This is one of my favorite areas to give assistance with in my consulting capacity. My first experience with Montessori accreditation was with the American Montessori Society (AMS) and with the Southern Association of Colleges and School (SACS). I had never worked in an accredited school until I went to work for a large private school in Florida which carried both AMS and SACS accreditations. As I was the Elementary Dean of the School at the time, I was asked to chair the Accreditation Committee and it was from this experience that I became so enthralled with Montessori School Accreditation.
I found the two accrediting bodies to be vastly different and one much easier than the other to navigate. As such, when I became a consultant with the Montessori Foundation, I suggested that we rewrite it’s sister organization’s (The International Montessori Council) accreditation handbook as it was very difficult to plow through and was for most schools too difficult to manage. Be careful of making suggestions, as the President thought this was a great idea and I was given the task to rewrite and reconfigure this large piece of work. Thankfully, after the initial rewrite and reconfiguration, I had a team of helpers and advisors and I’m glad to say that the IMC now has a wonderful accreditation process.
This experience led me to become the first Accreditation Director for the International Montessori Council and I currently serve as the Co-Chair on the IMC’s Accreditation Commision.
So, I suppose you could say that I’m steeped in Montessori Accreditation and I love helping schools achieve their accreditation goals. If you are wondering whether Montessori Accreditation is for you, click the link below and let’s have a conversation as I’d love to help you on your journey to become a Montessori accredited school.