AMI/USA School Recognition

School Recognition

AMI School Recognition: What it is ... What it isn't

The AMI school recognition program was initiated in the United States for the benefit of parents by providing a measure of whether schools are following Dr. Montessori's principles and practices in their original integrity and completeness. A set of pedagogical standards was developed by AMI for this purpose. It us upon these standards that AMI recognition is granted annually.

The standards are as follows:

To be eligible for an AMI Certificate of Recognition, a school is expected to have:

	One teacher only holding an AMI diploma (for the appropriate age level) for each class
	Children of mixed age levels (3-6, 6-9, 9-12)
	A complete set of AMI approved materials for each classroom from a manufacturer of approved materials
	A philosophical approach consistent with what is given in AMI training courses

Further,

	Applications must be made annually, and certificates are valid only for the current school year
	All points on the application must be answered fully to be considered and answers should refer to the situation in the month of September
	Schools should abide by all local, state, and federal ordinances, statutes, rules, and regulations

A school visit by a trained consultant is a part of the recognition process. The purpose of the consultation is to assess the schools' compliance with AMI pedagogical standards and assist the school and its teachers in achieving Montessori education. The consultant observes the classes and other relevant aspects of the school. Individual meetings are held at the time of the visit. A written school report and individual teachers' reports follow. Recommendations are discussed and documented indicating what needs to be done for a school to come into full compliance with standards. AMI-recognized schools must have an AMI-sanctioned consultation at least every three years. As needed, revisits are scheduled for the following year to assure implementation of the recommendations.

Like any review process, AMI school recognition does not guarantee the quality of the school. Rather, AMI hopes to provide a general indication that the school meets the objectives that the recognition standards are designed to reflect. Moreover, AMI school recognition concerns only pedagogical matters. Thus, there are many aspects of a school's operation that it does not attempt to assess. For example, administrative and business policies do not fall within the purview of AMI school recognition. AMI has neither the resources nor the expertise to review or conduct investigations in such areas. Of course, there may be some overlap between pedagogical and other matters (such as how children are treated). For example, if child abuse or similar conduct that clearly violate Montessori principles is reported, AMI may communicate with parents and schools regarding the situation in a general way, stating that corporal punishment is not congruent with Montessori principles, even though it is not equipped to investigate and resolve the specific complaint. AMI also does routinely report and discuss complaints from parents with the school officials. The complaint is then filed with the school's permanent records. However, in general, non-pedagogical matters, or aspects of problems that go beyond the pedagogical, are outside AMI's province, and parents should seek redress of concerns that they may have on such subjects elsewhere (such as with the school or local public or private agencies).

In short, AMI School Recognition is of pedagogical nature only, and it attempts to confirm a staunch support of Montessori principles faithfully put into practice. AMI reserves the right to refuse recognition, or revoke it, whenever the activities of a school are found to be inconsistent with AMI's aims.