031: Public Montessori and Visual Thinking Strategies: An Interview with Katie Brown

Montessori schools are becoming more and more popular in the public school setting—both as charter schools and within district programs. While there are more than 500 public Montessori schools, the growing education trend is still not exactly common knowledge. Today’s guest aims to bring advocacy and awareness to this sector.In today’s episode, I’m talking to Katie Brown, Director of Research and Professional Learning at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS). The mission of NCMPS is to promote Montessori for social change in the public sector. Katie is sharing all the ways that NCMPS offers support—from teacher training, to classroom observation tools, to connecting people to state level advocacy organizations—as well as conversations around equity in public Montessori and new trends that are popping up for the future of this model.What’s in this episode:[01:51] How NCMPS offers support, resources, and connections  to schools, teachers, families, and students through both research-based and classroom-based opportunities[11:46] Katie’s take on new trends in this setting and what the future of public Montessori looks like[14:52] How teacher trainings and residencies are becoming more popular in hopes of addressing teacher pipeline difficulties[16:48] The challenges around equity and anti-racism efforts in the Montessori public setting and how to keep this important work at the forefront[19:13] Information about Visual Thinking Strategies course offered through NCMPS and how the tools presented support language development and critical thinking For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit https://www.trilliummontessori.org/Resources Mentioned in This Episode:National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (website for resources and courses)Visual Thinking Strategies in Montessori Environments (book)Primary Montessori Curriculum to Standards Alignment (course)Elementary Montessori Curriculum to Standards Alignment (course)Teach Montessori (NCMPS project for teaching trainings and job boards)The Montessori Event 2023 (conference)Connect With UsVisit our websiteFollow us on InstagramConnect with us on FacebookThe Montessori Classroom Bootcamps will be open for enrollment July 21-29. Classes begin August 1.Elementary Classroom Planning Bootcamp for 6-12 with Letty RisingClassroom Setup Bootcamp for 3-6 with Seemi Abdullah