2026-2027
Community Webinars
Free for AMI/USA Members | $20 for Non-Members
AUGUST 2026
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Montessori Speaker, Coach, and Teacher Educator | Faculty, Institute for Educational Studies | Founder, ClassrooMechanics
Tammy Oesting, M.Ed. is a self-proclaimed practitioner of awe and wonder who spent nine years as a nomadic educator traveling the world before landing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. With 30+ years in Montessori education, she coaches educators globally, teaches in graduate programs, and speaks about the intersections revealed in her research where systems thinking, neuroscience, social justice, and the magnificence of the universe all turn out to be the same conversation. Much of her current work lives at The Institute for Educational Studies, where she serves on the graduate faculty and is helping carry forward the essence of Montessori's vision, including the creation and delivery of TIES' short course on Syntropy, the cosmological framework Dr. Montessori was exploring at the end of her life. Tammy writes regularly on Substack and LinkedIn in addition to her published work in the field, and she cultivates content creators for Trillium Montessori. A founding member of Montessori Everywhere and recipient of the 2021 AMS Community Service Award, she holds AMS credentials in Early Childhood and Elementary education. When she's not writing, speaking, or helping educators see the bigger picture, she's probably gobsmacked by something ordinary that turned out to be extraordinary. -
In the last several decades, the role of emotions in learning has made a significant impact on understanding the science of learning, salient for the Montessori guide. This exploratory study into the transcendent effects of awe and wonder in Montessori teacher education reveals how lifelong learning might be ignited by reflective awareness of awe-related states and transfer into the classroom setting promoting a sense of interconnectivity and interdependence. Her research findings have the potential to expand Montessori practices to transcend mechanical application and create a collective liberatory and ecological consciousness, furthering the mission of Montessori communities. With fidelity to Montessori, the science of learning, cosmic tendencies, and an appreciation for an indigenous worldview, this workshop weaves a case for analyzing the systems of adult education that promote spiritual transformation and preparedness to become a vitally responsive Montessori practitioner.
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Kate Broughton is a Montessori educator, fine artist, and author with over forty years of experience across the United Kingdom and the United States. She holds AMS Elementary I & II and Administrator credentials and an M.Ed. in Montessori Integrative Learning from TIES/Endicott College. She co-founded Kingwood Montessori School in 2007 and was an award-winning member of the inaugural AMS Innovation Fellowship Think Tank (2023-2026). She is the author of Mapping Montessori Materials for AI Competency Development (2025 American Book Fest Awards Finalist), writes the Substack After Alpha, and serves as an advisor to the ZSchool Strategic AI Program at the University of San Francisco. Here is the link to my website and books: https://www.katebroughton.com/books
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This webinar draws directly from a framework that maps artificial intelligence competency development onto Montessori's four planes of development, plane by plane and material by material. The argument is simple: Montessori has already prepared educators and children for the age of AI. There is nothing to change, nowhere to go, only a deeper understanding to uncover. Artificial Intelligence is not arriving in Montessori schools, it has already arrived.
This session will guide participants from the current world—the physical reality of AI infrastructure—toward the Montessori response. Using Mapping Montessori Materials for AI Competency Development, Kate Broughton examines each plane of development and demonstrates how AI competency is comprehensively and inherently built into the Montessori approach: from the 0–3 child collecting sensory data with every encounter, to the 3–6 child sequencing, classifying, and attending, to the 6–12 child reasoning, creating algorithms, and considering ethics, to the 12–18 student prepared to interrogate AI's design, cost, and consequences.
SEPTEMBER 2026
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BethAnn Slater is the Head of School and has been the Primary Directress at Middleburg Montessori in Virginia, USA, since 2003. BethAnn earned her AMI diploma at the primary level in Cleveland, OH, a B.S. in Family and Child Development from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a M.Ed. in Education from Loyola University, Maryland. BethAnn has taught in the Montessori Primary classroom and the public sector for many years. She is an AMI Trainer at the 3-6 Level, currently serving as the Director of Training on diploma and certificate courses in Dallas, TX, and South Africa. She has conducted workshops for school leadership, supporting assistants in the classroom, fostering play in children, and monthly parent discussion groups. BethAnn feels grateful to have had the opportunity to experience Montessori education in her early school years, provide Montessori education for her children, and continue sharing her enthusiasm for Montessori education with adults.
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Carmen Arenas is the founder, Head of School, and Primary Guide at Montessori School of South Riding in Aldie, Virginia, an AMI-accredited school she established in 2004. With more than 35 years of experience in Montessori education, she has dedicated her professional life to creating nurturing, authentic Montessori environments rooted in respect for the child, community, and joyful learning. Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Carmen studied Early Childhood Education at Universidad Educares in Santiago before completing her AMI Primary training at the Washington Montessori Institute. She began her Montessori career as an assistant and later served for over a decade. For more than two decades, Carmen has led her own school while remaining actively engaged in Montessori education and community service. Known for her warmth, authenticity, and deep respect for children, Carmen brings both extensive professional experience and lived Montessori practice to her work with families, educators, and the wider Montessori community.
