AIMS - Association of Illinois Montessori Schools News

TWO Part-Time Roles with Association of IL Montessori Schools

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:37:22 GMT

Dear AIMS Community,

AIMS's Executive Director, Denise Monnier, will soon be transitioning out of this role--we are grateful for her time, energy and efforts over the past 8 years! The AIMS Transition Committee has made the decision to create TWO (very part time roles) to support key aspects of AIMS's mission & goals.

The role of Advocacy & Policy Liaison is a flexible, work from home position (only a few hours each week), for anyone interested in representing Montessori at virtual meetings with local and state organizations such as Illinois Action for Children, We the Village, DCFS, ISBE. Read more about this role and how to apply here.

The role of Conference Coordinator is also a flexible, work from home position, with the exception of being in person for the annual conference. This role also entails only a few hours of work a week, with spring/summer months being very minimal hours and fall/winter months being busier, leading up to the conference in February. Read more about this role and how to apply here.

If you are interested and would like to connect with either Denise (Executive Director) or Reena (AIMS Board President) to ask questions or learn more before applying, please reach out!

Please feel free to forward and share with anyone who may be interested and a good fit for one of these roles! Strongly recommended to apply by November 1st!

In Partnership,

AIMS Transition Committee

Reena V. Morgan
Ben Blair
Erica Lane
Beth Norman
Sharone Damore
Robyn Springer-McCloud
Kiran Devani

AIMS mourns the loss of a Montessori leader and friend, Annette Kulle

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:53:51 GMT

It is with great sadness that I write to let you know that Countryside Co-Founder

ANNETTE KULLE

passed away peacefully in her home yesterday.

With husband, Frank, Annette was a pioneer in progressive education founding Countryside Montessori School (now Countryside Day School) in 1967. Annette was beloved by countless families and educators for her vision of and deep passion for education, her kind heart, her candid communication, and her indomitable spirit. While we mourn her passing, we celebrate the extraordinary legacy she leaves behind: an amazing independent school and community deeply dedicated to supporting families raise children of fine character.

Annette requested that her immediate family celebrate her life and honor her passing privately. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to her life's work and passion, Countryside Day School.

Warmly, Wendy Calise

Illinois lawmakers debate $1 monthly copayments for child care

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:55:33 GMT

SPRINGFIELD – A House committee will continue to explore ways to extend Illinois' $1 child care copays for low-income families now that Gov. JB Pritzker's executive order granting them has expired.

House Bill 141, sponsored by Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, would make the temporary benefit permanent for families whose income is at or below 185 percent of the most recent federal poverty guidelines based on family size.

The bill advanced to the floor on a 9-2 vote Friday with Ford noting his intent to return to committee with an amendment.

The benefit was offered to low-income families after the Pritzker administration provided $270 million in funding to child care providers as part of the state’s federally-funded Business Interruption Grant Program, along with additional funding from federal coronavirus relief packages.

The funding allowed the state's child care to continue to operate, while families, many of which were facing economic instability caused by the pandemic, benefited from a $1 monthly copay.

Copayment for the state’s Child Care Assistance Program is traditionally determined by income and family size.

The Illinois Department of Human Services requires that the copayment be no more than 9 percent of an individual’s income, according to Beata Skorusa, a child care advocate and owner and director of a Montessori school in Chicago.

For example, Skorusa said, a single mom with two children in her program would pay a $196 copayment per month for child care services, but the rate varies for each family. Skorusa was one of two witnesses to testify in Friday’s committee hearing.

With the expiration of the executive order, the monthly copayment for child care services returned to regular rates at the end of February.

Pritzker could extend the program by executive order, the committee said, depending on whether the state receives more federal coronavirus relief funding.

Committee members said they preferred legislative policy to executive orders in addressing the ongoing concerns of child care accessibility in the state.

“This bill is actually a jobs bill because a mother or a father that receives child care assistance has to be in school, or they have to be in work,” Ford said. “And so we hope that we respect the frontline workers that have carried this state during the pandemic and realize how important it is to make sure that every child has access to high quality child care.”

Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, said he is concerned about how the state will pay for this.

“If we are going to supplement those funds ... we want a good idea, a good handle on what those costs will actually be,” Sosnowski said. “I know it's not an ultra-lucrative business model in the child care industry and so when you do have to waive those funds, or they're not supplemented by the CARES Act or the state, if you lose 5 percent of income, it can be detrimental to those facilities. They operate on a very thin margin.”

There is no cost estimate yet because the numbers would be based on pre-COVID rates, Ford said. He added that the number of individuals still reliant on unemployment benefits and welfare because the pandemic also impacts the accuracy of data.

Ford said he plans to work with IDHS to confirm the cost before bringing the bill back to the committee with an amendment.

He said he wants the committee to be in agreement before the bill goes to a full vote, but there was still some pushback.

Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, R-Elmhurst, also raised concerns about the possible impact the bill could have on child care providers in the state.

“It seems like we're really putting the day care providers in a lurch because they're not getting the copay, but there's no guaranteed funding source from the state once the CARES Act money goes away,” said Mazzochi. “So I would feel very uncomfortable about eliminating the copay, unless the state will step in.”

Skorusa said she believes the state already has at least some money to support this because of a dramatic decline in participation in the Child Care Assistance Program.

“The last time CCAP participation was down this much was after the 2015 budget crisis, and it didn't recover until just pre-pandemic in 2019,” Skorusa said. “It took four years to recover, and the numbers weren't even this bad after that crisis.”

She said participation, according to data from IDHS and the governor's office, is down 45 percent for infants and toddlers and 35 percent for preschool aged children.

“Permanently reducing the copay to the dollar will help families come back to providers, it will also put community-based organizations on a level playing field with district schools,” Skorusa said. “It will be one of the Band-Aids that helps to ensure that the child care industry survives this pandemic.”

Read the article: https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/local/2021/03/07/illinois-lawmakers-debate-1-monthly-copayments-child-care/4613253001/

Exciting News: 2021 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:34:23 GMT

MSE’s Stephanie Toon has just been selected as a finalist for the 2021 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. This is a great and well deserved honor for Stephanie for her years of dedicated and skilled service to MSE’s students, families and school community. From her recognition letter: ‘Your passion for giving students the tools required to cultivate their knowledge was evident in your essay responses and was confirmed by your letters of support.’ Stephanie teaches 6-9, is the 6-9 Level Head, the Director of the Montessori Residency of Chicago, and continues to be critical to the accreditation of our adult training program.

Not only is this a high honor for Stephanie, but it reflects the level of expertise, mission driven commitment to the children, hard work, and vision of the entire faculty and staff of The Montessori School of Englewood and the Montessori Residency of Chicago.

As a side note, Stephanie is one of two Montessorians selected as a Finalist, out 700 nominees in the entire state, for the Golden Apple Award. The other is Ali Bizon, a recent graduate of our Montessori Residency of Chicago program.

