the social relevance of the montessori first plane · liza davis earned her ami primary diploma...

The North American Montessori Teachers’ Association is pleased to coordinate this event with NAMTA’s Montessori Whole-School ManagementSM: A Professional Development Course for Administrators, Tier I: First Principles, January 14-18, 2015.

The Social Relevance of the Montessori First Plane

Engaging Families, Building Partnerships, and Finding Common Ground with the Wider Early Childhood Community

January 15-18, 2015Doubletree Dallas Campbell Centre, Dallas, TX

MDP © Sara Guren

Doubletree Dallas Campbell Centre • 1-214-691-8700

NAMTA Conference in Dallas, TX


Engaging Families, Building Partnerships, and Finding Common Ground with the Wider Early Childhood Community

Teachers need to express the unique qualities of Montessori to engage the growing early childhood community. This con-ference brings further access to the Montessori perspective on the development of the 0-6 child by reaching out and discover-ing the mainstream relevance for Montessori education. From the expansion of an early childhood program with governmen-tal funding, to a father’s parent-infant class, to a university lab school for developmental research, the Montessori community can find ways to unite and comingle with the present traditional education community.

Thursday, January 15, 20157:00–8:00 p.m. • Registration

Friday, January 16, 20158:00–9:00 a.m. • Registration

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. • The Montessori First Plane for All Seasons and All ChildrenJudi Orion

Judi Orion will present an overview of the first plane of devel-opment. She will establish the foundation and principles that provide the framework for Montessori’s contribution to fami-lies, schools, and outreach programs. An understanding of the evolution of the child in the first plane of development, from unconscious creator to conscious worker, is seen as the guide for parents, teachers, and communities as they strive to support the child in this critical stage of life.

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January 15-18, 2015

Friday, January 16, 2015, continued10:00 – 10:45 a.m. • Small Group Discussions and Questions

10:45 – 11:15 • Break

11:15 a.m. – Noon • ConclusionMontessori First Plane for All Seasons and All Children

Judi OrionWithin the first stage of development, the child experiences a multitude of tran-sitions. A close look at the sensitive periods will provide the touchstone for the preparation of the physical, social, and psychological environment. Our ability to observe and to respond to the sensitive periods of each child sets the stage for a lifetime of success. Through this review of the critical transitions during the first plane, Judi will explore that final transition as the child emerges into the second plane and moves to the elementary.

Noon – 1:30 p.m. • Lunch and KeynoteProfile of a Growing Urban School: The Lumin Experience

Terry Ford

1:30 – 4:30 p.m. • Breakouts (Choose one) A. Montessori All Day, All Year

Connie Black and Liza Davis The first Montessori Children’s Houses were “all day” programs. Connie and Liza return to those roots and explore the notion of “Montessori all day.” How can we provide the child with support of optimal development throughout long hours of care without compromising Montessori principles? The workshop offers ideas of how to go beyond the paradigm shift of creating places for children to live versus schooling, to an integrated implementation of a homelike and pre-pared environment, including staff mapping, calendar, indoor/outdoor environ-ments, etc. Learn how to maintain the balance between the consistency of rou-tines that the child needs and the variation and novelty that makes life beautiful.

B. Learning Side-by-Side with ParentsSpeaker Panel, Tom Loew, Moderator

We will discuss new ways and means to engage parents, especially keeping fathers and working parents in the loop.

Parent education is about collaborative thinking and focusing

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Friday, January 16, 2015, continuedon what we all have in common when serving the children of a wide socio-economic background. We will also present the Parents as Teachers program where trained parent educators visit families in their homes and teach the parents how to support the social, emotional, and developmental growth of their infants and toddlers.

C. Educating the Local and State Community about MontessoriSpeaker Panel, Mary Caroline Parker, Moderator

State organization impacts both private and public sectors more than ever. Montessori advocacy and its related functions are co-operative arts that are a challenge for the early childhood national expansion and the demands of funders and state government.

