So where does Montessori exist today? The answer: in a lot more places than you think, but in fewer places that claim to be. As I talked about in the last Monday Montessori post, traditional methods have absorbed some of Montessori's ideas such as the child sized furniture so a little bit of Montessori has really been absorbed into our standard education, so in truth Montessori is everywhere. Typically, however, Montessori is found in private schools in addition to some public programs. The Montessori philosophy, probably in thanks to Dr. Montessori's efforts later in life, has a prevalent place in education internationally. Unfortunately, there are many schools, both private and public, that tag on the name Montessori only halfway applying to the method or almost disregarding it entirely. There are organizations in place, AMS and AMI, to help maintain a standard among Montessori schools and most true Montessori schools belong to one (sometimes both, but it is not as common) of the organizations.
Below, are the websites for three of the organizations that try to maintain standards of Montessori education. These are good resources for learning more about the philosophy and getting an idea of the schools that exist in your area. Thanks for reading.
AMI (Association Montessori International): http://www.amiusa.org/index
AMS (American Montessori Society): www.amshq.org/schools.htm
NAMTA (North American Montessori Teachers Association ) School Directory list, with certification and class levels listed - USA and International. www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/NAMServs/dirgateway.html
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