Schools and Program Leaders

We are so glad you are here! This website is being built to support you as you work to enhance the development and inclusion of children with disabilities and differences at your Montessori school or program. If you are a Principal, Administrator, Director, Head of School or program leader at a Montessori school, Montessori Therapy Clinic, Montessori-based homeschool, children’s hospital, orphanage or any pediatric institutional setting with an interest in Montessori education or Montessori therapy, then this portal is for you. We are all working to give the gift of Dr. Montessori’s work to more children with physical, emotional, social, and intellectual differences. Montessori education is the path to both nurturing strengths and addressing weaknesses for all children’s diverse abilities.

Barbara Luborsky, OTR/L, and Montessorian, Catherine Nehring Massie, have been collaborating for almost a decade researching, observing and implementing inclusive Montessori programs. On this website you will find featured (over time) a wide variety of outstanding examples of inclusive Montessori schools, Montessori schools that serve children with a particular disability exceptionally well, Montessori-based Special Education Programs, Montessori-based therapeutic programs, Montessori-based therapies, and Montessori-based pediatric programs at hospitals and orphanages. What all of these programs have in common and what makes all of them so effective is an integrated medical-educational approach that is holistic, therapeutic, and habilitative for the child and their family. This website will also help you become aware of the long history of these medically-enhanced Montessori Programs and feel connected to a community of professionals dedicated to:

• Medically-enhanced Montessori approaches
• Collaboration and teaming of teachers and medical professionals
• Family support and empowered roles in their child’s development
• Teacher support and rejuvenation

We opened this website with a small selection of resources that we believed you and your staff would find useful in your work with children who have learning differences. Our vision is that our community of parents, Montessori educators, and medical providers across the globe will contribute a variety of resources that support inclusion work.  We are seeking your insights and stories about successful practices, and problems well- solved as well as those that continue to be a struggle.  We look forward to seeing the grow over time and become an even more valuable resource over time.

Begin exploring our site NOW and here is what you will find:

• Showcase Feature: Visit our Inclusion Program Showcase to find perhaps the earliest scientific study of Montessori education for children with disabilities.
• Resources of interest and relevance to your work: Find current articles and research in Hot Topics, introduce yourself to the Montessori and medical communities through our Inclusion Forums, and read a variety of articles about Montessori-based Special Education practices. We are adding more content all the time-the more you contribute the more resources we will have to share.
• Find out how you can get involved NOW in advocacy, capacity-building, and supporting Montessori programs that are including more diverse populations of children.

Be sure to tell your Montessori teachers and families about the site so they can learn more about a Montessori approach to Special Education.

Whole School Leadership provides comprehensive training focused on promoting excellence at your school by taking a whole school approach.

Lead Montessori provides information and training with a goal of building healthy and sustainable Montessori schools together, by developing excellent Montessori leaders.

The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector is an independent non-profit organization supporting the growth of public Montessori with tools and resources, training and orientation, and direct school services.

What kind of challenges are you facing in your inclusive Montessori school program?

What kinds of resources would you find helpful?

• Professional development for your staff on specific disability types;•
• Collaboration with medical specialists—Occupational Therapists, Speech
• Therapists, Behavior Specialists, Trauma Therapists, etc;
• Supports and supportive environments to meet special needs;
• Partnering with parents and families;
• Inclusion support staff;
• Inclusion policies and procedures;
• Protecting your teachers from burn-out;
• Making sure that the School/Program Leader (that’s YOU) is not living in overwhelm;
• Creating an inclusion culture;
• Other?