I came from a traditional background in education and after teaching in public school for five years, I wanted something different. I had done a study on Montessori during undergrad and decided to take the leap and became an assistant at a Montessori school in their toddler program. I immediately fell in love with the philosophy and within the first few weeks of school began researching Montessori training options. For me, MTCNE was local, and I wanted to be able to stay local and have the resources of a local training center for after I graduated. MTCNE fit the list of wants perfectly.

I decided on AMI training simply because MTCNE is an AMI training center and it was local, however, after completing the training I am so glad that it worked out that way. AMI isn’t the “only” way, but many other Montessori trainings I have witness resemble the public-school way of teaching, but just with Montessori materials in the environment. AMI focuses on the core principles and values of what Dr. Montessori discovered over 100 years ago and it still works with children now. It is beautiful to see every day.

MTCNE felt like a family from the first day we were on site. I was in the academic year cohort 2023/2024 so we would be at the training center for two weeks at a time a few times during the year. I often missed being at the training center with Gretchen, my classmates, and the other staff when our time there was over. Montessori is a small part of the education world and having a chance to be around a group of people who understand and believe in the same philosophies as you is immeasurable. The environment was my favorite place at MTCNE because it is absolutely beautiful and inviting even as an adult. I remember walking in the first day and being so excited to see all the materials and how they were set up and presented on shelves.

I think the greatest influence during my training at MTCNE was my trainer, Gretchen Hall. The training is intense at times, but Gretchen is so knowledgeable and supportive. Gretchen had a conversation with my cohort our last day at the training center before our oral exams. It was heartfelt and meaningful, and she let us all know that after graduation it is not goodbye, but that our relationship changes that she becomes an equal, a colleague, and friend we could reach out to anytime if we needed advice. That conversation and acknowledgement of continued support even after we finished training has stuck with me since graduation. I have often said I wish I could talk to future cohorts and just tell them “Just trust Gretchen”.

My training at MTCNE has made me not only different in my classroom, but also with the children in my life outside of school. My future stepchildren, my nieces and nephews, and friends’ children. How I view the things they do, how I respond to the things they say or don’t say, the questions I ask or don’t ask, and the list goes on and on. My training has not only affected who I am inside the classroom, but also outside of the classroom.