Thomas Hale
President, Board of Directors
The Montessori Network
The Montessori School of Englewood

Rogers Park school ready to open for in-person learning

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 16:49:00 GMT

By Sally Schulze

Read the original story on FOX 32: https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/rogers-park-school-ready-to-open-for-in-person-learning

CHICAGO - While many schools are starting remotely, FOX 32 wanted to see what it takes for a school to open in-person.

Principal Ben Blair showed FOX 32 around Rogers Park Montessori School, which is now revamped for teaching during a pandemic.

“For every educator, this is their first year of teaching all over again,” Blair said.

At the toddler through 8th grade school on the North Side, about 60 middle school students will return first. They will find desks spaced 6-feet apart, Plexiglas dividers and very small classes.

“We've broken them down into smaller pods so there will be between 13 and 15 students in any one space, they won't be mixing together and the teachers wont' be mixing together across those spaces,” Blair said.

The school is tearing down some playground equipment and will put up tents in the parking lot so they can have lunch and learning outdoors as much as possible.

FOX 32’s Sally Schulze got a temperature check and health screening to enter the school, just like all students and staff will.

“We're not fooling ourselves. We know that there may be times through the school year that when the children have to stay at home, but we know that time together in-person is incredibly valuable,” Blair said.

The school is preparing packets for the 50 or so students who chose at-home learning. But most of the 320 students plan to be back in the classroom, masked and ready to learn.

The Pandemic Is Pushing Some CPS Families To Turn To Private Schools

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 16:46:32 GMT

“This is just uncharted territory for everybody, and there are so many questions about CPS’ plan,” one parent said.

By Adriana Cardona-Maguigad

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6 a.m. CT

Read the original story on WBEZ: https://www.wbez.org/stories/queen-of-angels-elementary-school-on-chicagos-north-side-which-is-open-with-full-time-in-person-instruction-is-encouraging-new-families-to-enroll/dbe1e8c0-daa4-4382-8dd6-5b73608c2609

Becky Sinclair’s daughter loved going to New Field Primary, a Chicago public school on the North Side. But while the coronavirus crisis continues, she thinks her first grader will do better at a small private school.

“We are pulling my daughter out of CPS just so she can continue to get really consistent high-quality research-based instruction that I know we can rely on,” Sinclair said.

This summer, many parents like Sinclair are taking a fresh look at private schools. Some say there is too much uncertainty in CPS, which recently announced plans to start the year with remote learning only, while others are going after in-person instruction.

“This is just uncharted territory for everybody, and there are so many questions about CPS’ plan,” Sinclair said.

The school district announced its final remote learning plan after much pressure from teachers and parents who fear in-person instruction is too risky during the coronavirus crisis. This plan expects students, kindergarten and older, to do a mix of online instruction and independent learning activities at least six hours a day.

High school students will spend most of their school day in real-time instruction online. Attendance will be taken, and teachers have to be available all day.

But this plan continues to be criticized by teachers who argue the district is not offering the resources to get the job done right, including textbooks, software and computers.

Sinclair, a former CPS teacher, is enrolling her daughter at Redwood Day, a small independent school for students with learning differences on the North Side. Sinclair co-founded it three years ago. Her school is open for in-person instruction, and she said it has the space and resources to ensure kids and staff are safe. She said her school has seen an increase in calls from CPS parents who are looking for other options.

Parents looking for in-person school

Other private schools across the city are also seeing increased interest from CPS parents, including DePaul College Prep. The Catholic high school on the North Side usually has about 25 transfer applicants each year. But this year, “We have seen closer to or just over 50 applications for transfers and I’ll say 20 of those have come in just the last month,” said Megan Stanton-Anderson, DePaul’s principal..

Stanton-Anderson has noticed a pattern at her school. When parents are uncertain about CPS, they often reach out.

“I do believe CPS’ announcement of how they were approaching instruction this fall has had an impact on people’s thoughts on what they are looking for in schooling,” Stanton-Anderson said.

Some parents are looking for some in-person instruction and DePaul is offering it — two days of in-person learning and three days online.

Compared to many Archdiocese of Chicago schools, DePaul College Prep, which has more than 700 students, has a lot more autonomy and resources. It recently moved to a bigger campus, complete with a new dining hall and four new science labs.

Many other Catholic schools don’t have that. Nearly all Catholic schools are going back for in-person instruction, and the archdiocese has been criticized by teachers for forcing them to go back to crowded classrooms where children are not keeping the recommended 6 feet of distance.

Other private schools like South Loop Montessori have also noticed a jump in emails and calls from parents.

The school has about 160 children, eight weeks through nine years old, and lots of space, including some outdoors. Montessori schools are known for their personalized learning model and now, more than ever, parents are attracted to that.

They’re also looking to keep their children safe.

“The questions that first come up are ‘Please describe what your school is doing to help protect my family, my child and the community,’ ” said Mahdi Dadrass, executive director of South Loop Montessori.

This small school has been opened for children of essential workers since April. Dadrass found a way to keep children and staff safe by following strict cleanliness measures and requiring masks.

“Every Tuesday, we do COVID[-19] testing for all our staff members … and then we even have outside shoes staying outside of the classrooms and inside shoes going into the classroom,” Dadrass said.

“It’s not an easy situation for any educators”

Though many independent schools have new interest from CPS parents, not all that translates to new enrollment. Many parents can’t afford high tuition, which in some cases can be as much as $30,000 a year.

And despite their appeal, some private schools have struggled to sustain their operations. Many received millions in federal payroll protection loans. Dadrass and Stanton-Anderson say that helped keep them afloat last school year.

While both private and public schools figure out reopening plans that best fit their needs, Sinclair says they all share one thing in common.

“It’s not an easy situation for any educators out there, and I do believe that all educators are doing what they can with the resources they have in this uncertain time,” she said.

Green Friends Montessori School in Elburn completes pollinator garden

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 22:50:20 GMT

Pollinator garden located in school's nature playground

By KANE COUNTY CHRONICLE

ELBURN – Green Friends Montessori School has completed its 900-square-foot pollinator garden, which is located in the school's nature playground.

According to a news release, the new garden was funded in part by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Jadel Youth Fund, the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation and the Illinois Conservation Foundation.

Over the past few months, school families and staff planted the pollinator garden, which includes about 100 plants representing more than a dozen native prairie species including coneflowers, prairie blazing star, Culver’s root, and more, the release stated.

“Ecology education is a key component of our school’s mission to support each child’s drive towards exploration and learning,” said Green Friends Montessori School Lead Teacher Kathryn Engelking in the release. “This project enabled us to engage our school families in local conservation efforts and will provide our students with a valuable hands-on resource for the ongoing study of plants, animals, and ecosystem interactions.”

According to the release, as schools across the state are working on plans to resume in-person instruction for the fall, opportunities for outdoor learning may prove to be more valuable than ever.

