A Call to Action (by Jill Wilson)

I often think of the old proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second-best time is now.”  The same holds true for so many things in my life, and especially for advocacy of Montessori.  I just returned from the AMS National Conference in Dallas, Texas and I have been spurred into action.   It became overwhelmingly obvious to me that our children need more Montessori programs.  But at the same time, Montessori programs are struggling when it comes to legislative and regulatory challenges at the federal, state and local levels.  Many of these policies are weighted against and adversely affect Montessori classrooms and practices.  For instance, in many Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, quality Montessori programs are given low scores due to the lack of building blocks, stuffed animals and toys in the classroom.  It is up to us to educate legislators to what is a quality Montessori program.  The best time to begin grassroots advocacy was 20 years ago.  The second best time is NOW!

Big movements are happening in the Montessori circles.   The circles are beginning to overlap and they are big enough to include everyone.  In order to impact policy, we need everyone from the large national organizations to the smallest local schools and classrooms.   Montessori Forward andThe National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector are two websites that are bringing together multiple Montessori organizations to collaborate and disseminate valuable information. AMS and AMI/USA have joined forces to support state organizations in developing their voice, strengthening their platform and providing them with the necessary tools needed to succeed.  

The Ohio Montessori Alliance is the state organization created to do these things (and more!) for children and Montessori schools in Ohio.  As they state on their website, “The OMA is a call to action and a commitment to community.”  I have been called to action and now I am calling on you, too.

So, what can you as a parent, teacher or administrator do?

1.  Invite your state representative and senator to your school.  No agenda, no issues to discuss, and no speeches, but just a casual visit as an introduction to some Montessori constituents.  Not only does this provide an opportunity for the politician to be awed by the Montessori environment and touched by the children working, but also it aides in raising an awareness of just how many Montessori schools may be in the district.  Contact your state representatives here:  www.ohiohouse.gov andwww.ohiosenate.gov/senate/index

2. Be Counted!  At the CMS and/or AMS conference, you may have seen and heard people talking about the 2013-14 USA Montessori Census.  This is a collaborative project to strengthen the US Montessori Community.  The information gathered through the census can be used by the general public and researchers, as well as federal, state, and local governments, in making important decisions about education reform and the proper role of Montessori in that reform effort.

Currently, there are only 30 schools listed in the state of Ohio – a small fraction of what is really out there. There is strength in numbers and every Montessori school along with every Montessori student must be counted.  With current accurate numbers of schools and students, we can make a greater impact on policymakers!

Please do your part to add your school right now!  Go to www.MontessoriCensus.org  You will be asked to create an account.  The census has 30 questions and will take you less than 15 minutes to complete. Questions are asked on four broad areas:

• Demographic Information
• Leadership
• Affiliations and Accreditations
• Program

You will also have the opportunity to provide a brief overview of your school and to provide a photo of your school. The ideal size for the photo is 220px by 220px, and photos must be less than 1 MB in size.

At the very least, just add the name and address of your school to get it on the map today and do the rest later.

3.  Get Connected!  In addition to showing the SIZE of our community, our CONNECTIVITY to one another is equally crucial!  The more we can link together, the more capable we'll become!  Reach out to other schools, organizations, and communities, linking your networks together.  Our power would grow exponentially if each of us shared this newsletter with 5 people in our network, and asked them to forward it to 5 people in their network, and so on.

If all of those reading this do these three things, here is what I envision would happen:  The next time a piece of legislation comes up, the question is asked by many legislators, “How does this affect the 45 Montessori schools, 5000 students and 10,000+ voting parents in my district?”  That is powerful.

If you find yourself called into action and want to do more than these three things, please email the Ohio Montessori Alliance president, Laureen Golden.

There is not a moment to spare.  Change is going to happen and it is up to us, individually and collectively, to ensure that it changes to our benefit, not detriment.