Welcome to Beautiful Sarasota, Florida

November 7 — 10, 2019

Welcome to beautiful Sarasota, Florida

November 7 — 10, 2019

Home of the Montessori Foundation's 24th Annual International Conference

4 Days | 7 Community-building Meals | An AMAZING Banquet | CEU's | + Full-Day Thursday Leadership Seminars

If you can attend only one conference a year, this is the one!

Over 60 Presenters | Over 30 Exhibitors | Over 70 Workshops

If you didn’t attend last year, take a look at what you missed …

Registration is open!

Our schedule is ready for your review. To aid you in your decision-making we’ve attached two PDFs here. First is the full descriptions of the Thursday All-Day Leadership workshops and the second is for the Full Conference. You may print these out and share with staff.

Leadership Day

2019-Workshop Selection Form

We are so pleased to host our event at
The Hyatt Regency on Sarasota Bay

Located at the beautiful Hyatt Regency on Sarasota Bay. While this is where the conference is held, our block of rooms is now sold out.

For two other amazing options go to the Venue tab for instructions on how to secure these rooms. We only have a small block at each and only another 2 weeks to keep the block open. Please, use one of these two alternate venues. They are an easy walk away and have given us amazing pricing.

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This year’s keynote speakers …

Dr. Valaida Wise

Dr. Valaida L. Wise (Val) is an educational consultant and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. An educator for more than 20 years, Val received a Bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from Syracuse University, an M.A.T in early childhood education with a Montessori emphasis from Trinity College, Washington D.C., and holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from George Washington University. A recent Brava award winner, Val has lectured nationally and internationally, most recently on the topics of early childhood education, Montessori education, leadership, and diversity. She has presented at a variety of national conferences including the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Val has written several articles on educational leadership in early childhood as well as Montessori education. Her most recent article: A Critical Absence in the Field of Educational Administration: Framing the (Missing) Discourse of Leadership in Early Childhood appears in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation. She is a trustee on several professional and independent and charter school boards. Val is married with three children.

Dr. Fred Luskin

Dr. Fred Luskin founded and currently serves as Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects. He is also Senior Consultant in Health Promotion/Wellness at the Stanford University Health Center and Department Chair in Clinical Psychology at Sofia University. At Stanford, Dr. Luskin teaches classes on Positive Psychology, The Art and Science of Meditation, Forgiveness, Wellness, Flourishing, and The Psychology of Storytelling to undergraduate and graduate students. He also conducts numerous workshops and staff development trainings in relationship enhancement, stress management, and positive psychology through the Stanford Be Well program. Dr. Luskin is the author of the best-selling books Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness and Forgive for Love: The Missing Ingredient for a Healthy and Happy Relationship. Dr. Luskin has been interviewed on the topic of forgiveness in worldwide media including the New York Times, O Magazine, the Today Show, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, The Huffington Post, and CBS Morning News. He is also the author of Stress Free for Good: Ten Scientifically Proven Life Skills for Health and Happiness, a book that emerged from his 10 years as a researcher in preventive cardiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His work demonstrated the effect of enhancing stress management and positive emotion skills to help patients cope with congestive heart failure and arrhythmia. Dr. Luskin teaches stress management, emotional intelligence, and happiness skills to corporate clients throughout the United States. His work focuses on the research proven triad of a healthy and happy life: enhancing interpersonal relationships; creating a positive purpose in life; and guided practice in appreciation and other positive emotions.

Many thanks to this year’s sponsors.

Patty & Rick Sobelman

Thursday All-Day Leadership Workshops

Thursday Leadership Day

Last year’s all-day Thursday workshops were such a success that we’ve designed three new interactive experiences. You may register for this day as part of the whole conference package or just attend this day. $200 (IMC Members) | ($275 Non-Members)

Join the IMC & Save

Option 1

Inclusion: Supporting Diverse Learners

Presented by Christine Lowry

This day-long workshop, geared toward school administrators and classroom teachers, will explore and discuss the components of a tiered system of support from universal “best practice” to individualized interventions forbehavior and learning. With the specifics in a classroom setting as the basis for our understanding, we will move to the development process for implementing a school wide system. Topics will include: Understanding today’s students and their families: who they are, their strengths, and their wide range of challenges. Current research, understandings, and trends in neuro-psychology, special education, and the broader educational landscape as it relates to Montessori philosophy and pedagogy. An explanation of a Multi-Tiered System of Support and how it can serve our work with all students in ways consistent with Montessori philosophy and pedagogy. Discussions of “best practices” at each tier of support and how to implement them to meet the needs of each student (social-emotional support, classroom management, teaching, and learning). The importance of a Team Collaboration in successfully implementing a tiered system. The importance of School Leadership in the development and implementation of a school-wide system. Our day together will be a format using brief teaching segments, small group discussions and explorations, and larger group sharing of ideas, curiosities, and questions. We will end the day with a time for individual and small group goal setting and designing of action plans that you can take back to your school.