“The pollinator garden project came at an interesting time,” said Engelking. “The project required extra time to complete due to the need to adhere to coronavirus safety protocols, but the result is a beautiful pollinator garden habitat perfect for pollinators and for learning. Green Friends Montessori will reopen our doors to children next month, and we plan to spend more instruction time outdoors to better support our students’ health. We can use the pollinator garden as a resource for exploring science, math, language arts, and more. The possibilities are endless.”

For more information about Green Friends Montessori School, call us at 630-448-2213 or visit www.greenfriendsmontessori.org.

Read the original article: https://www.kcchronicle.com/2020/07/28/green-friends-montessori-school-in-elburn-completes-pollinator-garden/akjgcis/

40% of families considering alternative education after lockdowns

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 16:49:21 GMT

A recent survey by RealClear Opinion Research published on May 14 delivered some surprising results for families dealing with shutdown-mandated online learning. While popular wisdom suggests that home learning is considered a stressful, difficult necessity, a strong percentage of respondents report that the experience made them more likely to continue alternative methods of education for their children, even after lockdowns end and schools reopen.

Of all responding families, 40.8 percent said they were more likely to enroll a child in homeschooling, co-op or virtual school after lockdowns end, compared to just 31.1 percent who said they were less likely.

The strongest interest in learning alternatives was seen among ethnic minorities.

Of those asked if they supported diverting portions of their property tax payments to support school choice, 64 percent supported the idea. This high level of support was generally consistent regardless of age, ethnicity or political affiliation.

Additionally, 69 percent of respondents supported Federal Education Freedom Scholarships (tax credits for individuals and businesses who donate to scholarship organizations that offset part of their donations). Empower Illinois is the program available in this state.

The survey's reported margin of error is +/- 2.31 percent.

While some families consider options, others find validation

While the survey did not address the specific reasons for interest in exploring other education options, the numbers are surprising. Tawnie Cisneros, whose child is enrolled at Joliet Montessori School (JMS) in Crest Hill, has found that this home learning experience only reinforced her choice of schooling.

Like most parents, Tawnie was caught by surprise when circumstances required an almost instantaneous switch to remote learning. Being a Montessori school, JMS traditionally de-emphasizes technology-focused instruction in favor of a proven, century-old individualized curriculum that gently guides students as they explore their own love of learning.

"Montessori isn't a screen-based learning model," Tawnie says. "So when we had to move to Zoom-based instruction, we really didn't know what to expect. But almost immediately, I saw that the self-motivation and resilience that my son had learned in a Montessori environment had prepared him to deal with the curveball of in-home learning."

JMS Head of School Heidi Geiger explains why. "The first principle of Montessori is empowering a child's independence, giving him or her the freedom to explore their world and the confidence to build success on top of success along the way. The result is a more resilient child, one who isn't dependent on close supervision or any specific system, software or workbooks to make academic progress."

Heidi adds, "This lockdown gave us a rare opportunity to see how the Montessori method keeps children engaged and hungry to learn, even under unusual and stressful circumstances. While the daily Zoom meetings and small-group lessons were important, most of the actual schoolwork and independent research were conducted by the students on their own time and by their own initiative."

About online instruction, Tawnie says, "My son had to quickly learn about Google Classrooms and email – things that grown-ups take for granted. But he was curious and confident enough to take responsibility for his own accounts, to-do lists and work schedules."

Tawnie adds, "I also loved how we saw the Montessori principles of grace, courtesy and responsibility show up at home. Our son was used to having community responsibilities in the classroom, and that translated to a helpful kid who wasn't grouchy about chores at home. Being stuck in the house for weeks, those extra hands and extra smiles really helped our family work together and stay positive."

Online open house on June 25th at 4 p.m.

For local families interested in more personalized and intuitive education for their children in the 2020-2021 school year, JMS is currently accepting applications. Heidi Geiger, Head of School, will host an online open house and virtual tour at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 25th.

JMS is also offering private tours of the school facilities, either in-person (observing necessary distancing guidelines) or virtually.

View the original article: https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/40-families-considering-alternative-education-after-lockdowns

MPPI News!

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 19:46:08 GMT

MPPI Summer Newsletter

Advocacy Spotlight:

If you’ve been to our conference or one of our workshops, you know we are always talking about collaborating with other education and advocacy organizations. One such group is the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), which is a collaboration of more than 20 national education organizations, including AMS and AMI/USA. During the past two months, MPPI has worked closely with our CAPE colleagues at the national level to advocate around federal guidance for PPP loans and the Education Stabilization Fund, speaking with representatives from the US Department of Education and sending letters to legislators to make sure the needs of private schools are considered. In addition, CAPE has a network of state groups, similar to MPPI, which we have also been plugged into. Participating in calls, often on a daily basis, has amplified our knowledge of how states are handling different issues, such as disbursement of ESSER funds. And recently, one of our MPPI state groups, the United Montessori Schools of Indiana (UMSI), connected with their state CAPE representative who worked alongside them and used his connections to help them get resolution to ongoing issues with their licensing division and Department of Education. We encourage you to connect with your state CAPE, state AEYC, and other organizations working on behalf of children to increase your reach and influence. You can amplify your voice, forge connections with policy makers, and you never know when those connections are going to bear fruit; this past winter, in MD, the head of the MD Family Child-Care Association proactively offered to submit a letter of support for the Montessori Schools of Maryland’s (MSM) legislative efforts to create a pathway to licensure because MSM had established a relationship with her.

Website Updated with State Workforce Registry Information
MPPI is working to add new resources and information to our website on an ongoing basis. Currently, we are adding specific state information for the early childhood workforce registry*. What is the workforce registry? According to the National Workforce Registry Alliance, a workforce registry is intended to support early childhood educators by:

Promoting and providing a framework for professional growth and development
Capturing data about early childhood and after-school practitioners in a variety of roles
Placing individuals on a career level based upon verified educational information
Recognizing and honoring professional achievements of the early childhood and after-school workforce
Informing policy makers and partners

Participating in the workforce registry is another avenue for advocating for Montessori education. More specifically, the system of state workforce registries outline and establish the validity of educator certifications, education level, and trainings. This information is commonly found on a document referred to as a state "career ladder" or "career lattice". Advocating with your state workforce registry office to recognize the Montessori credential at the level of a bachelor's degree is critical for our advocacy work. As we continue to add state information, go to our website to check for your state's career lattice. As always, if you are interested in advocacy work around the workforce registry, contact your state representative or contact us at info@montessoriadvocacy.org.

*Please note that we are still adding information. If you do not see any workforce registry information for your state, please check back at a later date.

Opportunities to Expand Your Knowledge

Join MPPI and our partners for a webinars this week on a range of important topics:

Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator Training - On June 17th at 7:00 pm EST MPPI will be hosting a webinar with attorney Janice Gregerson to train your Title IX and Section 504 coordinator(s). The same person can be the coordinator for both programs or you can have two separate coordinators. In our previous webinar* discussing these and other applicable federal laws, the attorney recommended that someone other than the head of school serve as the coordinator, if possible. You can register 3 individuals per registration to allow for coordinator(s) and heads of school, if interested, to attend. The event will be recorded so if you cannot attend live, you can still register and will be given access to the recording afterwards. There is still time to register, you don't want to miss out!

