Welcome to the International Montessori Council

Founded in 1998, we focus on issues of unique concern to Montessori schools, including:

• Accreditation
• Curriculum coordination / alignment to common core state standards
• Recruitment and hiring / supervision of teachers and staff
• Finances / strategic planning / insurance
• Facilities
• Board development
• Marketing and admissions
• Building community
• Fundraising
• Public relations
• Montessori School Leadership and Board Development
• Meaningful Resources for Schools
• Mentorship and Networking
• Montessori Teacher Certification (for our accredited teacher training organizations)
• Peace and Partnership Education
• Regional and International Conferences
• and much more

1. Qualified Montessori teachers continue to be in terribly short supply all over the world, year after year, and decade after decade. We need to find better ways of encouraging talented men and women to pursue a career in Montessori education.

2.  After all these years, many parents and traditional educators still do not understand Montessori or feel confident in our schools. It is crucial that we find more effective ways to get our message out to the world.

3. Many parents still see Montessori as a preschool and move their children to traditional public or private schools as soon as they are old enough. We need to communicate the benefits of continuing their children in Montessori for the entire program.

4. Increasingly, parents pressure our teachers and schools to modify our programs to be more like traditional classrooms, we all need help in making the case that Montessori works, allowing us to remain true to our principles!

5. Because experienced Montessori-trained school administrators are so hard to find, more and more schools are being led by traditional educators. Montessori schools need Montessori leaders. We need to prepare Montessori educators for school leadership, as well as offering ongoing programs of professional development.

6. Many Montessori schools are governed by ineffective and erratic boards. It is essential that we organize programs that schools can use to select, orient, and train new board members in effective governance of a Montessori school.

7. Increasingly, parents want assurance that their children’s Montessori schools are accredited. We need to encourage and provide support to help schools go through the process of Montessori school accreditation for the first time.

8. And finally, because parents and educators all over the world are asking to see research evidence that confirms Montessori’s effectiveness, we need to work together to fund and encourage new research and disseminate the results to validate all of the anecdotal and intuitive evidence supporting Montessori’s success in human development and education.

These challenges have plagued our schools for decades. Many are the result of our lack of commitment to organize locally and work together effectively. Today, we have a choice. We can sit back and continue to accept the situation facing us, but if we do so, there is a real danger that education will cast us aside in the ongoing culture of school reform. Or we can use basic principles of the “Montessori Way” to design and work together in new ways to serve the entire Montessori community.

The IMC welcomes all Montessori teachers and schools as members. CLICK HERE for requirement differences for the School level memberships. The IMC encourages members to also belong to other Montessori organizations as well. Working together, we can take Montessori to a new level, and doing so, build tomorrow’s schools to meet the needs of tomorrow’s children. The IMC celebrates the steps toward collaboration that have begun in the United States and is a proud member of the Montessori Leadership Collaborative.