AMS Administrative Support, Events, and Credentials

Montessori Life, Spring 2004 by Cichucki, Penny HildeBrandt

Greetings to all of you! I hope this issue of Montessori Life finds you and your schools doing well and looking forward to the 2004-05 school year. As school heads and school boards prepare for future years and sometimes for current concerns, I receive inquiries about what resources are available to support administrators to be successful as heads of Montessori schools, and what programs are available to help prepare future administrators. Many of us who are current heads are Montessori teachers who have taken on administrative positions and have grown in our administrative skills as our schools have grown. In planning long term for retirement, we are concerned with the preparation of new Montessori administrators to continue the success of our schools.

We have several different avenues of support for current heads of schools. Through the Heads Section we try to support each other via networking-sharing friendship, encouragement, and solutions to common challenges. Breakfasts and workshops are offered at our national conferences, we have held leadership conferences for heads and other experienced educators, and some of the traveling symposia will be addressing the needs of administrators. In addition, we plan to have an annual heads retreat every year on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, birthday weekend. It seems to be most helpful to have the retreat the same time each year, so that you may count on it and plan it into your calendar.

I am pleased to announce that the destination of the upcoming retreat, to be held January 14-17, 2005, is Playadel Carmen, Mexico! We thought this warm venue would be a nice break from the winter scene for those of us in northern climates. There will be a workshop on developing leadership in your school; Jack Blessington will be the presenter. Marie M. Dugan will also be participating in the program. Of course, there will also be plenty of time for networking and developing friendships. For many years, we had these retreats and I have received many requests for their return. I am looking forward to them and I hope many of you will be able to join us.

Boards that are looking for new heads of school, heads making long-term plans for the continued success of their schools, and heads seeking to further their knowledge of Montessori philosophy and skills in administration and educational leadership, will be interested to learn that various Montessori teacher education centers are offering programs leading to an AMS Administrative Credential. The investments of time and money are well worth the benefits. To truly maintain or create a strong Montessori educational program and community, I believe it is essential that the head of the school have a deep understanding of Montessori philosophy along with the administrative skills necessary for success. Without this understanding, it is difficult to give the necessary support to the teachers, and be the educational leader upon whom the school community can depend.

Through administrative credential programs, workshops, retreats, networking, and friendship, we can be of support to you as heads of Montessori programs. We want to help you support classroom educators, parents, and the children within your Montessori schools.

PENNY CICHUCKI is chair of the AMS heads section and head of Crystal Lake Montessori, Woodstock, IL