Building Partnerships: Head Start and Ideal Learning - The Trust for Learning is offering this webinar, presented by Dr. Iheoma Iruka of HighScope Educational Research Foundation and Annie Frazer of Montessori Partnerships for Georgia, about creating access through partnerships and funding. This webinar will take place on Thursday, June 18 from 12:00-1:15 pm EST.

Moving Toward Action: Strategies for State Advocates to Operationalize Racial Equity Principles - Join Karen Howard, Senior Policy Director, at the Alliance for Early Success on June 19th (Juneteenth) at 2:00 to 3:15 EST to discuss intentional action items that center equity in your organization. The intended goals of the call (as advertised by Alliance for Early Success) include:

Provide an overview of principles to pursue anti-racist and equitable policies to dismantle persistent inequities
Examine concrete actions organizations can take to undo barriers created by systemic racism
Offer examples and discuss opportunities in federal, state and local policy pursuits

Advocacy Work and Call To Action
Like everyone in the Montessori universe, for the past few months MPPI has been heads down at work on finding solutions to the cascading problems caused by the Coronavirus crisis. We know that for months to come school administrators will have full plates adapting to new policies that will need to be implemented to keep children and staff safe at schools and child care. Still, we are acutely aware that many of you were starting or midstream on advocacy work for policy changes that would enable Montessori programs in your state to operate more freely and reach more children, and we want you to know that we are here to support that work. While we will continue to prioritize assisting Montessori programs in navigating the changing policy landscape in response to the health and financial crisis, we are also designating time to make sure we are available to support advocacy work specific to the needs of Montessori. We have seen in recent weeks that some states are looking at redesigning child care licensing and other systems that were not prepared to handle the current crisis so it is a great time to be watching out for changes and reaching out to be in the conversations. Please reach out if there is something you have been hoping to get to work on, or would like to get back to work with. We are here for you!

Take Action - Advocacy work is often collaborative work. Join the National Women's Law Center in supporting the Child-Care Essential Care Act to fund the child care sector during COVID-19. For more information and to take action, click here.

What's New at MPPI:
New Board Members - MPPI would like to welcome our new board members that join us with a well-rounded and rich history in Montessori advocacy. The following new class of board members join us at an exciting time as we continue to develop Montessori advocacy strategies to move MPPI forward and fulfill our commitment to children.

Heather Gerker: Co-founder Kentucky Montessori Alliance; PhD Student in Education Policy and Teacher Education, Teacher Educator.

Vyju Kadambi: Vice President and Advocacy Committee Chair, United Montessori Schools of Indiana; Founder, Southwest Montessori Academy.

Gracie Martinez: Board Member, Pacific Northwest Montessori Association; Board Member & Finance Chair, Washington Federation of Independent Schools.

Trisha Willingham: President and Founding Board Member, Virginia Montessori Association; Consultant and Student Support Coordinator at Mountaintop Montessori.

We also welcome AMS Executive Director Munir Shivji and AMI/USA Interim Executive Director Alan Preece to our board. And many thanks to outgoing board President, Charis Sharp for her leadership in MPPI's nascent years.

MPPI Conference
Just like many others, MPPI has had to reconsider how we continue to present our organization's work and provide networking opportunities for Montessori advocates. This year, we are happy to announce we are offering our annual conference virtually this Fall. Stay tuned for a save the date announcement and registration details!

*If you were not able to attend a previous MPPI webinar and would like access, you can retroactively register to obtain the recording and slides. Contact MPPI at info@montessoriadvocacy.org if you have any questions.

AIMS Mourns the Loss of Maria Whelan, a Respected Voice for Illinois Children

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 17:52:48 GMT

It is with profound shock and sadness that I share with all of you that our beloved Maria Whelan very suddenly passed away on June 10, 2020. We extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to Maria’s family. Our thoughts are with them at this most difficult time.

Effective immediately, April Janney, Senior Vice President of Operations will serve as our acting CEO, supported by our Senior Vice President Leadership Team. A further statement regarding Maria’s passing will be made in due course.

We know that our collective early childhood community shares our heart break as we process the loss of our fearless leader, colleague, mentor, and champion for children and families.

In service,
Celena Roldan, Illinois Action for Children Board Chair

Chief Executive Officer
American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois
2200 W. Harrison Street
Chicago, IL 60612
C 312.965.1830

American Montessori Society Hires New Executive Director

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 18:15:59 GMT

June 8, 2020

Dear Montessori Community,

It is with great excitement and pleasure that the Board of Directors of the American Montessori Society announces the hire of Munir Shivji as our new executive director, effective Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

Munir brings to the ED role a career-long dedication to the Montessori Method, our community, and especially, the children we serve. A 7-year veteran of our board of directors, he is also founding head of 2 Montessori schools and founding director of an AMS-affiliated teacher education program. In addition, he is a former program director at an AMS-accredited school, a former Montessori classroom teacher, and a Montessori alum. You can read more about Munir here.

The process that resulted in Munir’s hire was led by a board-appointed Search Committee comprised of community members, staff, and board directors. The committee recognized that Munir’s experience in the Montessori community, along with his deep and clear understanding of our organization, uniquely qualified him to immediately assume the functions necessary for leading us during this time of crisis arising from the global pandemic and the national heightened awareness of systemic racism.

We like to think that Munir’s parents recognized, when they gave him his name—“Munir,” in Arabic, means bright, brilliant, radiant—that their son would one day bring light and clarity to our community.

We know you will join us in welcoming Munir to his new role as AMS executive director.

Sincerely,

Amira Mogaji, AMS Board President
On behalf of the AMS Board of Directors

How to Build a Better Child Care System

Sat, 30 May 2020 15:31:52 GMT

The coronavirus has highlighted how necessary good child care is.

By Shantel Meek and Conor P. Williams
Dr. Meek is the founding director of the Children’s Equity Project. Dr. Williams is a fellow at the Century Foundation.

Suddenly everyone — parents, caregivers, workers, employers, policymakers — is acutely aware of child care’s relationship to American labor markets. The Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, The Washington Post, CNN.com and FoxNews.com have run variations on the headline, “You Can’t Reopen the Economy Without Child Care.”

It’s a widespread concern because it’s obviously correct. Millions of Americans have been flailing since mid-March, juggling work and kids against a backdrop of growing exhaustion and anxiety.

Work takes time and energy. So does caring for children. It’s impossible to do both as simultaneous, full-time projects and stay sane. Parents can’t go back to their factories, offices, dealerships or stores until child care programs and the country’s pre-K-12 school system reopen.

With the economy struggling and the unemployment rate near 15 percent in April, it’s easy to fixate on how child care enables parents’ jobs. But child care isn’t just a place where children exist while their parents go to work. It’s a place where they can learn, develop and grow.

