AMS LIVING LEGACY HONOREES 1993 – PRESENT

The American Montessori Society Living Legacy is an honor created by the AMS Scholarship Committee to recognize individuals whose exemplary achievements have had significant impact within the Montessori community. Donations to the AMS Living Legacy Scholarship Fund support future teachers in AMS teacher education programs.

The following reflections about Dr. Betsy Coe were written by Amy Henderson, Head of School, Montessori Children's House, Fort Worth, TX

This year’s Living Legacy paints on a canvas of life.  Dr. Betsy Coe has been in the spotlight of Montessori education for over thirty years, she is an internationally known and respected Montessorian who has made significant contributions to education, Montessori teacher education, research, and peace education.  Betsy is the principal of the Middle School and High School at School of the Woods in Houston.  She has been a pioneer in helping school all over the world to develop middle and high schools using Montessori’s vision.

She created the first AMS secondary education course while serving as the executive director of the Houston Montessori Center, a large teacher education center that hosts about 100 students each year.  It draws people from all over the world that study the implementation of the Montessori approach in early childhood, elementary, secondary or at the leadership level.  She has an AMS credential in all four of these levels.  Graduates from HMC had a common theme at last year’s reunion held during the AMS conference in Houston, the inspiration initiated by Betsy Coe. 

Betsy has served on the AMS Board of Directors for twenty years (this is longer than anyone else in the history of AMS), served as president of AMS, Chair of the Teacher Education Committee, given numerous presentations at conferences, chaired three AMS conferences, given keynote addresses, hosted touring symposiums, presented touring symposiums, held peace retreats, written articles for Montessori Life magazine, M Magazine, the NAMTA Journal, and has a chapter in the book, Montessori in  Contemporary American Culture.  She is still continuing her gifts with serving on various committees and task forces for AMS. 

Betsy has demonstrated the art of promoting unity and professionalism among Montessorians and Montessori organizations through her listening and mediation skills.  She has given countless hours of dedication to build quality Montessori education worldwide.  Serving as a Montessori ambassador, she has given talks in several countries including China, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, South Korea, Chile, Mexico, Canada, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.  She has also presented at the Hague Appeal for Peace and the United Nations.

Betsy does more than give words, she lives her beliefs. For instance, she organized Montessori schools across the United States to donate surplus materials for schools affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Betsy asked and received thousands of personal care kits from all over the US for victims and collected thousands of boxes of Montessori materials to help the schools demolished by this disaster, enough boxes to fill three classrooms in boxes stacked four feet high.  Then, when an earthquake occurred in Pakistan she was responsible for sending D cartons filled with personal care kits to also help those devastated by the disaster.

Hopefully, for those of you that don’t know Betsy, I’ve given you hints of her many contributions.  She is a Montessori teacher, a teacher of teachers, a teacher of teachers of teachers (in other words, she is a leader of teacher educators), mother of two Montessori adults who are both practicing Montessori teachers, and, most gloriously, a Montessori grandmother of four Montessori children.  Beyond her many accomplishments, Betsy is kind, compassionate, insightful person, and an inspiration to all of us.

For more information, contact Kristine Cooper.