The International Montessori Council

The state of Maryland recently started requiring all Montessori programs in the state to be “validated” by an authorized validating agency.

The IMC’s Accreditation Commission, Claire Salkowski, and the IMC Membership Director, Margot Garfield-Anderson worked through the spring time to finish the self study paperwork necessary for the IMC to be one of these validating organizations. The IMC’s new program, The Seal of Recognition document was used to answer the self study.

We figured we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel but at the same time, if a school had to go through a process of being validated they might as well come out of it with something far more reaching in the end.

The Seal of Recognition program, while still in its pilot phase, is a vehicle in which schools can show the public that they have gone through a serious self study process to look at their educational and administrative processes and all are in line with Montessori best practices. It is also the first step to a school going forward in the full accreditation process.

The Seal of Recognition costs less for a school to complete because only one validator is on campus for one day instead of our traditional 3 validator, 3-day process necessary to complete the full accreditation process. For the smaller schools out there it’s a great way to receive the recognition the community might be looking for without the cost being too out of reach.

If you are interested in learning more about the Seal of Recognition program log onto the www.montessori.org website and go into the IMC area.

A pat on the back to the Accreditation team for taking the lead on completing the project and getting the IMC as one of only a few recognized organizations in the state authorized to validate Montessori programs in Maryland.