That’s why the current clamor about child care’s role in restarting the American economy shouldn’t focus exclusively on restoring access. As families and their children come out of the stress of prolonged social isolation, the country must also improve child care quality.

Children under the age of 5 spend an average of 28 hours a week in the care of a non-family member. During this time, their brains are growing rapidly: the human brain reaches 80 percent of its size by age 3, and 90 percent by age 5. That’s why neuroscientists call this period of development “sensitive” or “malleable”: regularly positive experiences with a trusted, safe and reliable caregiver can have long-term benefits, while constantly negative, neglectful experiences can have long-term consequences. The quality of those 28 hours of child care a week matters as much to children’s development as access matters to parents’ employment.

Access to affordable, quality child care has long been a challenge in the United States. In most places, even basic health and safety standards are low. Large parts of the care system are unlicensed and unregulated altogether. Child care workers are underpaid, so much so that the median income for a child care provider in every state in the nation is within the eligibility requirements for food assistance.

Indeed, child care in the United States is a “system” in name only. While recent changes to the federal child care subsidies program, which is supposed to help working families get quality care, have raised standards somewhat, the program lacks enough funding to meet families’ needs — even with the emergency injection of $3.5 billion under the CARES Act.

Today, it is estimated that more than half of the child care system is still shut down because of the pandemic. When children do finally return to child care, their needs won’t be the same. As parents like us trudge back to our jobs, most of our kids will be carrying pandemic-related burdens out of their homes. During the pandemic, many have had drastically less social interaction with their peers and faced economic precarity and food and housing insecurity. Some will struggle to navigate fears and emotions about leaving their homes and spending time with others after months of being warned against it.

Child care workers’ jobs were hard before. These challenges will make them harder.

In the short term, Congress needs to move more funding directly into the pockets of child care providers to keep the lights on, retain staff members and purchase critical cleaning and personal protective equipment. Most federal spending on child care is in the form of subsidies that go directly to families. Those dollars won’t reach struggling child care programs until families resume using child care.

Child care programs must also prioritize children’s mental health as the crisis recedes. Congress should provide greater funding for mental health supports in child care programs. This funding would enable child care providers to hire mental health coaches to help address children’s complex needs; conduct universal developmental and behavioral screenings to identify children who need more and targeted help ; buy social emotional learning curriculums and interventions; provide training on managing stress, trauma, loss, anxiety and challenging behavior in young children; and hire family navigators who can assess families’ needs and connect them to services in the community — like housing or job support.

The country should make similar investments in supporting child care workers’ mental health. These providers, like many Americans, will transition back to work carrying stress, anxiety and other challenges. These may be worsened as they address — and absorb — the trauma many children bring to their child care centers.

Beyond the immediate emergency, the child care system in the United States needs more funding — much more. That’s Congress’s job, but states also have a role in deciding how much money families can use through their child care subsidies. States need to raise these subsidy rates so that providers have access to a living wage and benefits. States also receive federal funding to raise child care quality. They should invest this money in meaningful enhancements, like helping providers get higher levels of education or bolstering the child care mental health infrastructure, and stop investing in things that don’t work, like occasional training workshops.

Fortunately, all of these criteria are already required in Head Start, the federal early education program that operates in nearly every community in the nation. Congress can improve the quality of child care by expanding the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships model, a Department of Health and Human Services program that requires partnerships between Early Head Start and child care programs. Through this approach, child care partners agree — and receive the needed resources — to meet rigorous Head Start standards, which include access to mental health coaches, research-based curriculum, universal screening and family engagement.

The Covid-19 crisis has crystallized the fact that child care programs are essential to our way of life. But any infusion of resources now or in the future must be linked to a focus on supporting children’s mental health, development and learning, raising standards and tightening accountability at both the federal and state levels.

Child care shouldn’t mean children roaming around while a babysitter sits idly by. It’s where children’s brains grow. We need to treat it as such. Yes, child care is about parents getting back to work. But, odd as it seems to have to reiterate, child care should also be about children.

Read the original NYT article here.

ICNS News Special Edition May 2020

Sat, 30 May 2020 14:43:32 GMT

Download the original PDF here.

Food should ‘not be a problem, but actually the solution,’ says chef José Andrés as he delivers meals to Chicago school and hospital

Wed, 20 May 2020 14:19:44 GMT

Chef José Andrés, perhaps best known now for his humanitarian work worldwide, joined actor Sean Penn and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot at a new coronavirus testing site on the Northwest Side on Monday.

World Central Kitchen, the non-profit founded by Andrés, will help provide meals for workers at new testing sites in the Hanson Park and Little Village neighborhoods. The chef created the non-governmental organization in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He emerged as an outspoken leader during disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The chef, restaurateur, author, television host and 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee described himself simply when asked.

“I’m a cook,” said Andrés. “People call you weird names like ‘celebrity bull****’ and all that stuff. I am what I do. I’m a cook.”

Chef Jose Andres (stars and stripes bandana) and his team from World Central Kitchen deliver prepared meals to Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago on Monday, May 18, 2020, to support front line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

During a busy day crisscrossing the city, he spoke by phone while visiting Gibsons Italia, a World Central Kitchen partner, en route to Barrio restaurant on the Near North Side, before dropping off meals at Norwegian American Hospital in Humboldt Park.

“We’ve been here over a month helping like we do everywhere else,” said Andrés. “We have more than 15 restaurants in Chicago that have been doing around 100,000 meals per week now. Today we delivered food in Englewood at the Montessori school there where we were serving food with the help of The Trotter Project and chef D’Andre.”

Andrés made an impromptu stop at The Montessori School of Englewood on the South Side, surprising chef D’Andre Carter, co-owner of Soul & Smoke barbecue kitchen in Evanston. Carter was delivering meals in partnership with World Central Kitchen and The Trotter Project, a legacy of the late Chicago chef Charlie Trotter.

The Spanish-American chef, once heralded for modernist fine dining, posted on Twitter: “Reporting in from Englewood in Chicago where we @WCKitchen are distributing fresh meals to the community here with our partner @TrotterProject ! Proud to be working with local chef DeAndre Carter...we are cooks who feed the few but together we can feed the many! #ChefsForAmerica”

“Chef D’Andre is a guy who spent his young years in Englewood,” said Andrés. “It’s amazing that this chef can put his restaurant to work as he partners with us and serves that community where he came from.”

World Central Kitchen has purchased more than 1 million meals from local restaurants nationwide for those in need as part of its Chefs for America emergency food relief program.

Andrés added that World Central Kitchen is also providing meals with Chicago Public Schools daily with local non-profit partners including the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Healthy Hood Chicago and The Trotter Project.

“In total in America we have over 1,600 restaurants working with us and that’s how we’re able to do 350,000 meals a day across America, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico,” said Andrés.

“Quite frankly in other emergencies when there is no light and total destruction things are harder, because sometimes you cannot reopen a restaurant,” said Andrés. “They’ve been destroyed in the areas we need to help, but we do open kitchens for other things.”

