Montessori: A Successful Approach by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
Special Evening Lecture with Q&A, January 5th
Keynote Speaker, January 6th
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton is an internationally known pediatrician and the pre-eminent child development expert in the United States. He is founder of the Brazelton Touchpoints Center www.touchpoints.org at Children’s Hospital Boston and is Clinical Professor Emeritus at Harvard Medical School.  He is the creator of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. He is the author of over 30 books, more than 200 scientific papers and chapters, and the star of many television productions and parenting videos. Dr. Brazelton explains child development as containing “touchpoints” which represent opportunities for clinicians and educators to help parents and children through difficult and predictable phases of development. This roadmap to childhood development emphasizes building on the strengths of children, families and practitioners, offering research and tools to enhance that process.

Keynote speaker Dr. Brazelton will be our guest at a Parent’s Night on Friday, January 5th. His presentation will focus on the many stresses parents face today and the pressures imposed on them to perform. Based on his many interviews with parents, Dr. Brazelton will offer solutions for relieving these stresses. His talk will be based on an attachment model, with the goal of establishing healthy self-esteem in both the parent and the child. There will be a question and answer session following the presentation.

Montessori: A Lasting Approach by Tim Seldin
Tim Seldin is the President of The Montessori Foundation and Chair of the International Montessori Council. His more than thirty years of experience in Montessori education includes twenty-two years as Headmaster of the Barrie School in Silver Spring, MD, his own alma mater. He has also served as the Director of the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies and as Head of the New Gate School in Sarasota, FL. He earned a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Georgetown University, a M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision from The American University and his Montessori certification from the American Montessori Society. Mr. Seldin is the author of several books on Montessori education, including his latest, co-authored by Dr. Paul Epstein, The Montessori Way: an Education for Life.

Mr. Seldin’s presentation will focus on the legacy Dr. Maria Montessori’s method. His lecture sets the stage for the day and connects us to the Centennial Anniversary of Montessori Education.

Montessori: A Proven Approach by John Chattin-McNichols, Ph.D.
John Chattin-McNichols, Ph.D. teaches in the College of Education at Seattle University, Seattle, WA and is Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning and Director of the E.M. Standing Center for Montessori Studies.

Dr. Chattin-McNichols will address the group with a research perspective of Dr. Maria Montessori’s work. He will present his own work done in Nicaragua, Brazil and North America, including Native American schools, schools that exemplify Montessori education in a variety of settings. His presentation will examine how Montessori pedagogy has demonstrated for 100 years what today is accepted as “best practices” in non-Montessori educational settings.

Montessori: An Integrated Holistic Curriculum by Judi Bauerlein, M.ED.
Judi Bauerlein, M.ED. recently retired from a 44-year classroom teaching career at North Shoreview Elementary School in San Mateo CA. Judi has served as the President of AMS (the American Montessori Society), and she continues to train Montessori teachers as an instructor for MTEC-Bay Area and PCTE.

Montessori's Life in India: Inspiring Stories by Those Who Knew Dr. Montessori by Meher Van Groenou
Meher Van Groenou M.A., Montessori Education, St. Mary's College, Moraga, California. MSW from University of Michigan, A.M.S. Early Childhood Credential. Teacher since 1981 and Teacher-Trainer since 1986 in USA, Europe and India. TRN Mentor, researcher, author, and AMS workshop presenter. Founder of the Montessori School of Hayward and the Montessori School at Five Canyons

Montessori- Educating for Peace by Dr. Louise Bogart
Dr. Louise Bogart earned her Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii/Manoa with a cognate in Peace Studies. Her Masters degree from College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame de Namur University) concentrated on Montessori Education. Dr. Bogart holds elementary teaching licenses in both Ohio and Hawaii and spent sixteen years in the classroom with children aged 2 1/2 through grade 6. Dr. Bogart also has Montessori credentials for Early Childhood and Elementary from the American Montessori Society and has been a teacher educator for the past twenty-five years.

During her twenty-three years as an education faculty member at Chaminade University of Honolulu, Dr. Bogart was awarded seven federal grants and two grants from a local foundation in Hawaii. Through the federal grants, she created innovative programs for elementary teachers to learn how to teach math with manipulatives. The Black Grant, from the Hawaii foundation, focused on developing long-term cooperative relationships with schools to provide pre-service teachers with hands-on practicum experiences prior to their student teaching practicum.

