WMI-MIA Conference 2026

→ About the 3-6 Sessions
Join Cecilia and Myesha in reflecting on what the first weeks of school have revealed and revisit Montessori principles through the lens of everyday classroom experiences. Morning and afternoon sessions will explore these topics:

• Understanding the Child’s Development and Needs
• The Prepared Environment and Freedom Within Limits
• The Prepared Adult: Responding with Intention
• Building Partnerships with Families

Participants will leave with renewed purpose and practical ideas to help them navigate the remainder of the school year with confidence and joy.

→ About Cecilia Fernández-Campos

Cecilia has been dedicated to working with young children from an early age. While her passion and commitment to education have been constant, her profound love for the Montessori pedagogy revealed itself after becoming a mother. This initial exposure to Montessori almost two decades ago set Cecilia on a path to become an AMI auxiliary trainer for ages 3 to 6, an AMI/USA consultant, and an Assistants to Infancy guide for ages 0 to 3. She currently serves as the education director at a Montessori school in Alpharetta, Georgia, where she previously worked as a Children’s House guide. In addition to her Montessori training, she has a special needs education degree and has instructed yoga to children and adults for over ten years. Originally from Argentina, Cecilia is bilingual and has lived on four continents. This multicultural background enriches her work and interactions with children and adults.

→ About Myesha Green

Myesha’s childhood experiences in primary and elementary Montessori classrooms greatly influenced her decision to pursue a career in early childhood education. Myesha received her AMI Primary and Elementary Diplomas from the Montessori Institute of Atlanta in 2007 and 2012 and completed the 0-3 AMI Orientation course in 2022. She also holds an M.Ed. from Loyola University and a Ph.D. in Immunology/ Molecular Pathogenesis from Emory University.

Myesha has over 18 years of experience working in school settings, including roles as primary guide in both all-day and traditional Montessori classrooms, teacher mentor, Board trustee, and Administrator. She has served as an AMI/USA consultant since 2017, and has worked as an AMI primary course assistant, examiner, and presenter. She is also the creator of Alldayprimary.com.

→ About the 6-12 Sessions
As Montessori elementary educators, we are storytellers of the Universe, helping to unfold Cosmic Education for children in the second plane of development. Join Yolanda and Anna for an engaging day of exploring ways to cultivate a connected, collaborative, and thriving 6–12 community.

Through interactive games, meaningful discussion, and opportunities for shared reflection, we will consider practical strategies for fostering belonging, responsibility, and joyful participation in the classroom. Bring your handwork, your questions, and your experiences as we gather at the beginning of the school year to strengthen our practice and build a supportive community of Montessori educators.

→ About Anna Discenzo

Anna holds her AMI Montessori diplomas at the Primary and Elementary levels. She is an AMI Elementary Trainer-in-Training, an AMI-USA Elementary Consultant, National Examiner, and has presented at several conferences around the United States. In 1998, she began her career at Cleveland Montessori in Ohio, where she became a Level 1 and Level 2 catechist for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Since 2018, Anna has taught a 9-12 class at Arbor Montessori School in Atlanta, Georgia. Anna enjoys reading, cooking, and playing with her rescue cats, Artemis Moon Joy and Pimpi. She is incredibly grateful to her family and her Montessori community for their support as she works towards becoming an AMI 6-12 trainer.

→ About Yolanda Wheelington

Yolanda has been a public Montessori teacher for the past 13 years where she has served as an Elementary Guide and Special Education teacher. Yolanda is currently participating in AMI’s Elementary Training of Trainers program in response to her passion for supporting the human potential in children and adults, and making Montessori more accessible to all. In addition to being an Arizona State University STEM Fellow and National Board Certified Teacher, Yolanda holds degrees in Psychology, Social Work, and Education (with an emphasis in Special Education). She earned her AMI elementary diploma from the Montessori Institute of North Texas and her primary diploma from Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies (SIMS).

