Jennifer Shields is a primary trainer for the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). She holds both the AMI Primary and Assistants to Infancy diplomas. Jennifer earned a B.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University and an M.Ed. from Cleveland State University. She worked for over fifteen years in Montessori schools as a teacher, assistant, and administrator. She is an examiner and consultant for AMI and presents at workshops and conferences locally and worldwide. Jennifer joined the Board of AMI Global in spring of 2019. Jennifer loves observing in classrooms, coaching teachers and teacher trainees, and spreading the insights made by Dr. Montessori.
Jennifer recently shared her insights about “Transitions into the Casa” in AMI’s Voices of Training series. Read the article here.
Tuition: $13,000
A $500 non-refundable tuition deposit is due upon enrollment and will be applied to total tuition.
Early Bird Discount: An early bird discount of $300 is available to those who submit a completed application by Feb. 1, 2025.
Your interview and formal acceptance must be completed by Feb. 1, 2025 in order to qualify. The discount will be deducted from your final tuition payment.
Payment: Please select from one of the payment plan options below.
All payment options exclude the $500 tuition deposit.
Option A – Full Tuition Payment due by July 1, 2025
Option B – Two (2) Installment Payment Plan (includes $300 payment plan fee)
Option C – Ten (10) Installment Payment Plan (includes $500 payment plan fee)
For the Primary (3-6) course, 90 hours of observation and 120 hours of practice teaching are required, to be completed between Summer 2025 and 2026.
Observation – Half of those might be done in one’s own classroom if they work in a primary Montessori classroom, with approval of the course trainer. The other half will be done in a classroom led by an AMI trained teacher (the school does not need to be AMI recognized). Your trainer will assist you in finding a school in your vicinity and must approve these placements.
Practice teaching – 80 of those hours can be done in one’s own classroom, again, with approval from the trainer. The other 40 hours must be done in a classroom led by an AMI trained teacher. Usually this is the same classroom you observed in, if possible.
Oral examinations are scheduled in conjunction with the Association Montessori Internationale. It is not possible to publish exact dates at this time. Oral examinations will be scheduled during the Summer 2026 Session. Students will be informed as soon as dates are confirmed. All students must be in residence through the last day of the oral examination period, no matter when their individual examination is scheduled. Oral examinations may be scheduled on a Saturday.
Applicants who are international students or non-native English speakers must provide scores from one of the following tests:
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- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) (80+)
- TOEFL Essentials Test (9.0+)
- Have testing service send the official TOEFL score to WMI
- WMI’s TOEFL Code is C741
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or IELTS Indicator (6.5+ band score)
- Duolingo English Test (DET) (WMI will consider scores of 105+)
Please refer to the Admissions page for more information.