Montessori in Action Podcast

Amira Mogaji, EdD, is the president of the AMS Board of Directors and a founding board member of Montessori for Social Justice. Her special interests lie in Montessori public school education and anti-bias, antiracist education. Previously, she has worked as chief academic officer for City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis, MO; principal of Northglade Montessori Magnet School in Kalamazoo, MI; chief executive officer of Philadelphia Montessori Charter School and principal of Chester Upland School District and Village Charter School, both in Chester, PA. She has served as a Culturally Responsive Education facilitator and is a member of ERACCE: Eliminating Racism and Creating/Celebrating Equity regional team in Kalamazoo, MI. AMS credentialed (Administrator).

 

More information about the AMS Pre-Conference Day for public Montessori Educators 

 

Read more about the 2016 Yale Study Dr. Mogaji mentions in the conversation.

Our guests for this episode are from The Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education ( MACTE) which is an organization that accredits Montessori teacher education programs. They are committed to improving academic degree and certificate programs for Montessori professional educators who teach and lead in schools at the Infant and Toddler through Secondary II levels. 

 

As one of only two teacher education accreditors, MACTE is a member of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA) and is nationally recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE).  Founded in 1995, its constituency now represents a broad range of educational institutions not limited to those within the United States.

Season Two, Episode 7 of Montessori in Action Podcast hosts a conversation with two Montessori educators working in Elementary classrooms in public Montessori schools. They had not met or spoken prior to this conversation. The topic for discussion is how children are reentering school this year following the disruptions of the pandemic and what educators are doing to support them.

Season Two, Episode 6 of Montessori in Action Podcast hosts a conversation with three Montessori educators working in 3-6 classrooms in public Montessori schools. They had not met or spoken prior to this conversation. The topic for discussion is how young children are reentering school this year following the disruptions of the pandemic and what educators are doing to support them. There are two outtakes included in this episode where the guests reflect on a bright moment of their day.

Wildflower is an ecosystem of decentralized Montessori micro-schools that support children, teachers, and families. They aspire to give all children and families the opportunity to have high quality education in beautiful learning environments and they do this through the creation of small teacher-led schools. Our guests for this episode are the leadership team for a new initiative in Washington, DC: A Wildflower public charter school. The DC Wildflower Public Charter School, is a non-hierarchical organization that will create up to six — one-room, community embedded micro-Montessori schools led by teachers, embedded in a neighborhood serving families in the District of Columbia. To learn more about the DC Wildflower Public Charter School check out this blogpost.

Episode Four is a conversation with American Montessori Society Executive Director, Munir Shivji and Director of Equity and Engagement, Maati Wafford. These leaders share their current work in the organization as well as the plans for new initiatives.

This episode is a conversation with Ayize Sabater as he shares his journey to become the Executive Director of AMI USA, and his vision for the work ahead in the organization. He also talks about his role in establishing the Black Montessori Educational Fund.

Our August episode brings co-authors from two continents together to talk about their book Montessori Baby. Drawing on principles developed by Dr. Montessori, The Montessori Baby explores how to interact with your baby from birth to age one with love, respect, and insight. Co-written by Junnifa Uzodike and Simone Davies, author of The Montessori Toddler, it is filled with practical ideas for understanding what is happening with your baby through the first year, and how you can mindfully assist in their learning and development.

Welcome back to another year with Montessori in Action Podcast, celebrating authors as they release books in our Montessori community.

Mariana Bissonnette has written Babies Build Toddlers, a special parenting book that makes child development information both accessible and actionable for everyday readers. It explores the unfolding of the child during the first part of the first plane of development. A beautiful book, with a variety of illustrations that capture the lives of different families, it is the ideal gift for all caregivers of young children.

Erica Moretti’s book The Best Weapon for Peace: Maria Montessori, Education and Children's Rights explores changes in pacifist thought in the first half of the twentieth century in Europe through the work of Italian educator Maria Montessori. Upcoming interview

 

“For success in life depends in every case on self confidence and the knowledge of one’s own capacity and many-sided powers of adaptation.” From Childhood to Adolescence by Dr. Maria Montessori. 

 

This Anniversary episode is a celebration of one year together. It holds thoughts from previous guests as they look back at the past school year and reflect on what they learned. They offer a cache (a collection of something stored away for future use) of insights to take forward into the future.

 

Insights on:

Collaboration

Adaptation

Creativity

Hope

Energy

 

Thank you to the contributors for their reflections, their resilience and their commitment to holding children at the center. And thank you, listener, for all you are doing to forward this work.

Congratulations to everyone on the completion of this 2020-21 school year.

Contributors to this episode:

• Bobby Johnson, Dean of Students and Culture at Lee Montessori in Washington, DC
• Hadar Peled, the CEO and Founder of Milla in Israel
• Hannah Richardson, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Breakthrough Montessori in Washington, DC
• Jacqui Miller, Director of Montessori Programming and Operations for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, OH
• Koren Clark, Partner with Wildflower Schools, CEO and Co-founder of Knowthyselfinc, based in Oakland, CA
• Katie Rucker, Head of School at Moore Montessori Community School in Southern Pines, NC
• Dr. Lucy Canzoneri-Golden, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Coral Reef Montessori Academy Charter School in Miami, FL 
• Patrizia Mercuri, Director of the Istituto Comprensivo San Donato in Sardinia, Italy