“Here the restaurants have been shut down, but they're in perfect condition,” he said. “So what we did is what we always do. We adapt. We have restaurants that we could put into the service of feeding people in need. Why not do that?”

“At the end of the day what World Central Kitchen has done is prove concepts,” said Andrés. “The concept that we can be talking to Congress over what we should do to make sure that on top of the health crisis and economic crisis that we don’t have a humanitarian crisis.”

“When we see photos of food being wasted on farms and at the same time long lines at food banks across America, we believe that we need shorter lines and longer tables,” he said. “We need many ways to make sure that we use total resources of the federal government, the private sector and NGOs so that food will not be a problem, but actually the solution.”

After helping deliver prepared meals to Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago on Monday, chef Jose Andres, second from left, and his team from World Central Kitchen stop for burgers and hot dogs at Fatso's Last Stand.(Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

The James Beard Foundation awarded Andrés the Humanitarian of the Year award at the annual gala event in Chicago in 2018.

The chef had planned to open three restaurants in Chicago by this year. His fast casual and vegetable focused Beefsteak opened in the Gold Coast neighborhood last fall, but has closed temporarily. Two high profile restaurants are still in the works: a location of his famed Jaleo with Spanish tapas at the former Naha space in River North, and a riverfront restaurant with the Gibsons Restaurant Group in The Loop.

“We’ll open in the next year or two, when the time is right,” said Andrés.

Andrés joins former Vice President and presidential candidate Joe Biden for a live virtual town hall to discuss the coronavirus crisis, the future of the restaurant industry and the issue of food security amid the pandemic on Tuesday hosted by Yahoo News.

View the original story: https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-jose-andres-englewood-trotter-project-20200518-yiwd43uuczgnbpccjh7yys42aq-story.html

Artist says Englewood mural a ‘time capsule’ of how people fought to save their community ‘during dire times’

Wed, 20 May 2020 14:14:55 GMT

Artist Rahmaan Statik in front of his mural featuring chef Jose Andres on an exterior wall of the Montessori School of Englewood on May 14, 2020.(Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Since the pandemic closed schools in Chicago, chefs and nonprofit groups have been making sure children still get a warm meal.

Now a South Side artist is honoring their efforts with a mural on the red brick wall of the Montessori School of Englewood, which has served as a site for free food pickup for families, nearly 6,000 meals and counting. The mural spotlights Jose Andres, a chef at World Central Kitchen that has helped put together the meals.

“It’s almost like a time capsule for 2020,” said artist Rahmaan Statik. “This is how people reacted. People actually stood up to actually fight for the survival of their community right there during dire times.”

In a corner of the mural is the phrase “be your higher self,'' a message that appears often in Statik’s work. His friend Howard Bailey, a former restaurant owner, teamed up with Statik a year ago to turn the phrase into an art movement, inspiring kids to use their creative talents to improve their community.

A mural featuring chef Jose Andres on the wall of the Montessori School of Englewood painted by Rahmaan Statik.(Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

While their primary focus is promoting the arts, Bailey said he decided to use his culinary background to provide meals to people on the South Side. He began raising money and was contacted by the Montessori school.

“About a week into it, I got a call from the president of the Montessori school (who) said that they had 32 transitional homeless families that he needed to take care of,” Bailey said.

Bailey contacted the Trotter Project — named after famed Chicago chef Charlie Trotter — and World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit founded by chef Jose Andres to provide meals to disaster-stricken areas. “It’s been a beautiful ecosystem of people working together to make sure that other people are fed,” Bailey said.

Artists have been painting murals in the city’s medical district to honor doctors and nurses. So Bailey and Statik decided they wanted to do something to celebrate the workers providing meals to communities in need.

Statik’s mural, on the side of the school, features Andres holding a bundle of produce. Behind him are people assembling meals like the ones families pick up each day. Above is the signature phrase: “Be your higher self.”

“Art is any form of creativity and building,” Statik said. “I’m a painter, so that’s my angle of doing art, but chef Andres is also a culinary artist. He uses his culinary arts skills to better society.”

View original story: https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-mural-food-workers-meals-englewood-20200514-ftpayx5wgzdqbh5fqbg7vtjsqe-story.html

Chicago School Reopens as Emergency Child Care Center For First Responders

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:48:11 GMT

April 17, 2020 - Face masks are the new normal for kids of essential workers as they walk into South Loop Montessori School. Strict guidelines must be followed, and parents aren’t allowed inside.

South Loop Montessori School in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood received a license to operate starting this week as an Emergency Child Care Center, or "ECCC," to help families of essential workers.

It was a relief for Adelaide Caprio, an advanced practice nurse, who is navigating Illinois' stay-at-home order with her two sons, 4 and 6, as she continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic on the front lines.

“Having them at home was such an eye opening experience of how much I value how awesome our school is and how vital they are in our lives," Caprio said.

Caring for young children at home, juggling e-learning and work has been stressful for Caprio's family, like so many others. When she found out her sons’ school, South Loop Montessori, would reopen this week as an Emergency Child Care Center, she was thankful.

“It just has meant a little bit of routine and destress [less stress]," Caprio said. "So that we can keep going with our daily functions that are essential in our lives."

Face masks are the new normal for kids of essential workers as they walk into the Montessori school. Strict guidelines must be followed, and parents aren’t allowed inside.

Everyone’s temperatures are taken before they’re allowed in and before they go home.

South Loop Montessori School Executive Director Mahdi Dadrass said these are necessary precautions, for students and staffers.

“We provide [staff] all with face masks, individual hand sanitizer and gloves," Dadrass said.

They dispose of them when they get to school and sanitize all over again.

Thanks to these types of precautions, some parents now have an option for childcare.

“They’ve been really grateful, as we are grateful for their service as essential workers on the front line of this pandemic," added Dadrass.

While parents are grateful to have an option, they also feel this helps those who are back in the classroom.

“Now that means the teachers at our school can have work and some of their normalcy, a little bit of normalcies," Caprio said. "We look at it that it’s helping us and it's also helping the community.”

View the original news story here.

American Montessori Society Seeks New Executive Director

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 20:41:09 GMT

APRIL 9, 2020—The American Montessori Society, the leading member advocacy organization, research forum, and resource collaborative for the global community of Montessori educators, is accepting applications for the position of Executive Director.

Based in New York City, but with members worldwide, AMS is classified as a 501 (c)(3) (i.e., tax-exempt, nonprofit) organization.

Download the Executive Position Profile or keep reading for additional details.

About the Position

The next Executive Director of the American Montessori Society will need a hands-on leadership approach to a membership organization with diverse stakeholders and interests. In the wake of COVID-19, we need a leader who will engage members, community, and stakeholders in a vision for our future. Our organization seeks leadership that is both practical and inspirational. The ideal candidate has experience managing a complex not-for-profit organization with a significant budget and has worked successfully with an active governing board. The Executive Director will be expected to engage in travel, including internationally, and to actively engage with members and schools worldwide.