4:45 – 7:00 p.m. • School ToursTour of the Lumin East Dallas and Lindsley Park Community School Campuses

Saturday, January 17, 2015

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. • The Social Relevance of the Montessori First PlaneSarah Werner Andrews

With a wider demand for early childhood awareness and intervention in the United States, and a better public under-standing of early learning, it is important that Montessori teachers can talk clearly about true Montessori social out-comes. Accessible communication about all planes of devel-opment must be practiced, with an emphasis on the essential social character formation of the first plane.

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. • Small Group Discussions and Questions

10:45 – 11:15 • Break

11:15 a.m. – Noon • ConclusionThe Social Relevance of the Montessori First Plane

Sarah Werner-Andrews

Noon – 1:30 p.m. • Lunch


January 15-18, 2015

Saturday, January 17, 2015, continued1:30 – 4:30 p.m. • Breakouts (Choose one)

D. Cultural Competency for the Early Childhood Montessori CenterBarbara Williams and Vertis Williams

Human relations, communication, listening skills, problem solving, conflict reso-lution, healthy relationships, cultural competency, and diversity knowledge are just some of the life skills imparted through Barbara and Vertis Williams’ exten-sive work as gifted social services providers.

E. Understanding Optimal Developmental Outcomes: Supporting the Spiritual and Social Development of the Casa Community

Mary Raudonis Loew The richness of the social cohesion and spiritual understand-ing in a Montessori 3-6 environment is created by students working side-by-side with respect for each other and the adult while sensing the well-being of the community as a whole. Mary Raudonis Loew will lead a conversation about some of the intangible outcomes of the Casa, which is the origin for work that is chosen, intentional, purposeful, and challenging and leads to personality development going well beyond the materials.

F. Understanding the Life and Times of the Youngest Children (under 3)Nichole Holtvluwer

Nichole is passionate about all things toddler. With an emphasis on authentic AMI Montessori, she bring an understanding to the life and times of the youngest chil-dren. She is a hopeful enthusiast who believes when young children are respected and understood by the adults who surround them, they have the power to change the course of our world. Through nearly twelve years of experience and observa-tion, she explains how she builds a deep awareness of the toddler with parents.

Sunday, January 18, 20159:00–10:30 a.m.

Meeting the Montessori Community Expectations for Early ChildhoodPanel of conference speakers

This session provides an opportunity to reflect on the applications of the presen-tations at the conference.



Conference SpeakersSarah Werner Andrews is an international speaker, AMI consultant, and direc-tor of training at the Montessori Northwest in Portland, Oregon. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance, an M.Ed from Loyola University, and AMI primary and elementary diplomas. Sarah has worked in Montessori education since 1987 and has several years of teaching experience at both the primary and elementary levels and experience in administration.

Connie Black holds a BA in English and theatre from the Uni-versity of Tennessee at Martin as well as an M.Ed from Loyola University in Montessori education. She brings to her role more than fifteen years of experience in Montessori Children’s Hous-es, as well as eight years in public school settings working with children with special needs. Connie is an AMI trainer, sought-after guest lecturer, and in-demand consultant nationwide.

Liza Davis earned her AMI primary diploma from the Mon-tessori Training Center of Minnesota in 2001. She holds an undergraduate degree in art history and American racial and multicultural studies from St. Olaf College. Liza served as a guide in St. Paul and Germany and was the head of school at Cornerstone Montessori School and Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School. Liza is in the Training of Trainers Program.

Terry Ford is the executive director of East Dallas Community Schools in Dallas, Texas. After four years as a bilingual first grade teacher in the Dallas Independent School District, Terry founded and continues to oversee East Dallas Community Schools, an organization with a thirty-four-year track record of successfully educating young children from primarily low-income families. For more than three decades, Terry and her team have worked relentlessly to implement the philosophy of “Start Young, Involve Parents.” The early-education Montessori programs serve families starting in pregnancy through third grade.

Nichole Holtvluwer holds her assistants to infancy AMI diploma from The Montes-sori Institute of Denver where she completed her training in 2003. Since receiv-ing her AMI diploma, Nichole has strived to provide the children and families in


January 15-18, 2015

toddler environments around the Denver-metro area with the highest caliber of Montessori understanding. In 2012 she developed and opened a new toddler community at a well-established Montessori school in the Washington Park neigh-borhood of Denver. This toddler program was the first of its kind for the school in its twenty-year history of serving primary-age children.

