This guidance document is designed to support Intermediate School Districts (ISDs), Early Childhood Specialists (ECS), Early Childhood Consultants (ECCs), and GSRP providers as they work collaboratively to implement Montessori programs within the existing GSRP framework. It provides an overview of the Montessori approach, addresses areas of similarity and differences between Montessori and the traditional GSRP model, and makes suggestions about how to best collaborate between an ISD and potential Montessori partners. Resources are provided at the end of the document.
Introduction to Montessori
Authentic Montessori Primary/Early Childhood programs are founded on the human development theories of Dr. Maria Montessori who used scientific observation to identify the needs and tendencies of the 3–6-year-old child and designed learning environments to meet those needs for movement, exploration, repetition, order, physical independence, and social and emotional security.
Benefits of these prepared environments include growth toward independence, self-direction/executive function skills, and concentration. Children are introduced to specially designed materials, and with repetition and practice with the materials, they discover concepts in language, mathematics, science, practical life exercises, and refinement of the senses.
Respect, freedom with responsibility, and peaceful conflict resolution are integral to this process. Adults are mindful of being models of the behaviors we foster in children. Freedom to move about the classroom and choose materials is balanced by the responsibility to abide by classroom expectations of courtesy and respect of others. Conflicts are resolved by teaching how to talk through what is needed and desired by the children involved in the conflict.
Montessori programs may be for-profit or non-profit organizations or be a part of a public school system.
The Prepared Environment is considered one of three points of success of the process: the prepared environment, the child, the adult. The adult meticulously prepares the environment. There is an order and flow of placement on shelves in each of the main areas: language, mathematics, cultural studies, sensorial materials, and practical life exercises. All materials must be complete with every item the child needs to complete the work.
Materials are strategically selected. The adult demonstrates how to use a material, then invites the child to use it. Through repetitive use over time, the child discovers the concept within the work. Eventually, the child internalizes the concept and no longer needs the material. The adult introduces the next material in the curriculum.
Below is a basic overview of how the Montessori curriculum is implemented through Areas of the Classroom:
Practical Life: Provides exercises in everyday living to help develop independence, concentration, coordination, and order.
Sensorial: Is designed to engage and refine the child's senses through specially designed materials. These activities help children develop discrimination of size, shape, color, texture, sound, and smell, laying a foundation for more abstract concepts like math and language.
Math: Supports the development of the mathematical mind, spatial awareness and a sense of number. Through concrete representations of abstract ideas moving from simple to complex, children derive a strong sense of the base ten number system, geometry, patterns and basic operations.
Language: promotes the acquisition of the five foundations of reading as well as writing: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension activities all help to develop skills needed for writing and reading. Montessori prioritizes a phonetic approach to reading and is in sync with the Science of Reading.
Culture and Geography: Provides opportunities for children to explore the world around them, including geography, history, science, and art. The Peace Curriculum is implemented throughout the classroom but may have formal activities within the culture area.
Montessori designs the day with an uninterrupted work period of up to 3 hours in the morning and a 2.5-hour work period in the afternoon. These cycles include their Montessori lessons, snacks and rest times. The midday transitions typically include a circle/group time, lunch and access to outdoors. Planning, recall and small groups are seamlessly integrated into a Montessori setting. This often includes the Lead Guide and Classroom Adults greeting each child and inquiring how they will start their day. On-the-spot lessons and recall as well as frequent check-ins and acknowledging work of each child is part of the Montessori classroom culture.
All GSRP classrooms are required to implement one of the approved curricula, working toward fidelity; Montessori is an approved curriculum. The Montessori curriculum is developed and supported by trained classroom staff following the Montessori philosophy. Montessori education is not trademarked, and not all schools are accredited or adhere to essential tenets of the philosophy. This dynamic leads to many settings claiming to be Montessori without considering the standards used to define the fidelity of the implementation of Montessori.
Essential elements of a Montessori classroom include trained staff, mixed ages, a full complement of Montessori materials in a Prepared Environment and on-going professional development in Montessori. For ISDs unfamiliar with the approach, these essential elements can help determine whether a program is implementing the approach or is Montessori-inspired. A recommended classroom observation checklist is included in the resources and may also help ISDs with this determination. While some of the elements may be in process, GSRP does require that all teaching team members be trained in or receive training in the curriculum model being implemented.
When working with any new program, especially a program implementing a curriculum or approach that the ECS is unfamiliar with, it is important to begin the partnership with a growth mindset. An approach based on curiosity with the goal of partnership will help to prevent defensiveness and model that approach for the program learning how to implement GSRP.
The role of the assigned Early Childhood Specialist (ECS) will be key to the success of the partnership. Traditionally, GSRP ECS have had training and in-depth knowledge of the curriculum that assigned classrooms were using. With continued expansion, many ECS may find they are providing support and coaching to classrooms using a curriculum or approach for which the assigned ECS does not have specific training or experience. In this case, it is helpful to reflect on the underlying purpose of the ECS role in GSRP.
From the ECS section of the Implementation Manual:
The ECS “is the educational leader and catalyst for continuous quality improvement for each Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) classroom. Through observation and feedback, the ECS supports teaching teams and site administrators to provide high-quality PreK with fidelity to the GSRP model. The ECS confidently advocates for children, families and teachers to ensure appropriate decisions are made about the program.”
While programs are expected to maintain fidelity to their curriculum, and the ECS may be a key support towards that goal, oversight of specific curriculum implementation is not necessarily the main driver of this work. Instead of relying on the curriculum requirements when observing the classroom and setting goals, the ECS supporting a Montessori classroom may consider beginning with the Key Elements of High-Quality Early Childhood Learning Environments: Preschool, a companion document to the Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Birth to Kindergarten.