The Executive Director is appointed by and directly responsible to the Board of Directors and serves as an ex officio, non-voting board member.

Qualifications, Skills, & Experience

The Executive Director we are seeking is:

A leader, adept at:
- Visioning the future of education and the role that Montessori should play both nationally and internationally.
- Aligning member priorities and the work of staff and board.
- Tracking the education landscape in general, and the federal and state legislative aspects of education that will impact Montessori schools, public, charter, and independent.
- Presenting as the public face of Montessori education.
A manager, skilled in:
- Team-building to coordinate the work of staff and board directors, as well as other volunteers. A supportive and enthusiastic leader who encourages the best from their staff and supports and mentors staff advancement and knowledge within the organization and has the ability to regularly review staff through a formal process that acknowledges, supports, and improves their performance. A leader who is also willing to join in and participate in any necessary staff functions.
- Financial management with a clear understanding of not-for-profit financing, especially for membership-based organizations; budget and projects; the ability to understand and interpret financial statements; and an understanding of the audit process. A manager who can work with finance staff and review financial information with the Finance Committee and the board.
- Delivery of high-quality services; clearly, efficiently and in a timely fashion.
- Negotiation to resolve complex issues where the interests of constituent groups diverge.
A connector with exceptional people skills, high EI (emotional intelligence), a penchant for networking, and a facility for connecting within the organization and with other organizations sharing common interests.
An innovator who can help the organization solicit and retain members, deepen services to members and create new opportunities for members to stay connected and involved.
An advocate who will build on networks already in place, lead efforts to protect Montessori interests, and track opportunities emerging in the public and political domain that Montessori can and should capitalize upon or contribute to.
A communicator who reaches out to engage with members in multiple ways, generates enthusiasm, shares a vision, and invites dialogue.
A planner, skilled in developing and implementing strategic plans in partnership with the Board of Directors that support the mission and values of AMS with value-added programs and services.

Required

Bachelor’s degree required; an advanced degree preferred.

At least five years of Executive Director/CEO or equivalent level leadership experience

Opportunities

The next Executive Director will inherit an organization that has a passionate membership, active working groups and committees, a board of highly experienced Montessori leaders, and a growing consortium of Montessori related organizations.

Challenges

AMS, like many organizations, has suffered financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cancellation of our annual conference (“The Montessori Event”), a major contributor to our annual income, which was to have taken place in March 2020, dealt a strong blow. While still weighing the impact of those losses, we are committed to begin the FYI 2021 fiscal year (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2020) with a realistic budget that reflects both the current capacity of the organization and opportunities to enhance future revenue.

The landscape of education in the United States is in flux. State teacher licensure requirements vary and public, for-profit, and nonprofit Montessori schools are all faced with daunting regulatory demands. The new Executive Director will need to support the efforts at a state and national level to advocate on behalf of Montessori schools and teacher education programs. The Montessori “brand” has been diluted by some schools that call themselves Montessori, but are not. Upholding excellence and standards will be a significant and challenging aspect of work for the new Executive Director. AMS is an inclusive organization, representing schools of varying levels of Montessori excellence, serving a range of socioeconomic populations in different geographic regions worldwide. There is a need for the organization to look at how it is supporting this diversity of membership, its inclusiveness, equity, and quality in its services.

Knowledge and experience in the education field is required. Training and/or deep familiarity with Montessori precepts and pedagogy is a strong preference. Any candidate who is offered the position of Executive Director must be willing to spend time immersing themselves in Montessori if they are not Montessori credentialed.

To Apply

Interested candidates are to submit the following documents via email attachments to Maria Pagani, AMS staff liaison to the Search Committee: leadership@amshq.org.

Cover letter addressed to the AMS Search Committee expressing interest in and qualifications for the position.
A current résumé.
A statement of the candidate’s leadership philosophy (1 – 2 pages, 12-point Times Roman, double-spaced).
A statement of the candidate's understanding of anti-bias, anti-racism (ABAR), citing specific examples from their experience (1 – 2 pages, 12-point Times Roman, double-spaced).
Two examples of writing on a school, association, or education topic.
Five references (including email addresses and telephone numbers) that can be contacted confidentially at the early stage of discovery.
Three letters of reference.

Applications will be accepted through June 15, 2020.

Throughout the search process until the finalist stage, candidates’ engagement with the search will be kept confidential, and candidates will receive bi-weekly updates on their status and the progress of the search. Candidates are free to communicate directly with Maria Pagani.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Equal employment opportunities and diversity among its employees are fundamental principles at the American Montessori Society.

The American Montessori Society is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, family responsibility, political affiliation or any other status protected by applicable laws.

Click here to see the posting on the AMS webite.

World Central Kitchen Ramps Up Local COVID-19 Relief Efforts By Teaming Up with Charlie Trotter's Non-Profit The Trotter Project

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 20:35:52 GMT

World Central Kitchen Ramps Up COVID-19 Relief Efforts In Chicago By Teaming Up with Charlie Trotter's Non-Profit The Trotter Project and Chefs Across The City To Feed Hard-Hit Families

CHICAGO (PRWEB) April 15, 2020

World Central Kitchen (WCK) today announced it is working with legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter's non-profit, The Trotter Project (http://www.thetrotterproject.org/), and chefs from across the city, including Food Network's Vegas Chef Prizefight winner Lamar Moore, The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, DineAmic Hospitality's chefs Fabio Viviani and Katsuji Tanabe, Michelin-starred chef Carlos Gaytan of Tzuco restaurant, Feast and Imbibe's D'Andre Carter and Heather Bublick, and more to feed families in Chicago's hard-hit communities while also helping to keep restaurant workers employed. Within days of its launch just this week, the collaborative partnership has distributed nearly 2,000 individually packed grab-and-go meals to families in Chicago's hard-hit Englewood neighborhood.

Chef José Andrés – the world-renowned chef and humanitarian – founded the non-profit World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org/) in 2010 that's devoted to providing meals to those in need in the wake of natural disasters.

"This initiative continues World Central Kitchen's deeply impactful humanitarian efforts, right here in Chicago," said The Trotter Project CEO Derrek Hull. "It's a natural fit for Chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen to partner with the city's iconic hometown chef Charlie Trotter's non-profit, The Trotter Project, Chicago's incredible chef community, and allied companies and organizations, to support restaurant workers while also ensuring food insecure populations receive the food they so desperately need during this very difficult time."

With schools closed and so much uncertainty in the coming weeks and months, World Central Kitchen has increased its relief efforts during the global coronavirus outbreak and is working in tandem with The Trotter Project and Chicago's chef community to ensure young people and their families can access free meals in a safe way.

" The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing reality of a lack of adequate healthy food for many neighborhoods in Chicago, including West Englewood, where children are chronically hungry" said Thom Hale, board of directors president of The Montessori School of Englewood. "The Montessori School of Englewood and community are thrilled and deeply grateful that World Central Kitchen and The Trotter Project are supplying hot, healthy meals to the students, families and other residents in Englewood. It's a profound acknowledgment and response to a critical unmet need. Families can now be better supported and sustained while the schools are closed and the directive to stay home exists."