Option 2

The Applied Mind: Adult Learners

Presented by Jonathan Wolff
and Dana Kaminstein

Understanding and Educating the Adult Learner As It Applies to Montessori Teacher Education, Professional Development, & Parent Education – Creating an environment which is conducive for adult learning is very different than creating a learning environment for children. Although adults can, and sometimes do, experience the joy of learning, most adult learning environments rob adults of this opportunity. Adult learners seek to learn things that will help them in their work and lives, and they want to be treated in a way that respects their knowledge and experience. One similarity between adult and child learners is that both want to be engaged and enlivened by the learning experience. This workshop will focus on ways to foster engagement and joy in the adult learning experience. The workshop is aimed at those who are responsible for teaching adults in a Montessori setting. It is appropriate for those supervising teachers-in-training; for people working with Montessori guides who need improvement in classroom management; for those who are communicating with parents about Montessori education; or for someone working with a newly hired assistant teacher who requires job orientation.

This full-day workshop intensive will be led by Dana Kaminstein, Ph.D. and Jonathan Wolff. Dana Kaminstein is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, and has been working and teaching graduate students and other adults for over thirty years. Dr. Kaminstein’s wife is a long-time Montessori teacher, and their two sons attended Montessori schools, where he served as a board member. Jonathan Wolff, Montessori school consultant and leadership educator, has consulted to Montessori school leaders and classroom teachers in Montessori schools across the USA and around the world. He will share current research and best practices in adult learning, as it applies to the work of the Montessori teacher trainer, school instructional leader, lead teacher, and parent educator. The workshop is designed to be highly experiential, interactive and applied. Participants will have the opportunity for self-reflection, and will learn about the major principles of adult learning and the main approaches to learning. They will participate in group discussions, a short simulation, and engage in coaching colleagues. The workshop is designed to ensure that all aspects of it can be applied, and participants will engage in action planning, i.e., how to take back what they learned as they enhance their adult learning practices.

Option 3

Supporting Parents as Partners

Presented by Renee
DuChainey-Farkes

Is your enrollment and retention of students as strong as you want it to be? We have the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between home and school (parent and child experience) in each of our schools to increase retention of current students as well as attract new enrollment? Does your school deliver the Parent Experience in the true Montessori Way?

Maria Montessori believed the school and family partnership was essential to help each child reach their greatest potential. She believed that the sharing of first-hand observations from home and school brings the school to the home and the home to the school. We have seen how this works in schools to strengthen retention and support admissions for new enrollment This workshop will share the latest research on the “parent experience” in schools. We will open your mind to the potential benefits of embracing the parent partnership by introducing strategies and the process to implement school-wide.

What is it that the parents want from the school? Research shows that the parent has two relationships with the school: the first is their relationship with the school about their child/student and how the school meets the needs of the student both academically and social/emotionally (My Child). The parent is the customer, and the child/student is the consumer. The second relationship is the parents’ own experience with the school (Me as a Parent/Self) and how this relationship supports the needs of the parent who is also growing and learning as a parent. We will share ways that every school can take a new look at the unique relationship, the Parent Experience, in “the Montessori way” and show ways to adjust the way they present their programs to better meet the needs of parents. We will look at programs through the domains of learning: Feel, Know, Do.

For more information, contact:
Margot Garfield-Anderson
Conference Coordinator
1+941-309-3961 | 800-632-4121
margot@montessori.org

Check / Join the IMC
Kathy Leitch
IMC Director
1+941-309-3961 | 800-655-5843
kathyleitch@montessori.org

The Montessori Foundation
19600 E SR 64 | Bradenton, FL 34212
1+941-729-9565 | 800-655-5843
admin@montessori.org
montessori.org