BRETTA WEISS WOLF
Educator, Administrator, Director, Consultant
Bretta’s journey into Montessori began in 1963, when she became co-founder
(and later, head) of the Montessori School of Westchester in Larchmont, NY.
In 1972 she co-founded the Hudson Country Montessori School in New Rochelle,
NY, where she also served as head of school. By 1976, Bretta was assistant to
the national director of AMS – and two years later she became national
director!
During her 14 years of AMS leadership, Bretta contributed to the growth of Montessori education in many ways. Under her tenure, the number of AMS-affiliated schools doubled; the pool of AMS-certified teachers more than tripled; and parent membership in the Society quadrupled. Her vision, planning, and support helped pave the way for the birth of the AMS Touring Symposium and the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE), the first international accreditation agency for teacher education.
Other highlights of Bretta’s career include her roles as president of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) in Washington, DC (1989-91); co-leader of the Montessori delegation to China (1990); Montessori faculty leader to the China - US Conference (1991); and leader of the Montessori Delegation for the Citizens Ambassador Program to Poland, Russia, and Hungary (1992). All the while she contributed to professional publications, gave countless presentations, and served on numerous AMS committees.
Since relocating to New Mexico, Bretta has continued to support AMS through the AMS Accreditation Commission; school consultations; the AMS Archives Committee, editing and writing for Montessori Life magazine, and giving presentations at national conferences. She revised her 1981 AMS School Management Guide in 1998, and has served on the faculty at the Course for Montessori School Management at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education / New York (CMTE/NY) since 1992.
Individuals who worked with Bretta at AMS remember her for her wit, tact, diplomacy, professionalism, gift for leadership, warmth, responsiveness, calmness, and charisma (Montessori Life, Spring 1992). In recognizing Bretta as a Living Legacy, it is understood that, through her, Maria Montessori’s vision of Montessori education for all children, is still alive.