Together with WCK, The Trotter Project and Chicago's chef community will continue to provide thousands of meals each day to families in need, having already begun with The Montessori School of Englewood, in Chicago's West Englewood community. Families will be able to pick up meals from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at the school.

About The Trotter Project

Award-winning Chef Charlie Trotter's spirit of giving back to community lives on through The Trotter Project (TTP) — a GuideStar Platinum-rated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established on his guiding principles of excellence and service. Since its founding, TTP seeks to unite budding talent interested in the culinary and hospitality industries through its Pillars of Excellence Program, which is designed to educate, engage, and ignite curiosity through farm to classroom curriculum, skills sessions, scholarships, and community service. Learn more at TheTrotterProject.org.

About The Montessori School of Englewood

The Montessori School of Englewood (MSE) is a Chicago Public Charter Elementary School located in the West Englewood Community at 6936 South Hermitage Ave. Since opening its doors in 2012, it now proudly educates more than 380 students in grades K-8 as well as Head Start. The school offers an alternative curricular approach to serve the diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, language, and educational backgrounds of students entering elementary school. MSE is an open enrollment, free public charter school for students living with the Chicago city limits. Learn more at TMSOE.org.

Click here for the original version on PRWeb.

DSFS Guidance on Recreational Cannabis

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:42:05 GMT

To download the flyer, click the following link: Cannabis Flyer-Bilingual.pdf

Statewide Day Care Forum, April 20-24: POSTPONED

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 13:51:54 GMT

Link to download original flyer: COVID-19 - Day Care Forums-Save-Date-Apr-2020-postponed.2.pdf

Update on SALT Tax Credit Scholarships

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 23:54:19 GMT

Full Article: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm705

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today issued final rules and additional guidance on the federal income tax treatment of payments made under state and local tax credit programs. The regulations prevent charitable contributions made in exchange for state tax credits from circumventing the new limitation on state and local tax deductions.

Latest from Council for American Private Education (CAPE)

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 23:46:24 GMT

For the complete CAPE outlook newsletter, see:

http://capenet.org/pdf/Outlook446.pdf

Articles to be found in this issue

Treasury Amends Proposed Rule Affecting Donations to Scholarship Programs

First Lady of Puerto Rico Addresses AFC Summit

State Update - Illinois: Against long odds, school choice advocates proved successful in protecting Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program.

We Did It! Tax Credit Scholarship Update

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:59:34 GMT

For the complete #Save My Scholarship update, see:

https://mailchi.mp/12af0712faf3/update-for-schools-march-6-163697?e=23446e8377

Thanks to the countless family members, teachers, school leaders and community leaders who rallied with us in Springfield and contacted their legislators through the #SaveMyScholarship campaign. We successfully protected the Tax Credit Scholarship Program! And YOU made all the difference.

Latest from Council for American Private Education (CAPE)

Wed, 15 May 2019 22:24:44 GMT

For the complete CAPE outlook newsletter, see:

https://www.capenet.org/pdf/Outlook445.pdf

Articles to be found in this issue

Court Strikes Down New York "Substantial Equivalency" Guidelines

Florida, Tennessee Pass Choice Legislation

State Updates from Pennsylvania, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas

Secretary DeVos in Kentucky

Latest from Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI)

Mon, 13 May 2019 23:16:49 GMT

For the complete MPPI newsletter, see:

https://mailchi.mp/d21830c27d01/everything-under-the-sun-at-mppi-spring-newsletter-2019?e=46a2eae4b0

Articles to be Found in this Issue

Advocacy in Action: Cheers to Pennsylvania!

All Things Advocacy

MPPI has been busy on the Montessori conference circuit.
Wendy Shenk-Evans, MPPI Executive Director, and Kandyce Jones, MPPI Policy Associate, attended NAEYC's 2019 Public Policy Forum.
Wendy Shenk-Evans was a panelist at an event coordinated by the Trust for Learning and the National Association of State Boards of Education.

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) now has a Montessori Education Special Interest Group (SIG)!

Announcement of new and incoming members to the MPPI Board of Directors:

Razan Abdin-Adnani, M.Ed
Dr. Noelle Kendrick
Iana Philips
Martha Teien, M.Ed.

OPINION: Personalized learning wasn’t invented by Silicon Valley by Phyllis Lockett

Wed, 08 May 2019 14:59:54 GMT

Why the approach is sometimes misinterpreted as a step toward replacing teachers with technology

In 1907, a teacher from Italy proposed a new vision for the modern classroom.

The age of industrialization was winding down, but schools were still turning out students in the same way that factories were turning out cars: uniform, and en masse. So she designed a teaching style intended to identify and cultivate the unique potential, interests and aspirations of each learner. She named it after herself: the Montessori Method.

Sadly, most schools today grapple with the same instructional models Montessori sought to replace more than a century ago. Students at different levels, with different backgrounds and interests, receive the same lessons. Teachers are boxed in by grades, class sizes, or the invisible hand of assessment nudging them to teach to the average.

In response, a growing number of educators are implementing a modern-day version of Montessori’s method called personalized learning.......

Click here or copy and paste the following link to read the whole story:

https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-technology-and-personalized-learning/

What does Montessori mean in the age of school choice? Researcher Mira Debs explains

Wed, 01 May 2019 19:43:36 GMT

Montessori education is about to get a significant jumpstart in the form of $1 billion from Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest man in the world.

That means the release of a new book on Montessori is well timed.....

Click here or copy and paste the following link to read the whole story:

https://chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/04/30/montessori-jeff-bezos-mira-debs-book/

AIMS Announces Saturday Conference Keynote, Dr. Micere Keels

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 14:50:41 GMT

Wisconsin Montessori Association Conference Saturday November 10th!

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 15:08:34 GMT

DCFS Day Care Licensing Forums

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 20:51:03 GMT

DCFS has announced dates for the October 2018 Forums. Look for one in your area!

DCFS Forums 10-2-18.png

Another perspective on the Day One Fund

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 14:54:14 GMT

Here is an article written by Mira Debs from the Yale Education Studies Program...

https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article218917890.html

Jeff Bezos Day One Fund

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 13:53:44 GMT

Jeff Bezos announced the Day One Fund this week, which will support "Montessori inspired" preschools in under served communities. The Montessori world is responding with offers of support to ensure the quality and scaling of the program.

Check out this NY Times Article!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/us/bezos-montessori-preschool.html

Also, the Montessori Leaders Collaborative met this week and based on that meeting, funder, the Trust for Learning, submitted this letter to Bezos.

Letter to Day One Fund.pdf

Save the date for the 2019 AIMS Conference!

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 23:04:56 GMT

The dates have been set for the 2019 AIMS Conference. Mark your calendar for February 22nd and 23rd, 2019.