SCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS, & OPPORTUNITIES

TEACHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS (including Zell Family Scholarships)
 
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIP

AMS TEACHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS

Through the awarding of Teacher Education Scholarships, AMS supports the growth of Montessori teachers of tomorrow. Any aspiring Montessori teacher who has been accepted or is in the process of acceptance by an affiliated AMS teacher education program is eligible to apply for a scholarship. (Applicants currently enrolled in an AMS teacher education program are not eligible.) Applicants are considered on the basis of financial need, a compelling personal statement, three letters of recommendation, and official verification of acceptance into an AMS-affiliated teacher education program. For information and an application for a scholarship for the 2010-2011 year please click here.

AMS 2009 Teacher Education Scholarships
In honor of Marie M. Dugan, the 2009 Living Legacy, AMS awarded $44,750 in teacher education scholarships to aspiring Montessori teachers for the 2009 school year. A total of $110,000 was raised during Marie’s Living Legacy year, thanks in part to a generous matching grant from Eveline and Bob Roberts. We extend the Roberts our deepest thanks. AMS would also like to thank Wilmington Montessori School and the Montessori Teacher Association of Delaware for their generous support, which helped fund the awards for aspiring teachers from Delaware, the home state of Marie.

AMS will place the remainder of the fund in an endowment to ensure the organization’s continued support of emerging Montessori teachers in years to come.

We offer our congratulations to the recipients of the 2009 awards, and wish them success in their studies:

Joanna Breger, (Elementary II), Princeton Center for Teacher Education, Princeton, NJ

Laurie Chisik, (Early Childhood), Adrian Dominican Montessori Teacher Education Institute, Adrian, MI

Jacob Delange, (Elementary I) Center fro Montessori Teacher Education/North Carolina, Holly Springs, NC

Laurien Dusharme, (Elementary I), Montessori Teacher Education Center/San Francisco Bay Area, San Leandro, CA

Jennifer Dyjas, (Early Childhood), Chestnut Hill College Montessori Program, Philadelphia, PA

Samantha Facciolo, (Early Childhood), Institute of Advanced Montessori Studies, Silver Spring, MD

Moriah Flagler, (Secondary I), Houston Montessori Center, Houston, TX

Heidi Larrick, (Early Childhood), Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, Boulder, CO

Manisha Little, (Early Childhood), Montessori Teacher Academy, Dana Point, CA

Charlotte Manross, (Early Childhood), Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, Boulder, CO

Rachel Margherio, (Early Childhood), Center for Montessori Teacher Education/New York, White Plains, NY

Clarissa Robyn, (Early Childhood), New England Montessori Teacher Education Center, Newton, MA

Pamela Sayers, (Early Childhood), Montessori Institute for Teacher Education, Wilmington, DE

Heather Sweeney, (Infant & Toddler), Center for Montessori Teacher Education/New York, White Plains, NY

Amy Stercho, (Early Childhood), Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, Boulder, CO

Holly Ann Tracey, (Early Childhood), Center for Montessori Teacher Education/New York, White Plains, NY

For more information: Connie Murphy, Scholarship Committee Chairperson.

Zell Family Scholarship Foundation
AMS would like to thank Dr. Pamela Zell Rigg of the Zell Family Scholarship Fund for providing two scholarships of $1,000 each to Montessori teachers of tomorrow. This scholarship fund, administered by AMS, was established in 1995 with $20,000 to recognize the importance of Montessori education. Over the next several years, Dr. Rigg will grow the fund to $100,000. Scholarships honor the memory of Dr. Riggs’s late mother, Agnes Kister

Congratulations to the 2009 Zell Family Scholarship recipients:

Clarissa Robyn, (Early Childhood), New England Montessori Teacher Education Center, Newton, MA

Holly Ann Tracey, (Early Childhood), Center for Montessori Teacher Education/New York, White Plains, NY.

 

INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANT PROGRAM

The American Montessori Society International Teacher Education Program is a collaborative project between AMS and the Institute of International Education (IIE). The program sponsors graduates of international colleges and universities, enabling them to pursue coursework to earn Montessori credentials in the United States, while gaining valuable experience as emerging teachers in a Montessori classroom. 

The program is 18 months. It includes both coursework in an AMS-affiliated teacher education program (TEP) and experience in a Montessori classroom. At the conclusion, successful graduates are issued a Montessori credential by AMS.
An international Montessori teacher (IMT) can enrich a school by adding an international component. Students and staff benefit from the contributions of a multifaceted, bilingual staff member, and from learning about a culture through the eyes of a native.

A Montessori school must recruit, interview, and select teachers from other countries to participate in exchange opportunities. Then the international teacher must be accepted into an AMS teacher education program before IIE can offer J-1 visa sponsorship.

All IMTs meet rigorous language proficiency standards and undergo a screening similar to that required of Fulbright scholars. The Institute of International Education can offer J-1 visa sponsorship to IMTs who have been accepted into an AMS teacher education program.

The IIE program accepts applications on a rolling basis. If you are interested in participating, please complete the application and send it to:

Johanna A Marquina, IIE Program Officer 
AMS International Teaching Assistant Program
Institute of International Education
809 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY  10017-3580
For more information:
Johanna A Marquina: 212-984-5404; F: 212.984.5484