS

At the course for Leading Schools you will learn how to avoid crises, eliminate problems, and reach your goals through mastery of four layers of leadership knowledge:

1. What is the nature of leadership in today’s most successful organizations?
2. What are the essential elements of Montessori education and how are these principles practiced at each program level. What does leadership look like aligned to the Montessori Philosophy?
3. How does one grow a healthy a stable and sustainable Montessori school community: managing the educational, administrative, and strategic functions.

Leading Strategies for Today's Challenges
- Enrollment management
- Retention through all program level
- Successful staff supervision
- Time management
- Positive parent involvement
- Program quality and consistency
- Role and responsibilities of the board
- School growth
- addressing state standards of learning

Learning Leadership the Montessori Way
Adults preparing to be successful school leaders require a prepared environment that adheres to the Montessori philosophy of learning

1 . Respect for the individual - responsiveness to prior experience, current needs, and natural abilities.
2. Time to practice and assimilate new concepts and skills, in an atmosphere of collaboration and support
3. Instructors who are role models of effective leadership, who are attentive, understanding, patient, and encouraging
4. Practical information that- prepares one for the challenges of leadership in today’s public, charter, and private Montessori schools

Three Tracks Offered Depending Upon Previous Experience:
Course components requirements

Model 1: Montessori Focus

Bachelors Degree and Administrators course work or certificate*
Component 1: Understanding Montessori Education
Component 2: The Nature of Leadership
Component 3: Leading the Montessori Way
Component 4: Integrated School Management
Component 5: Practicum
• If administrator does not have this documentation, course components will be determined after a review of experiences.

Model 2: Administrative Focus

Bachelors Degree and Montessori Credential
Component 2: The Nature of Leadership
Component 3: Leading the Montessori Way
Component 4: Integrated School Management
Component 5: Practicum

* If administrator does not have this documentation, course components will be determined after a review of experiences.

Model 3: Montessori and Administrative Focus

Individuals who need course work in both Tracks 1 and 2
Component 1: Understanding Montessori Education
Component 2: The Nature of Leadership
Component 3: Leading the Montessori Way
Component 4: Integrated School Management
Component 5:Practicum

Practicum phase during the school year:

• 9 months with minimum of 6 hours a day or 3 hours a day for two school years.
• Complete at least 60% of academic phase
• Work with a mentor teacher or self-directed
• Practicum site must meet AMS and HMC standards

*Under certain conditions, students may have a self-directed practicum. Schools must be an AMS Accredited, Affiliate, Subscriber School unless special arrangements are made.

Non-credential auditing options
All course components can be audited. Call for costs and specific dates.

Scholarships based on need and personal qualifications are available from AMS and HMC. Information about scholarships is on the Houston Montessori website. AMS scholarships applications are due by May 1 on www.amshq.org.

ADMISSION/ENROLLMENT POLICIES
Applicants must have at least a US Bachelor’s degree or equivalent, submit three letters of recommendation, submit one original transcript, have an interview with the director or a staff member, and complete an essay and survey.
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Applicants, who learned English as a foreign language, will be required to take the computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A total score of 213 or better will be required for acceptance. The applicant is responsible for registering, taking and the cost of the TOEFL.

Houston Montessori Center does not deny admission on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, age or veteran status, except where age, sex, or handicap constitutes a bona fide occupational qualification necessary to proper and efficient administration.

Faculty Experienced in Leadership, Montessori Education,
School Operations, and Adult Education

Dana Kaminstein, Ph.D.
Dana S. Kaminstein, Ph.D. holds a B.A. degree from Earlham College, an M.A. degree from Goddard College, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Originally trained as a psychologist, he now works exclusively with organizations. He maintains a private consulting practice and is a Fellow at Wharton Executive Education at the University of Pennsylvania. For the past ten years he has designed and implemented leadership development programs for large global organizations. His current research interests include leadership, health, group dynamics, and life-work balance.

Michael Eanes
Michael Eanes holds a B.A. degree from Ohio Wesleyan and an M.A. in education from Trinity College (Hartford). He brings over thirty years of experience in private education as a teacher, coach, administrator, and headmaster. He is the former president of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) and executive director of the American Montessori Society. He currently serves as a consultant to not-for-profit organizations, specializing in board development, strategic planning, fund raising, and school operations.

Jonathan Wolff
Jonathan Wolff holds a B.S. in Education from Temple University and a Primary Certificate from the Association Montessori Internationale. In the course of his 30 years in Montessori education he has served as a teacher, director of education, head of school, teacher trainer, parent educator, board chair, and school consultant. As the director of Learning for Life, he currently works with teachers and school leaders to helping them enhance staff performance, program quality, and institutional development.

Betsy Coe, Ph.D.
Betsy Coe holds a B.S. in Elementary Education, M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and Adolescence. She also holds state teaching certificates in early childhood, elementary, and special education. She has AMS credentials in Early Childhood, Elementary I/II, and Secondary I /II (2.5 – 18 years). A practicing Montessori teacher for 35 years, Betsy is currently principal of School of the Woods middle and high school, executive director of the Houston Montessori Teacher Education Center, past-president of AMS, and frequent presenter, consultant, and keynote speaker.

We have a detailed administrators packet that can be downloaded.
<Download administrator packet>