Our Commitments
Land Acknowledgment
In recognition of our existence on Indigenous land, Loyola University Maryland’s Center for Montessori Education shows honor and respect to the Piscataway Confederacies, Mattawomans, Chapitocs, Portobbacos, Nanjemoys peoples, who are among the original stewards of the land we occupy. With the Piscataway confederacies, the Mattawomans, the Chapitocs, the Portobbacos, the Nanjemoys, and the Anacostans have continued to live and thrive for over 13,000 years. Tribal nations celebrate the waters and soils, now impoverished by our industrial systems, which used to be fertile and untouched. In 2012, after roughly 212 years of work towards formal recognition, Governor Martin O'Malley granted the executive order of "State Recognition to the Piscataway Conoy Tribe.” We recognize as a community that there is still work to be done. As a Jesuit Catholic institution, we are called by our values to engage in active discernment about our institution and the Catholic Church's role in the oppression, exclusion, and erasure of Indigenous nations. Loyola University Maryland and Loyola’s Center for Montessori Education commit to calling out continued systemic injustice, repairing institutional harms, and renewing our commitment to working in solidarity to heal this land.
Mission
The Center for Montessori Education is committed to empowering Montessori practitioners across the globe. Our center stands behind Maria Montessori’s belief that the child is the center of our work. The child will bring about change through respect and belief in their ability to become active members of society.
Vision
The vision of the Center for Montessori Education is to mobilize professionals in the Montessori sector to analyze, synthesize and recognize their impact in the field of Montessori education. Through unique programming, stakeholders contribute to our program with a diversified understanding of educational perspectives, effective tools to amplify equitable solid communities, and a grounded understanding of the opportunities in research to support educational change.
Montessori Graduate Program Objectives
- Develop inclusive and equitable strategies to apply in Montessori environments.
- Examine literature about educational methods from diverse perspectives to analyze the Montessori philosophy.
- Inform and improve practices to enhance the Montessori method.
- Develop collaborative strategies to involve community stakeholder groups.
- Reflect on strengths and areas of improvement as a Montessori professional.
Program Aims
Inclusive practices engage students in a strategic approach to instruction that recognizes and encourages opportunities for all students, regardless of race, class, gender, status, ethnic background, or culture, to meet their potential. You can measure this value of our program by implementing inclusive and equitable strategies throughout our community of work and research.
Diverse perspectives use multiple, intersecting viewpoints of individuals and groups to reframe the narrative in education to promote positive student outcomes and strengthen systematic belief in developmental education methods. You can measure this practice by the observation of implementing strong syllabi and coursework that includes the perspectives of individuals from diverse backgrounds and educational perspectives to strengthen student success.
Educational change happens in this program through transformational coursework and community building, investigating methods and viewpoints to engage in academic conversation to support equitable outcomes for all students, families, and communities. Our measure of success comes through the research and systematic change in educational reform and policy, beginning in our Montessori schools up to our local, state, and federal guidelines.