→ About the 12-18 Sessions

Morning: Reflections on the Prepared Environment for Adolescents

This session will outline the elements of the Adolescent prepared environment and invite critical reflection on the “what” and the “how” of adolescent community design. What is essential? What is ideal? What is variable? In consideration of the Adolescent Center for Study and Work that goes beyond the oversimplified “farm or urban” distinction, what is actually in our physical and psychological place that becomes the material for adolescent learning and development and what are some of the common tension points in adolescent prepared environment design? Presenters will share specific examples of different areas of the community showing development over the plane and how they manifest in different environments.

Arbor Montessori’s Adolescent Program will provide a case study of program evolution. Jacqui will share the 1997 origin story through the growth of the understanding of the 3rd plane, program constraints, and lessons learned, up to the point where the work of the young adolescents suggested the expansion to high school. David will share the experience of extending the environment into the second subplane with the inaugural 9th grade, and the realities of more autonomy and higher stakes. He will offer concrete artifacts of the Production and Exchange, and real work with real consequences, and also discuss the tensions that surface as the ages and needs grow past the limits of the environment – show the ways the planning evolved over time to better match our understanding of the needs of this specific community in this specific moment in time. Current students in their inaugural 9th-grade class will be present to discuss the experience so far.

Afternoon: Reflections on the Prepared Adult and Social Organization

In the first part, David will lead an exploration of what is required of us, the adult practitioners, as we guide the adolescent through the 3rd plane and connect them to the broader society in meaningful and impactful ways. Who must we become to aid their becoming? The session will focus on shifting the stance from instructor to collaborator, and preparing our own reactions to the third plane, and will invite participants into the practice of observation before intervention, with a practice teachers can try in week one (or the next week) of school. Interactivity elements, insight from therapy and meditation. How can we be our best selves and also be models of adult behavior to the young adult (even when we are not at our best)?

In the other part, Jacqui will facilitate a discussion of the importance of the 3rd plane as a bridge to the 4th plane and adulthood. She will introduce Montessori as one of a wider constellation of transformative social systems (TSS) in the broader social world that are available to inform how we design social organization in our adolescent communities, and will encourage participants to consider how they can contribute to existing knowledge systems with research and other forms of documentation.

→ About Jacqui Miller
Jacqui’s Montessori journey began when she completed her AMI Elementary training in the early 1990s and taught in East Point, Georgia, for four years. For the next 16 years, Jacqui worked collaboratively to develop a robust adolescent program in Decatur, Georgia, and served as an adolescent guide. She contributed to the NAMTA/AMI Orientation to Adolescent Studies as a presenter and design coach for 10 years. In 2015, Jacqui became the Founding Principal of a public charter school in Cleveland, Ohio. From 2020-2025 she served the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as Director of Montessori Programming and Operations.

Jacqui identifies as an educational architect, envisioning Montessori beyond its current reality and designing systemic change toward a vision. Her current work focuses on transformative learning for adults, children and communities through a number of public sector initiatives that go beyond school and into community structures for human flourishing. Jacqui has a M.Ed from Cleveland State University, serves on the board of AMI/USA, and is an AMI/USA 12-18 Consultant. She approaches the work through her intersectionality as a Montessorian of Color, a public sector leader, a social justice advocate, and a champion of adolescents.

→ About David Tyler
David is the Adolescent Program Coordinator for the Junior and Senior High programs at Arbor Montessori School in Decatur, Georgia, where he has spent more than a decade as a teacher, administrator, and board member. Rooted in Montessori from childhood, David holds a Master’s degree with a focus on nonprofit management and administration and brings a combination of deep pedagogical expertise and organizational leadership. At Arbor, he has played a central role in curriculum design, faculty coordination, and the development of the region’s first AMI Montessori high school program. His work is grounded in the belief that strong educational leadership amplifies the impact of teachers and, in turn, the growth of every student they serve.