Her dissertation in Peace Education was the culmination of a lifetime of experiences and work that lead up to Dr. Bogart's present work in the field. Dr. Bogart has been affiliated with the Girl Scouts USA for over fifty years and has been involved in Montessori education for thirty-five. These experiences have been keys in the development of Dr. Bogart's peace work. She has presented extensively at National and International conferences and meetings.

Montessori in Current Trends in Education: Where does Montessori fit among other Contemporary Educational Approaches? by Mark Powell
Mark Powell is director of an upper elementary classroom at Berkeley Montessori School in Berkeley, CA. Previously, he taught lower elementary children for ten years. He is also a teacher trainer with the Center for Montessori Teacher Education, New York. Mark is K-6 certified by the state of MA and holds a M. Ed. with a specialty in Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools from Lesley University. He is a frequent contributor to Montessori Life among other journals, and is the author of Fort Culture: The Hidden Curriculum of Recess Play, part of the forthcoming book Where Do the Children Play? due out in the spring of 2007. He can be reached at mipowell@sbcglobal.net.

Workshop: Orff Music in Montessori Education – A Winning Combination by Doug Goodkin
Doug Goodkin is currently in his 32nd year at The San Francisco School, San Francisco, CA where he teaches music and movement to children from three years old through the eighth grade.  He is an internationally recognized practitioner of Orff Schulwerk and is particularly known for his innovative application of Orff Schulwerk to the teaching of jazz and multi-cultural music and his ideas connecting Orff Schulwerk to the greater world of education, culture and human potential. Mr. Goodkin has taught Orff courses throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the United States and Canada. He is the Director of the Bay Area International Orff Certification Course at Mills College and teaches his own course on Jazz and Orff Schulwerk in San Francisco. He received the distinguished Pro Merito Award for his contributions to Orff Schulwerk in July 2000. He is also an author of the Macmillan/McGraw -Hill textbook series Share the Music and the author of six other books.

Mr. Goodkin will share his insights as to how to effectively combine the two approaches of Montessori education and Orff Schulwerk. The genius of the Montessori approach lies in nurturing the child's love of work and developing independence and competency while working at one's table. The genius of the Orff approach to music education lies in nurturing the child's love of play and developing a sense of interdependence while playing in the group circle. The common ground of both approaches is a deep understanding of children's inmost needs and a highly developed practice of how to effectively develop their intellectual, imaginative and humanitarian promise.

Workshop: Creating a Montessori Public School by Tammy Lake
Tammy Lake is currently the Principal of Toweles Elementary School, Ft. Wayne, IN having previously served as Principal of Bunche Elementary also in Ft. Wayne. Bunche Elementary School was the first public Montessori to become accredited by the American Montessori Society. 

Ms. Lake will present a workshop on how to make a public Montessori school work. Meeting the state standards, district requirements and the daily struggles of a public school while educating nearly 800 children using the Montessori method.

Workshop: Community Building by Marsha Guerrero
Marsha Guerrero is the Director of the School Lunch Initiative, part of The Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, CA

The Edible Schoolyard’s mission is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school's curriculum and lunch program. It began in the mid 90’s as a collaboration between Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters, a trained Montessori teacher, and King Middle School Principal Neil Smith.

Ms. Guerrero will present a workshop on the School Lunch Initiative, a wonderful example of Montessori principals of community building in action.

Workshop: Character Building by Paul Morrill
Paul Morrell is a graduate of Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, CA and is currently a freshman at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD.

Mr. Morrell will give a presentation to describe how his Montessori education from preschool through 8th grade helped shape his choices for high school and college.
In his own words, “The Bowman School's unique approach to teaching helped me a great deal from elementary through middle school. Its Montessori environment was a place where I could learn to my heart's content. I learned to manage my time effectively, which helps a great deal in High School. Bowman is a cornerstone for where I am today."

Workshop: Today’s Adolescent by Dr. Joshua Sparrow
Dr. Joshua Sparrow is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, supervisor for outpatient psychiatry services at Children's Hospital, Boston, and Director of Special Initiatives at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center. Dr. Sparrow and Dr. Brazelton are the co-authors of Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development

Dr. Sparrow will present “Anticipating Turmoil as an Opportunity for Growth-Touchpoints in Adolescent Development” which addresses issues that face today’s teens. His presentation will discuss methods to best assist adolescents in navigating today’s complex society.