Our Community
The New York State Montessori Alliance represents schools, administrators, and individuals who are passionate advocates for authentic Montessori practice in New York State. By supporting favorable public policy, we encourage, educate and serve those who provide the highest quality Montessori education to children and adolescents throughout the state.
Our Work
The NYSMA is dedicated to furthering the educational objectives, methods and philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori in the State of New York by achieving the following goals:
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To speak with one, unified voice for Montessori education.
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To advance and protect the educational vision formulated by Dr. Maria Montessori in both private and public schools in the state.
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To support the administration of Montessori schools.
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To offer ongoing education and guidance to the Montessori community in New York State.
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To use its best efforts to ensure that all government entities within the State of New York understand and support the Montessori community’s mission.
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To keep the Montessori community informed of all actions and events that might affect the community’s ability to achieve its goals.
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To address issues of public policy that may affect education in general and, more specifically, Montessori education.
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To advocate for the recognition of Montessori Teacher Certifications across the state.
MEMBER BENEFITS
Meet leaders and changemakers in education
Keep-up with state/national Montessori news
Receive education and guidance
Tap resources to inform educators and policymakers
Earn professional development hours
Support for your school’s administration
Work toward NYS recognition of the Montessori Teacher Certification
2024-2025 NYSMA
GROUP MEETINGS
FRI MAR 14, 2025, 6PM
MEET & GREET!
October Meeting
Location: Woodland Hill Montessori School
Speaker: Jennifer Graham
Topic: Trusting Our Roots and Supporting Others in Our Montessori Practice
Agenda: coming soon!
Jennifer Graham earned her BS in Elementary Education from Elmira College in 1996 and her
AMS Early Childhood Credential from the Center for Montessori Education in 1998. Jennifer
taught for several years at Montessori schools in NY before opening Our World Montessori in
2004. After 8 years as the head of school at OWM, Jennifer realized her passion was to be in
the classroom with the children. She returned to her roots as an Early Childhood teacher at
Woodland Hill Montessori School where she teaches today. Jennifer is also an Early Childhood instructor at West Side Montessori School-Teacher Education Program.
PAST EVENTS
2022-2023
Speaker Event
Lesley Koplow, LCSW
The Montessori at Flatiron
We held a memorable evening with Lesley Koplow, LCSW, Director of the Emotionally Responsive Practice Center at Bank Street College. This was a great professional development opportunity for both teachers/guides and admins.
Lesley Koplow is a clinical social worker, teacher, and author who lives in New York City. She is the founding Director of the Center for Emotionally Responsive Practice at Bank Street College. Lesley is the author of several books including; Unsmiling Faces: How Preschools Can Heal; Creating Schools That Heal; Bears, Bears Everywhere: Supporting Children’s Emotional Health in the Classroom; Tanya and the Tobo Man; and Politics Aside; Our Children and Their Teachers in Score-Driven Times.
Every classroom needs to have a “good mirror” that can reflect children accurately, affirm all kinds of feelings, and acknowledge what children carry. This talk will explore how being a good mirror can promote development and emotional well being in children.
February 2022
Inaugural Conference
"Bringing NYS Together"
This initial conference included two professional development workshop sessions at multiple levels of engagement, a keynote address, and networking sessions. The event was open to the public and marketed globally and attendees were able to take advantage of an opportunity to share diverse perspectives in the vast Montessori community.
Members of our organization dedicate themselves to furthering the educational objectives, methods, and philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori in the State of New York by achieving the following goals:
-
First, to speak with one unified voice for Montessori education.
-
Second, to advance and protect the educational vision formulated by Dr. Maria Montessori in private and public schools in the state.
-
To support the administration of Montessori schools.
-
To offer ongoing education and guidance to the Montessori community in New York State.
-
To use its best efforts to ensure that all government entities within the State of New York understand and support the Montessori community’s mission.
-
To keep the Montessori community informed of all actions and events that might affect its ability to achieve its goals.
-
To address public policy issues that may affect education in general and, more specifically, Montessori education.
-
To advocate for the recognition of Montessori Teacher Certifications across the state.
Thank you for the conference Co-Chairs, Lisanne Pinciotti and Sheba Kapur!
