Mark Your Calendars!
December 4-6th, 2015
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Alexandria, VA
The Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE) will hold its 4th Annual Symposium for Montessori Teacher Educators on December 4-6, 2015 in Alexandria, VA. This event draws Montessori teacher educators from around the world. The focus of this year's Symposium will focus on the question:
Are We Preparing Our Teachers to Teach
Children with Special Needs?
Joyce Pickering, Executive Director Emerita of Shelton School, Dallas, Texas will be one of our keynote speakers addressing this question. We will also be revisiting current recognition of the Montessori teaching diploma/credential by State Departments of Education. Last year's Symposium highlighted presentations on the teacher qualification registries and teacher licensure within each state. Montessori advocates shared success stories from Oregon and South Carolina and a common theme was the importance of cultivating direct personal relationships with state decision-makers and implementers. This year, we will follow up on the work that has taken place in each state since our last Symposium. Representatives from state advocacy groups like NHMA along with state policy makers from New Hampshire's Division for Children and Youth & Families will join us and speak about their recent accomplishments. In addition we will invite presenters from the Montessori Public Policy Initiative (MPPI) and other state advocacy groups.
On the final day of the Symposium, we will revisit our Open Space topics so teacher educators may spontaneously discuss topics relevant to their work. In past years, many Open Space topics stemmed from the presentations offered the day before while others explored new topics within state regulations, quality assessment, international accreditation, online training components, and best practices for Montessori teacher education. The full schedule of events for the Symposium will be announced this summer. |