Montessori Leadership of Tomorrow-The AMS ELF Program

What is the American Montessori Society (AMS) Emerging Leaders Fellowship (ELF) program? It is a program designed to nurture up-and-coming leaders in the Montessori world through professional development, collaboration, community, and mentorship.

AMS says that the ELF program “cultivates highly qualified future Montessori leaders who are equipped to drive impactful change within their organizations and the larger AMS community. Gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to take on leadership roles and make a lasting impact.” (amshq.org)

The ELF Program

There is an application process for the program, as well as a fee to participate. My school was willing to contribute to the cost as part of my annual professional development–I encourage you to talk to school leadership about similar opportunities. Each year there is a new cohort of up to 25 Montessorians chosen. I was fortunate to be chosen as a 2023-2024 Emerging Leader Fellow and have found the program very beneficial. 

Why We Need Programs Like ELF

Those who read my articles often are aware of my passion for “period two” for adults. The Montessori period lesson (show, now show me [scaffolding], then independence) is often not fully implemented for adult learners, even in the Montessori world. We go to trainings and conferences and hear wonderful ideas and learn new strategies. Then we are expected to come back to our schools and be independently able to apply what we learned. Period two is often glossed over. There is no scaffolding with a more experienced Montessorian. No mentorship or coaching. 

In my own work, I have been working to design these experiences for the Montessorians I work with. I also seek these “period two” experiences for myself, and this is what led me to apply for the ELF program. I was longing for a mentor (in addition to the wonderful mentors I have already had the honor of knowing in my career) and part of the program works to match you with a great mentor pulled from a pool of incredible Montessorians from around the country. It was such an amazing opportunity to continue my goal of lifelong learning, potentially with someone I had never gotten to connect with previously.

The program leaders give a lot of thought and take the time to learn about ELF participants in order to find a good mentor match, a process I very much appreciated.

Great Professional Development

Additionally, there is direct professional development, which happens in the week before the AMS conference over two years. I have completed my first sessions, which centered on leadership and action research. There was a book discussion of The Power Paradox, which I highly recommend and plan to review for the Montessori Minds blog soon. We also got to work with the illustrious Dr. Gay Ward to learn how to complete high-impact, professional action research. We then decided on our own year-long research projects as our capstones for the ELF program. No surprise, mine is around effective professional development for teachers and school leaders, targeted for the phase of their career (new teacher or master teacher, for example). It has been great to have our program leader Eric Dustman and Dr. Ward to bounce ideas off and give us feedback along the way.

Amazing Montessori Community

Another incredible part of the ELF experience has been the sense of community with the other eleven members of my cohort. We immediately bonded through our intensive PD at the 2024 AMS conference and have stayed connected regularly. So grateful for the 2023-2024 AMS ELF Cohort community!

Learn More

Interested in learning more about the AMS Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program? The AMS Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program page can give you all the details!