Giving Thanks
BY CAROLYN PINKERTON, PH.D.
Director of Communication and State Relations
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education
The season of giving thanks is upon us and at MACTE, we
have much to be grateful for. First and foremost, we are grateful
for our Montessori teacher education programs (TEPs) and their
continued dedication to preparing future Montessori teachers. We
are also grateful for the health and well-being of our staff. And
while we experience technology frustrations from time to time,
we deeply appreciate that technology has allowed us to work
effectively from our homes, for Montessori TEP classes to remain
in session, for field supervisors to safely observe adult learners
in children’s classrooms, and for people to remain connected and
communicating with one another.
Thanks to the internet, we have been able to continue participating
in conferences where we share the importance of accreditation,
grow professionally, and spend time with dear colleagues.
While we will not be holding the annual MACTE Symposium this
December, we are looking forward to the possibility of an April
event. In the meantime, MACTE will continue to conduct webinars
about the accreditation process and we plan to host a virtual open
forum to provide policy updates and answer questions. (Please
check the MACTE website and follow our Facebook page for
dates and details.)
The option to teach online has permitted programs to remain
open and dedicated to working with future Montessori teachers.
At this time, we have reviewed and approved over twenty accredited
TEPs for temporarily providing online instruction. A number
of these programs have shared they plan on making online teaching
a permanent part of their program after receiving strong positive
feedback from their adult learners. MACTE knows creating an
effective and engaging online education takes an incredible
amount of thoughtful work, and we are incredibly grateful to the
program directors and staff who have poured countless hours into
doing so.
Finally, while travel has drastically slowed down, MACTE has
been able to continue conducting onsite verification visits, one
of the final steps in the accreditation process, because of the
power of technology. Verifier volunteers are still able to collect the
necessary evidence (through interviews, review of materials, tours
of sites) that the programs are meeting MACTE’s Qualifying Principles
via these virtual visits. Program directors are continuing to
find onsite visits to be a positive experience. Dr. Leslie Lasseville,
program director of Barry University Montessori Teacher Education
Program, recently completed a virtual onsite verification visit
for her program’s Secondary I and II levels. Dr. Lasseville shared
her feedback regarding the virtual visit experience:
©MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | VOLUME 22 ISSUE 4 • 2020
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