Tom Loew has been the director of Lindsley Park Community School, a public Montessori charter (East Dallas Community Schools), since 1998. He holds AMI diplomas at both the primary and elementary levels and has taught at both levels.

Mary Raudonis Loew is an AMI teacher trainer, lecturer, examiner, and consul-tant and has over forty years of experience working with adults and children. She has conducted primary training courses in Atlanta, Cleveland, and Dallas and has given numerous workshops in all areas of Montessori pedagogy and prac-tice. Mary attended Clarke College, Georgia State University, and has a BA de-gree from Goddard College in integrated studies. She has been an AMI primary teacher trainer since 1971.

Judith A. Orion is the director of training for assistants to infancy at The Mon-tessori Institute in Denver, CO. She holds the AMI primary diploma and re-ceived her assistants to infancy diploma at the first AMI training for that level, given in Rome. Judi has conducted primary and infancy Montessori classes and is a trainer, examiner, and consultant at both levels. She conducts teacher training internationally and is a national and international seminar presenter at Montessori conferences. Judi is an adjunct faculty member of Loyola Col-lege in Maryland.

Mary Caroline Parker is the executive director of the Montessori Institute of North Texas and a former head of school at East Dallas Community School and The Barbara Gordon Montessori School. She holds the AMI primary diploma, a BA from Smith College, a JD from American University, and an M.Ed in Montes-sori Integrative Learning from Endicott College. She is a member of the Educa-teurs sans Frontières working group and also serves on the board of AMI/USF, a US foundation that is able to collect funds for Montessori projects. She also serves on the board of Lumin Education, which operates two public Montessori charter schools and a Montessori-based Early Head Start program in the low income neighborhoods of Dallas, Texas.



Barbara Williams received her BA in psychology and African American studies from The University of Minnesota. She has worked for the St. Paul Public Hous-ing Agency for eleven years where her daily work as a human services coordina-tor included crisis intervention, coordinating support services, youth programs, and conflict resolution. She served the Minnesota State Office of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities as a regional ombudsman for three years. She is currently the State Lead for SSI/SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach Access and Recovery) Advocacy for the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Vertis Williams is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor and addiction recovery relationship coach. He is the founder of Regulating Resistance LLC, which is a coaching practice that focuses on helping people in recovery to develop healthy and functional relationships. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2003 with a BA in psychology and became a licensed alcohol and drug counselor with the Minnesota Board

of Behavioral Health and Therapy in 2009. He is also the author of 4 Ways to Handle Relationship Difficulties, which details how to set appropriate boundar-ies in current relationships and when and how to end relationships that are having life-damaging consequences.

MDP © Sara Guren


January 15-18, 2015

Hotel Doubletree Dallas Campbell Centre8250 N. Central ExpresswayDallas, TX 75206Reservations: 1-214-691-8700

Register at the Doubletree Dallas Campbell Centre by December 25, 2014 to receive the NAMTA room rate of single/double: $118. Mention NAMTA to receive the conference rate.

Transportation

The closest airport to the Doubletree Dallas Campbell Centre is Dallas Love Field (DAL). Taxi service from DAL to the hotel is approximately $30. Directions from the Hotel Staff:

From DAL / Dallas Love Field Airport (6 miles): Exit airport to Mock-ingbird Lane East. Pass the Dallas Tollway and stay on Mockingbird Lane until Central Expressway (Highway 75), Turn left (north) onto Central Expressway (Highway 75) service road and travel North to Caruth Haven. Once you exit at Caruth Haven, the Doubletree Hotel Campbell Centre is to the right between 2 gold towers. (Transportation by Classic Shuttle, taxi or rental car)

From DFW / Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (26 miles): Exit the North Airport onto 635 East. Take this to 75 South. Exit off 75 South at Caruth Haven and make a U-Turn onto the North bound service road of 75. The hotel will be immediately on your right hand side between the gold towers. (Transportation by Classic Shuttle, taxi or rental car)

From Downtown Dallas (6 miles): Take Central Expressway (Highway 75) North. Exit Caruth Haven. Doubletree Hotel Campbell Centre will be located to your right between 2 gold towers.

