Welcome to the International Montessori Council
Benefits of IMC Membership
- Each member receives a subscription to Montessori Leadership magazine.
- In addition, schools receive a copy of the IMC Code of Ethics, suitable for framing, and two copies of Montessori Leadership magazine.
- Montessori School Accreditation: International in scope, user-friendly, supportive, and designed to help schools grow stronger through the process of self-study and external evaluation.
- Access to the IMC online resource library, free online classified ads for school members.
- School members may request an hour of free consultation a year by phone or Skype each year. Should your school wish additional consultation, IMC School Members receive a discount on Montessori Foundation school consultation and professional development services.
- IMC School Mentorship Program: A network of member schools that offers advice and informal support without charge to fellow IMC schools.
- School members use the IMC logos on their literature and website. To avoid misunderstanding, the IMC logo may not be used in any way to promote a Montessori teacher education program, or on certificates and diplomas, unless the teacher education program is IMC accredited.
IMC Executive Director
The International Montessori Council (IMC) is an international organization of Montessori schools, the men and women who lead them, own them, or serve on their boards, and other organizations interested in supporting the goals of the IMC. As an independent Montessori professional and accrediting organization, the IMC serves the entire Montessori community.
While this website contains a wealth of information open to the public, many more articles, videos, pdf books and other resources are available to members in our password-protected members area.
Affordable & Meaningful Support for Montessori Leaders and Schools
The International Montessori Council (IMC) is a worldwide, 501(c)(6) professional membership organization of Montessori schools, their leaders, parents, and friends.
Founded in 1998, we focus on issues of unique concern to Montessori schools, including:
- Curriculum coordination / alignment to common core state standards
- Recruitment and hiring / supervision of teachers and staff
- Finances / strategic planning / insurance
- Board development
- Marketing and admissions
- Building community
- Public relations
- Montessori School Leadership and Board Development
- Meaningful Resources for Schools
- Mentorship and Networking
- Montessori Teacher Certification (for our accredited teacher training organizations)
- Peace and Partnership Education
- Regional and International Conferences
- and much more
Why the IMC Was Founded
The International Montessori Council was organized in 1998 under the auspices of the Montessori Foundation to provide an inclusive and affordable membership organization for Montessori educators and schools around the world to work together to promote Montessori to the outside world and help one another to address challenges that we all face:
1. Qualified Montessori teachers continue to be in terribly short supply all over the world, year after year, and decade after decade. We need to find better ways of encouraging talented men and women to pursue a career in Montessori education.
2. After all these years, many parents and traditional educators still do not understand Montessori or feel confident in our schools. It is crucial that we find more effective ways to get our message out to the world.
3. Many parents still see Montessori as a preschool and move their children to traditional public or private schools as soon as they are old enough. We need to communicate the benefits of continuing their children in Montessori for the entire program.
4. Increasingly, parents pressure our teachers and schools to modify our programs to be more like traditional classrooms, we all need help in making the case that Montessori works, allowing us to remain true to our principles!
5. Because experienced Montessori-trained school administrators are so hard to find, more and more schools are being led by traditional educators. Montessori schools need Montessori leaders. We need to prepare Montessori educators for school leadership, as well as offering ongoing programs of professional development.
6. Many Montessori schools are governed by ineffective and erratic boards. It is essential that we organize programs that schools can use to select, orient, and train new board members in effective governance of a Montessori school.
7. Increasingly, parents want assurance that their children’s Montessori schools are accredited. We need to encourage and provide support to help schools go through the process of Montessori school accreditation for the first time.
8. And finally, because parents and educators all over the world are asking to see research evidence that confirms Montessori’s effectiveness, we need to work together to fund and encourage new research and disseminate the results to validate all of the anecdotal and intuitive evidence supporting Montessori’s success in human development and education.
These challenges have plagued our schools for decades. Many are the result of our lack of commitment to organize locally and work together effectively. Today, we have a choice. We can sit back and continue to accept the situation facing us, but if we do so, there is a real danger that education will cast us aside in the ongoing culture of school reform. Or we can use basic principles of the “Montessori Way” to design and work together in new ways to serve the entire Montessori community.
The IMC welcomes all Montessori teachers and schools as members. CLICK HERE for requirement differences for the School level memberships. The IMC encourages members to also belong to other Montessori organizations as well. Working together, we can take Montessori to a new level, and doing so, build tomorrow’s schools to meet the needs of tomorrow’s children. The IMC celebrates the steps toward collaboration that have begun in the United States and is a proud member of the Montessori Leadership Collaborative.
Special IMC Member Discounts
+ Our popular pamphlet series, DVDs and Montessori Foundation Bookstore titles*
+ Conferences, workshops, and symposia held by The Montessori Foundation and/the IMC
+ School consultation International Montessori School Accreditation
+ Montessori School Leadership and Board Development
+ Meaningful Resources for Schools
+ Mentorship and Networking
+ Montessori Teacher Certification
+ Peace and Partnership Education
+ Regional and International Conferences
- All Pamphlets, The Montessori Way, and The World in the Palm of Her Hand automatically receive a discount when ordered through the online store. All you need to do is log in using your unique email address that grants you access to the IMC Library.
Aside from the many benefits, discounts, and support IMC Members receive, only IMC Members have complete access to the IMC online library — an invaulable resource for Montessorians. When you or your school join the IMC, you receive log-in information that gives you the key to the full IMC library.
Does IMC Membership give me / my school access to the Montessori Family Alliance and Tomorrow’s Child library?
Alas, no it doesn’t, but you can fix that! CLICK HERE to become a member of the MFA.
IMC Individual Membership
Individual Membership (non-transferable) for one person worldwide.
IMC School Full Membership
IMC SCHOOL FULL MEMBERSHIP Is intended for Montessori schools that wish to belong to the IMC and meet the requirements for Full IMC School Membership.
School Full Membership is open to any school representing itself as offering a Montessori program for children between the years of infancy through high school. School membership is also open to Montessori schools that are in the process of being organized.
To learn about IMC School Accreditation, you may want to register for our FREE online Orientation Workshop for school leaders.
IMC School Associate Membership
IMC School – Associate School Membership Is intended for new Montessori schools or schools that wish to belong to the IMC but do not at this time meet the requirements for Full IMC School Membership or IMC School Accreditation.