    
Photos: www.jerryspeier.com
© 2007
American Montessori Society
|
AMS
2007 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Montessori Education: 100 Years of Innovation and Inspiration
March
1 – 4,
2007
New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square and The Theater at Madison
Square Garden
New York City, New York
Our 2007 Annual Conference was a joyous celebration of Montessori education – as
well as the largest gathering of Montessorians ever! More than 5,000
participants from as far away as Hong Kong, New Zealand, Uruguay, and West
Africa, as well as 48 states, came together in New York City for the event.
Special
thanks to Conference Committee Chair Kathy Roemer, head of Twin
Parks Montessori Schools in New York City, and to the rest of the
2007 Centennial Conference Committee; thank you as well to the
more than 300 dedicated volunteers, whose top-notch support added
to the success of the conference.
Major
conference sponsors were Nienhuis
Montessori USA; Whitby
School, CT; Twin Parks Montessori School, NY; West Side Montessori
School, NY; The Boyd Schools, VA; and Kaybee Montessori.
This year’s Nancy McCormick Rambush Lecture was given by
Dr. Maya Angelou, acclaimed poet, author, actress, and activist.
It was entitled “Courage, the Most Important Virtue.” Dr.
Angelou’s address was followed by a performance
by Sweet Honey in the Rock®, the Grammy Award-winning African
American female a cappella ensemble. Dr. Angelou offered
her poem “A Brave and Startling Truth” to the Montessori
educators in attendance and Sweet Honey in the Rock® dedicated
their new song, “Education
is the Key.”
Other
keynote speakers were Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Honorary
Conference Chair, senior member of the Senate Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee, and founder of the Senate Children’s
Caucus; Jonathan Kozol, educator
and author of books on race, poverty, and education, including
Death at an Early Age and, most recently, The
Shame of the Nation;
and New York University professor and international speaker Marlene
Barron, Ph.D., head of West Side Montessori School in New York
City.
The conference featured numerous topical presentations, workshops,
and networking events, as well as tours of several Montessori schools
and cultural events in the greater New York metropolitan area.
It was also the New York stop of A Montessori
Journey 1907-2007,
a 2000-square-foot traveling exhibit of the history of Montessori
education created by the North American Montessori Teachers' Association
(NAMTA).
Musical entertainment was provided by the Clark Montessori Steel
Band (Clark Montessori High School, Cincinnati, OH), the Zanetti
Chorus (Alfred G. Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield,
MA), and students from Brooklyn Heights Montessori School (Brooklyn,
NY).
To learn more about the conference, click on the “Related Links” below.
Thank you again to all who participated. We look forward to seeing
you at our Fall Conference, Shared
Visons: Celebrating 100 Years
of Innovation and Inspiration in Irvine, California
and at our 2008 Annual Conference in
Washington, DC.
Related Links
From
AMS President Marilyn E. Stewart
From New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
From
Renilde Montessori
Centenary
Montessori Exhibit (NAMTA)
Exhibitors
Featured Speakers
Handouts
Keynote Events
Living Legacy
Merchandise
and Audio/Visual Material
Photographs (New
Photos added 5/1/07)
Pre-conference
Sessions and Tours
Presenters
Press Release
Silent Auction
Workshops
|