From North Dallas/Richardson (6 miles): Take Central Expressway (High-way 75) South. Exit Caruth Haven and turn left. Doubletree Hotel Campbell Centre to the left between 2 gold towers.

More information can be found on the hotel website: http://www.doubletreedallascampbellcentre.com



RegistrationRegister by January 2, 2015, for early registration rates!

NAMTA Member Tuition fee: ❑ $300 (❑ $315 after January 2)Non-Member Tuition fee: ❑ $360 (❑ $375 after January 2)School Tour: ❑ Yes, add $10 ❑ NoFriday and Saturday luncheons: ❑ Non-Vegetarian ❑ Vegetarian

Friday Breakout Choice Saturday Breakout Choice ❑ A. All Day, All Year ❑ D. Social Services ❑ B. Side-by-Side with Parents ❑ E. Developmental Outcomes ❑ C. Local and State Community ❑ F. Understanding the Young Child

Name: ____________________________________________________

Phone : _______________________ Email: _______________________

Address: __________________________________________________

City: _____________________________________State/Province: _____

Postal Code: ____________ Country: ___________________________

Name of Your School: _________________________________________

Payment Options

❑Check or money order: payable in U.S. currency and drawn on a U.S. bank.❑Visa ❑MasterCard ❑AmEx ❑Discover (complete the information below) Card Number: ______________________________________________

Name on Card: _____________________________________________

Expiration Date: ____________ 3- or 4-digit Authorization Code: ________ (month/year) (found on front of AmEx, back of other cards)

Address: __________________________________________________ Street Address where credit card bills are sent.

City: _______________________________ State/Province: __________

Postal Code: _________________________ Country: ______________

Visit www.montessori-namta.org for information regarding NAMTA Events, Membership Details, Publications/Audio-Visual Materials.


January 15-18, 2015

Use this form to join NAMTA or renew your membership.Membership is for individuals only. No schools, please. Please furnish your home mailing address. You must provide an e-mail address to receive The NAMTA Bulletin and member mailings.

U.S. Resident ............................................................................. ❑$50 Outside U.S. .............................................................................. ❑$60 Lifetime ..................................................................................... ❑$600The NAMTA Directory (not included with membership)........... ❑$18 NAMTA’s Online Bibliography (see description below) ........... ❑$10Total Enclosed ........................................................................... $______

Return by January 15, 2015, to have your name listed in • The NAMTA Directory. ❑Check here if you do not want your name listed.The NAMTA Online Montessori Bibliography is a searchable database of • Montessori articles. Copies of articles are available for a fee.

Last Name: _______________________ First Name: ____________________Address: _______________________________________________________City: ___________________________________________________________State/Province: ____________Postal Code: _________ Country: __________Name of Your School: _____________________________________________Phone : _________________________ Email: _________________________

If you are a new member, please list your Montessori training information:Location: _____________________________________ Affiliation: _______Date of Diploma: __________________________ Level of Course: _______

Current Montessori Status: ❑Administrator ❑Guide (Teacher) ❑Trainee ❑Assistant ❑Parent ❑Program CoordinatorPayment Options ............................................................................................❑Check or money order: payable in U.S. currency and drawn on a U.S. bank.❑Visa ❑MasterCard ❑AmEx ❑Discover (complete the information below) Card Number: ___________________________________________________Name on Card: __________________________________________________Expiration Date: _____________ 3- or 4-digit Authorization Code: ________ (month/year) (found on front of AmEx, back of other cards)

Address: _______________________________________________________ Street Address where credit card bills are sent.

City: ___________________________________ State/Province: __________Postal Code: ____________________________ Country: ________________

2014-2015 NAMTA Membership Form

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the social relevance of the montessori first plane · liza davis earned her ami primary diploma...

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