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The Montessori Movement: Paving the Pathway for the American Montessori Society
The AMS had some pioneers that, along with Maria Montessori, helped it gain and later regain ground and take solid roots in the United States.
"Americans had been introduced to Montessori education once before, in the early 1900s, but their initial excitement had long since waned. By the 1950s, however, the cultural climate was changing, including a growing discontent with traditional American education "(https://amshq.org/About-AMS/History-of-AMS). So we begin in 1953. -
Nancy McCormick Rambusch, Pioneer after Maria Montessori
"In 1953, Rambusch’s quest for a better approach to educating American children took her to Paris for the Tenth International Montessori Congress, where she met Mario Montessori, Maria’s son and her successor as head of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), an organization she had founded to support the Montessori Movement. Mario urged Rambusch to take coursework in Montessori education and to bring the Montessori Method to the U.S." (https://amshq.org/About-AMS/History-of-AMS) -
Rambusch, Pioneer after Montessori's Own Heart
In Greenwich, Connecticut, "Nancy became involved with a group of prominent parents who wanted to be deeply involved with their children’s education. In 1958, they founded Whitby School—the first Montessori school to open in the U.S. since the initial flurry of interest in Montessori in the early 20th century. The board selected her as head of school " (https://amshq.org/About-AMS/History-of-AMS). -
Making Montessori
"Six months later, in 1960, and with the vigorous support of parent-advocates, Nancy Rambusch founded the American Montessori Society. The goals of AMS mirrored those of AMI: to support efforts to create schools, develop teacher education programs, and publicize the value of Montessori education" (https://amshq.org/About-AMS/History-of-AMS). -
Hitting the Big Time
"In 1961, TIME magazine featured Rambusch, Whitby School, and the American Montessori revival in its May 12 issue. The article galvanized the American public, and parents turned to AMS in large numbers for advice on starting schools and study groups"(https://amshq.org/About-AMS/History-of-AMS). -
Coming Into the Limelight
"From the beginning, Nancy RamBusch worked to advance Montessori education into mid-20th century American culture
and believed there was a need for cultural accommodation. McDermott also stressed the need to move Montessori into the public sector so that it would be available to all children, regardless of circumstances—a conviction that remains a vital underpinning of the organization, along with a belief in the need for adaptability" (https://amshq.org/About-AMS/History-of-AMS).