Field Notes

Castle Rock Montessori, a St. Charles, MO, unlicensed daycare program that had advertised itself as a Montessori school, closed without notice in March. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services had for several months been pressing the operators to show they were operating a school. Parents said the owners told them Castle Rock wasRead More

A group of Maryland Montessorians came together and over a two-year period and worked with state officials to exempt their schools from many state regulations. This would be an example of an isolated effort but for the involvement of Jaye Esty and the National Network of Montessori Advocacy. Esty was hired by the Association MontessoriRead More

The Florida Commission on Independent Education in late March approved the application of Sarasota University of offer distance learning degrees, carrying with it the work of Kym Elder’s Montessori Live program. The new university will offer an MBA program and two Montessori-related programs—Elder’s MACTE-credentialed teacher education program and a new Montessori leadership degree. Students inRead More

Jason David Barker, 37, a special education teacher at La Crescent Minnesota Montessori Academy, is awaiting trial on three counts each of second-degree and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, stemming from relationships he had with three female students, all younger than 13. Barker posted bond after his Jan. 18 arrest. Barker has denied the criminal accusations.Read More

A first year student at Montessori Women’s College in the Guntur district of India was found dead in early April. Sushma Priya, 19, was found dead in the back seat of a chaufered car. Police detained her driver Ramakrishna Reddy as a suspect. Police suspect Reddy might have given her a soft drink laced withRead More

An Orlando, FL, school that used the Montessori name but not the method, closed its doors in February. Financial pressures forced Einstein Montessori School Orlando East charter school for students with dyslexia to close after less than seven months, leaving some teachers unpaid. The school which enrolled 40 students in grades 3 to 8, choseRead More

A Summerville, GA, teacher stands charged with child abuse/neglect and her school director of failing to report abuse/neglect. Teacher  Lystra Verba is accused of two counts for actions on Feb. 12. Elizabeth Cain, director of the Summerville Montessori School, is charged with failing to report child abuse/neglect Both were both arrested March 1, according toRead More

A janitor at a Deleware Montessori school faces burglary charges after being arrested by New Castle County police. Frederick Lyle, 56, has been charged with two counts of third-degree burglary, two counts of theft and two counts of criminal mischief. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 10:15 a.m., police were called to the Montessori school forRead More

Cedars Montessori School of Austin, TX, lost one of its nine buildings to fire on March 8, but is bouncing back, The fire destroyed one lower elementary building and burned a hole in the roof of an adjacent office. No one was inside the school at the time of the fire. The cause was deemedRead More

Two teacher education programs will no longer be offered. The program offered by Belmont University in Nashville, was cut by administration. The teacher education program operated by Aleta Ledendecker,  in Lousiville, TN,  Montessori Educators International, will also discontinue services this summer