Founded in 1962
Established by Margaret Stephenson in 1962, the Washington Montessori Institute (WMI) is the first and oldest training center in the United States to be affiliated with the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). We have trained nearly 3000 teachers who have gone on to establish public, private, and charter schools in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area and beyond. WMI has an extensive supportive network of schools that hire our trainees, offer observation and practice teaching opportunities to our trainees, and maintain close ties to the center.
WMI faculty are highly trained and experienced. They have decades of teaching and teacher training experience. All trainers have gone through the years-long AMI training of trainers process and each trainer has AMI training at an additional level to the one at which he or she trains.
WMI is respected nationally and internationally for preparing engaged, thoughtful teachers who not only know the intricacies of delivering the Montessori lessons, but who deeply appreciate the child development behind the purposes of those lessons. Our trainees have a profound grounding in the Montessori philosophy and spend 90 hours training to be scientific observers who are able to see each child for who they are. Our trainees can use this tool of unbiased observation to match their support and lessons to each child as an individual.
