Advocacy

MONTESSORI CREDENTIAL RECOGNITION UPDATE

Private Academic School Board Vote – January 17, 2025

We are thrilled to announce that at its January 17, 2025 meeting after a year of discussions and negotiations, the PA Private Academic School Board voted to approve the following policy regarding Montessori teaching credentials for teachers in private Montessori schools:

Teachers in Montessori Schools – Statement of Policy
The purpose of this statement is to describe the policy of the State Board of Private Academic Schools (the Board) concerning the recognition by the Board of credentials issued by certain Montessori organizations that will be allowable for purposes of serving as a nursery school or kindergarten teacher in a school which follows the Montessori philosophy.

This policy applies to Montessori schools licensed under 22 Pa. Code Chapter 53, Nursery and Kindergarten, which follow the Montessori philosophy and curriculum and utilize Montessori materials in their teaching. Teachers who are graduates of an approved 4-year college or university and submit documentary evidence of an early childhood credential from AMS, AMI, or a MACTE (Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) accredited Montessori Teacher Education Program with a minimum of 300 hours including a practicum may teach in a Montessori school as described above with approval by the Department of Education. Furthermore, teachers holding such credentials will not be required to obtain a professional or private academic school teaching certificate. Teachers thus credentialed are not qualified to teach in a non-Montessori private academic school and must otherwise apply for certification under 22 Pa. Code § 53.21 to do so.

This policy will be posted on the PA Department of Education website at some point in the near future and PA Montessori schools will be informed of this new change.

We are so grateful to Denise Monnier and Vyju Kadambi of the Montessori Public Policy Initiative who guided our work and helped us finally present our request to the board with a unified voice for Montessori in the Commonwealth. Thank you to Mary Ann Jackson for initiating the idea to approach the Private Academic School Board and to everyone who supported us along the way.

Stay tuned for alerts about future work with the Department of Education to suggest additional Montessori credential recognition in the Commonwealth of PA.

Pennsylvania Montessori Alliance – Recent Work 2024

Timeline of Work: Montessori Credential Recognition Discussions with Private Academic School Board

December 1, 2023 – Mary Ann Jackson, head of The Montessori School – Morrisville, PA, sent a letter the PA Private Academic School Board (PASB) and the PA Secretary of Education requesting a change in acceptance of the Montessori credential in lieu of 24 EC credits for Private Academic School Teacher Certification.

December 12, 2023 – Mary Ann contacted PMA President Diane Force regarding the letter she sent to PASB. Joint work with Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI), PMA board, PASB, and Mary Ann Jackson ensued over the next 6 months.

April 19, 2024 Mary Ann made public comment regarding the requested change at the PASB meeting.

PASB agreed to draft a policy change to send to PMA for review prior to the June 19, 2024 meeting.

May 2024 – Mary Ann disseminated the draft to PA constituents for public comment. Comments were reviewed and draft was finalized by Mary Ann Jackson.

June 19, 2024 – Disagreement amongst PA Montessorians, MPPI, and AMS/AMI, and MACTE regarding the language of the final draft policy that was submitted to PASB caused the issue to be tabled by the PASB.

June-July 2024 – Meetings with the PMA board, MACTE representatives, and MPPI took place to work toward agreed upon language for the draft policy. Work continues to hopefully have the final draft presented for the PASB August 16, 2024 meeting in Harrisburg.

August -October 2024 – Discussions and meetings continued with a draft policy submitted to PASB. PASB excludes topic for October meeting until further review with the Private Academic School certification department can be completed. PMA hopes to have the policy draft on the January 17, 2025 agenda.

Join our organization to stay apprised of developments with PASB!

It is our hope that success with the Private Academic School Board will set the stage for continued work with the Department of Education for additional credential recognition.