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Pending
OCTOBER 2026
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Trisha Thompson-Willingham began her Montessori Journey in Canada in 1992. Thirty-four years later, she has the perspective of a parent, guide, coach, administrator, consultant, and independent school board member. She has worked as a reading specialist and a special educator. Trisha holds a Master of Education, is trained in Montessori at three levels: 0-3, 3-6, and 6-12, and has been oriented to adolescence. She co-founded and led the Virginia Montessori Association for eight years and served on the Montessori Public Policy Initiative’s Board of Directors, whose mission is to increase access to Montessori Education in the United States. Her latest collaboration made her an author! Implementing the Montessori Method – Learner-centered Education from Birth through Adolescence brings much of Trisha’s experience and knowledge into print.
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Dr. Susan Zoll is a passionate educator, researcher, and Montessori advocate dedicated to helping children flourish and realize their full human potential. As a trained Montessori educator, she has guided young learners, trained teachers in the Montessori Language curriculum, served as Head of School and as a Board of Trustee member. With a rich career spanning higher education and leadership on federally funded literacy initiatives, she has also championed innovative tools designed to share individualized literacy outcomes with teachers and families—which earned national recognition. Her research spans historical studies of early Montessori adopters, the creation of a Montessori logic model for educational research, and best practices in coaching educators. Dr. Zoll is the co-author of three celebrated books: Implementing the Montessori Method: Learner-Centered Education from Birth through Adolescence (2026), Effective Literacy Assessment in the Montessori Classroom: Using Data to Inform Instruction (2025), and Powerful Literacy in the Montessori Classroom: Aligning Reading Research and Practice (2023). Her contributions to Montessori research and education have been recognized by the American Montessori Society’s Impact Award and she invites educators, parents, and caregivers to embrace a vision of education as a holistic, joyful, and deeply human endeavor.
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Trisha and Susan will engage participants in an overview of their book, Implementing the Montessori Method - Learner-Centered Education from Birth through Adolescence (2026). Highlighting the work of Dr. Maria Montessori, they’ll offer complementary theorists, Uri Bronfenbrenner and Angela Duckworth - along with connections to big-picture ideas of community, systems design, and specific considerations of Montessori in the development of character within the child.
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Michelle Becka received her AMI Primary Montessori Diploma from Montessori Northwest in Portland, Oregon in 1997, and her MEd from Loyola University in the same year. After working in a Primary Montessori classroom for 17 years, she entered the AMI Training of Trainers Program and obtained full trainer status in 2017. Michelle has worked with adult learners in the USA, India, France and Taiwan. She values and enjoys co-creating opportunities for their growth and development on their Montessori journeys. She currently works at Bezos Academy as the Senior Montessori Instructor, continuing to train adults and support them in their Montessori teaching practice. Aside from loving Montessori, she enjoys practicing yoga, bike riding, reading books, and playing in her garden and her art studio.
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This webinar explores the principles of Compassionate Communication as a tool for fostering connection, clarity, and mutual respect. Participants will investigate how to listen with presence, recognize underlying feelings and needs, and express themselves with honesty and compassion—with children and adults. Through practical examples and guided scenario practice in breakout rooms, we’ll apply these skills to real classroom moments, including helping children resolve conflicts. Grounded in Montessori values, this session supports more peaceful, effective communication that honors the dignity of every human.
NOVEMBER 2026
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Originally from Taiwan, Teng-Chien Yu began his career as a counselor in the military service and later a community social worker at a local orphanage. This early experience in social services preceded his transition into English education, which ultimately introduced him to the Montessori method. His time teaching English at Montessori schools in Taipei provided a fresh and transformative perspective on education.
While teaching in Taipei, Teng-Chien received a sponsorship from Ms. Lam of Taipei Montessori School to pursue further specialized training. He earned his Assistant to Infancy Diploma under Judi Orion in Denver, Colorado, and his Primary Diploma with Joen Bettmann in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the course of 16 years, he has served children in various capacities, including as a guide, pedagogy director, consultant, and Montessori course translator.
In 2019, Teng-Chien reached a professional milestone by becoming an Association of Montessori International (AMI) Primary Trainer. He currently collaborates with training centers worldwide, including locations in the US, Canada, Taiwan, Czech Republic, and Thailand. Reflecting his roots in social work, he also remains active in various community-focused projects.
Beyond his professional work, Teng-Chien is deeply passionate about the culinary arts, viewing food as a primary gateway to understanding diverse global cultures. He holds a strong conviction that cooking and sharing stories over a meal is the most effective way to connect with others and honor their heritages.
Teng-Chien is a firm believer that his role as a trainer is about more than education; it is a means to support others on their personal and professional transformational journeys within the Montessori community.
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Additional details to come
DECEMBER 2026
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Catherine Nehring Massie, M.A.T. Elementary & Special Education, AMI Montessori Elementary Diploma, Montessori Therapy Diploma
Catherine studied Montessori Education in Bergamo, Italy, 2005-2006 and 2010-1011 at CISM; in Dallas, TX, in 2011 at AMI Educateurs Sans Frontieres (ESF); in Evanston, IL, in 2018 at AMI/NAMTA Adolescent Orientation; and in Munich, Germany, 2023-2025, earning her Montessori Therapy Diploma. Catherine is Co-Founder/Director of Montessori Medical Partnership for Inclusion (MMPI), since 2018, an international advocacy and resource organization to support Inclusion in Montessori education.