The ISD and Montessori program will need to work together to identify where the program’s practices align with and deviate from the GSRP requirements. It is likely that discussing underlying values of supporting and respecting children and families through high quality programming will provide a basis from which to approach some of the following program aspects that may need attention.
ISDs are required to ensure that all GSRP requirements are met and yet, are encouraged to consider the underlying purpose of the requirements and be flexible in how they may be accomplished. If an ISD and a Montessori program are unable to come to an agreement on an aspect of GSRP, the ISD should reach out to their assigned GSRP Consultant at MiLEAP.
Montessori programs, like many new GSRP programs, may not traditionally provide home visits to the enrolled children at exact intervals of age or timing. GSRP requires a total of four parent contacts per year. The Family Partnership section of the Implementation Manual provides rationale and recommendations for home visits. All programs are encouraged to offer home visits to all families as the connection formed by being in the family’s home is invaluable. Program staff that have not previously conducted home visits will need training and will also benefit from shadowing an experienced early learning educator through one or more home visits.
One element of Montessori is a belief in the benefit of enrolling children of different ages (3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) in a single classroom, although this is not always the case. While GSRP funds can never support a child who is not age-eligible for GSRP, multiage classrooms are allowable, see the Recruitment and Enrollment section for more information. The Budget section describes how funding may be braided in classrooms also enrolling children not enrolled in GSRP.
When a Montessori program operates multiage classrooms, they often enroll more than 20 children per classroom which allows for a sufficient number of children of each age. This is a philosophical tenet of Montessori. GSRP limits class size to 20 children. However, in a program strictly adhering to the Montessori principles, MiLEAP may be contacted to determine if an exception is allowable on a case-by-case basis.
GSRP requires all classrooms to be evaluated on a cyclical basis with one of two approved observation tools: CLASS or Classroom Coach. These evaluations are completed by certified raters and serve multiple purposes including allowing programs to advance their rating within the Great Start Quality system and providing data for state-wide GSRP evaluation. An important benefit of the completion of an objective tool is to provide a framework for considering classroom practices and interactions. This provides a basis for dialogue among the ECS and classroom teaching teams. It is important for raters of Montessori classrooms to understand that there may be multiple ways for a classroom to demonstrate certain criteria being measured by the observation tool. Additionally, there may be certain aspects of the observation tool that are not as evident compared to other curricula, but the rater should consider that the program may still be meeting the underlying purpose of the item. In-depth dialogue around the tool, individual items, and how they align with the Montessori philosophy will help to dispel any stress and avoid conflicts around expectations.
GSRP requires each child to be screened through an approved developmental screening tool. For any program new to GSRP, the ISD should support the choice, training, and provision of one of the screening tools. In some areas, developmental screening is a community activity and programs may only have to ensure that each child has participated in the screening within certain timelines.
Each child must also be assessed through the use of an approved ongoing, authentic child assessment tool. The Montessori philosophy embeds the teaching staff’s knowledge of each child’s developmental progress into the everyday curriculum using observation, authentic assessment and the child’s work as evidence. The ISD and program should work together to determine the best tool for the program to adopt considering that the use of the tool may look slightly different in a Montessori program. Teaching staff may use very traditional strategies such as anecdotal note taking and work samples to complete the assessment. It is important to balance the basic GSRP requirement with the program’s philosophy to ensure the requirement is met while the Montessori philosophy is not negatively impacted.
ISDs should work with the program to examine current staff credentials.
A lead teacher in a Montessori classroom must be qualified to teach in GSRP and be trained in Montessori. A bachelor’s degree in any subject and completed training through a Montessori certification program affiliated with the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE), the Association Montessori International (AMI), or the American Montessori Society (AMS) qualifies the lead teacher in this setting.
An associate teacher in a GSRP classroom must have or be able to attain a Child Development Associate (CDA) or an associate’s degree as described in the GSRP Implementation Manual. There are training opportunities for associate/assistant teachers in Montessori classrooms offered through AMI or AMI training centers. Through this coursework, staff will gain an overview of the developmental characteristics and needs of children aged 3-6 years and key aspects of the Montessori approach. There is an additional requirement of 9 observation hours.
ISDs should support any program to consider current staff credentials and professional learning to determine whether they currently meet GSRP requirements or if they need further training. If a staff member has completed Montessori training for assistant teachers, that training may count toward the required training hours for a CDA.
When creating ISD-wide professional learning, consider topics that are relevant for all and how Montessori can utilize and add to a robust conversation. If the ISD regularly requires all teaching staff to attend certain training sessions, it is especially important to ensure that the content is relevant and useful in a Montessori setting.
As with any new program, it is important to consider program policies and practices and how they work with GSRP and ECSE requirements. Conversations should address how the program identifies and supports children who do or may require special education, what the ISD requires of GSRP programs, and how children with Individualized Education Plans placed within the Montessori program will receive special education services.
Montessori Essentials
https://montessoriadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/MontessoriEssentials.pdf
Montessori Classroom Checklist
Environment Checklist
Montessori Planes of Development
https://amshq.org/blog/montessori-education/2024-09-18-planes-of-development-and-sensitive-periods-part-1/
Montessori Classroom Environment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YQqPoqux4Y
Montessori Professional Learning Entities
https://www.macte.org/about/
https://montessori-ami.org/training-programmes
https://amshq.org/educators/become-a-montessori-educator/
Early Childhood Quality
Key Elements of High Quality Early Childhood Learning Environments: Preschool
Michigan Early Childhood Standards of Quality