Catherine also works as a Montessori Special Educator providing individual academic interventions in reading, writing and mathematics. In Frederick, Maryland, she was a founder of two Montessori Public Charter Schools and has experience as Administrator at a private Montessori School. Catherine loves networking and collaborating internationally to advocate for more inclusive Montessori programs.
Catherine lives with her husband and 94-year-old mother in Woodsboro, MD. She enjoys running, traveling, nature and spending time with her 4 grown children and 6 lively grandchildren!
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Erin Lopez-Brooks is a lifelong advocate for educational inclusion. She is a neurodivergent AMI trained guide and elementary state-certified special education teacher that is currently enrolled in a blended Primary training at the Montessori Institute of North Texas. Erin is also a graduate of several Montessori educational inclusion courses, including the most recent Montessori Therapy training course in Munich, Germany, and studies the science of the prepared environment in the field of human behavior science. As a long-term Human Rights and Social Justice (HRSJ) Advisory Council member, she contributed extensively to the research and penning of the 2024 AMI/USA Position Statement on Educational Inclusion and Educational Equity. Erin is also a long-time yoga practitioner currently working on a 500-hour certification.
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Children are empowered by adults that are empowered to view them in their best light and be fully committed to honor their human rights. Prepared adults are those that understand tried and true teaching strategies that are based on Montessori pedagogical approaches and are skilled at operationalizing educational inclusion theory to meet the needs of neurodivergent children. To strengthen awareness and knowledge, Erin will guide participants through experiential exercises and case studies infused with diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and accessibility principles. She will summarize the most frequently encountered types of neurodivergence in learning communities, outline why and how our Montessori classrooms are the best environments to support neurodivergent learners, and offer best practices supported by evidenced based models and frameworks that align with the Montessori method. Finally she will share how to create sensory-informed environments, employ trauma-sensitive approaches, and develop collaborative partnerships with families.
JANUARY 2027
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Kelly Jarrell is an educator and leader with more than two decades of experience in Montessori education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, a Master of Social Work (MSW), a NAMC diploma in Primary Montessori Education, and an AMI Elementary diploma. Her Montessori journey began as a child in a Montessori Children's House and later came full circle as a parent, leading her into a lifelong career in Montessori education.
Kelly has served as the founding director of Rio Blanco Montessori, founding administrator of the elementary program at Cedars Montessori School, and, since 2008, in a variety of roles at
Austin Montessori School, including elementary guide, enrichment program developer, campus coordinator, and Movement and Sports Coordinator. In 2023, she launched the Joy in Motion program, integrating movement and sports with Montessori principles after completing the AMI
Montessori Sports course. She also serves on the Montessori Sports International team of coordinators.
Kelly joined the AMI/USA Board of Trustees in 2024 and currently serves as President, where she is dedicated to advancing authentic Montessori education across the United States.
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Stephanie Pullman brings over 30 years of Montessori experience, having served in nearly every role within a school community, including Head of School at Xplor Montessori. AMI-trained at the 6–12 level, she is the founder of Montessori Tennis programs in Southern California, where she integrates independence, concentration, and purposeful movement into sport. Her work demonstrates how individual sports can align deeply with Montessori principles while fostering confidence and joy.
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Join Montessori educators Kelly Jarrell and Stephanie Pullman for a conversation designed for Guides and school leaders who have wrestled with an important question: Can sports and Montessori truly belong together? Many Montessori educators experience a disconnect between their training, traditional ideas about competition, and the practical realities of supporting children's gross motor development and meeting physical education expectations. This session explores how Montessori Sports provides a framework for integrating sports into Montessori environments while remaining true to Montessori philosophy. You'll learn how professional development, school mentoring, and community events are helping educators build sports programs that support children, families, and school communities. Whether you're exploring sports for the first time, strengthening an existing program, or responding to families seeking more movement opportunities, you'll leave with a fresh perspective, practical ideas, and a roadmap for creating sports experiences that honor the unique characteristics of the child in each plane of development.
MARCH 2027
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Liza Davis attended Montessori as child and has worked in Montessori education for over 25 years as a assistant, guide, head of school, trainer, and leader. Since joining the Montessori Center of Minnesota in 2009, she has supported the growth of Cornerstone Montessori School and Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School, guided adult learners in AMI diploma and orientation courses, and helped expand access to high-quality Montessori through outreach, mentoring, and innovative course design. Her recent work has centered on trauma-sensitive practices in Montessori, reflecting an understanding of scientific research that proves the power of prepared environments to support healing and resilience. As Executive Director, she leads MCM’s efforts to broaden access to Montessori while stewarding its legacy of training, partnership, and community impact. Liza has a bachelor's degree in Art History and American Racial and Multicultural Studies, a master's degree in trauma and resilience in educational settings, an AMI 3-6 Diploma, an AMI Core Principles certificate, and an AMI Montessori for Aging and Dementia certificate.
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Pending
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