Announcing the AMS 2025 Living Legacy: Charles Terranova

APRIL 26, 2024—As a child, Charles Terranova enjoyed watching the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein perform on television.

“I remember his concerts with the New York Philharmonic,” Charles, the American Montessori Society (AMS) 2025 Living Legacy, recounts. “He was teaching young people from across the country how to go further through careful and intentional practice. He would say, ‘Classical music requires exposure, repetition, and knowledge. When you go to hear a complex piece of music, you can anticipate what is coming next.’”

This experience resonated with Charles. “I’ve always remembered that lesson,” he shares. “That is what I want to communicate to Montessori teachers. It takes practice, sharing, and concentration—until the philosophy becomes second nature. It’s not necessarily the material; it’s the practice.”

During his five decades of service to Montessori, Charles has served as a classroom teacher, teacher educator, director of teacher education programs, school administrator and founder, and internationally-acclaimed speaker. He has worked in independent and public schools and has consulted with boards of trustees, heads of schools, adult learners, and countless teachers.

No matter his role and no matter the audience, he has worked to foster understanding and the full implementation of Montessori, the most authentic interpretation of the philosophy.

“In terms of what I’d most like to leave as my legacy, it is the understanding that we must educate adults as well as we educate the children on what Montessori is,” he states.

The Building Blocks to the Legacy

Training with the Second Generation of Montessori Pioneers

• 1960 – Began three years of studies at American University.
• 1969 – Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Rutgers University – Camden.
• 1972 – Earned Early Childhood credential from Assumption Montessori Training Course.
• 1973 – With Steve Callender, Charlotte Lally, Jane Terranova, and Ravi Romano, co-founded the Montessori Community School (which later became the Inly School). The school opened with 30 children, ages two to 10 with an emphasis on the implementation of Montessori with the highest integrity.
• 1976 – Trained with Ginny Varga at Gloria Dei Montessori School in a roto-Infant Toddler Course, which later became a recognized Infant Toddler course.
• 1986 – Earned Elementary I – II credential from Seacoast Center.

Leadership & Impact

• 1985 – With Susan Egan, co-founded Montessori Schools of Massachusetts (MSM), a non-profit membership organization with a mission to promote knowledge and understanding of the Montessori method and to provide a framework for communication and cooperation among Montessori schools within the state and throughout New England.
• 1992 – With Gary Davidson, co-founded Seacoast Center, an accredited AMS teacher education program at the elementary level.
• 1996 – Retired as head of school at the Montessori Community School, which later became Inly School.
• 1996 – Became Early Childhood director of training at the Toronto Montessori Institute.
• 1997 – Became head of school of Children’s Montessori School in Ipswich MA, which later became Stoneridge Children’s Montessori School.
• 2002 – Became the third head of school at the Thacher Montessori School.
• 2007 – Hired as the director of curriculum at Stoneridge Children’s Montessori School.
• 2009 – Taught as the Montessori resource teacher at Tobin Montessori School.
• 2013 – Began working at Cambridge Montessori School (CMS), first as the curriculum coordinator and then the interim director of CMI in 2013. CMS is the oldest accredited Montessori school in Cambridge, MA, serving students aged 21 months through eighth grade for over 50 years.
• 2016 – With Munir Shivji, co-founded Cambridge Montessori Institute (CMI) for CMS. CMI training is conducted by master level faculty, which prepares trainees to create a curriculum for students to thrive.
• Spring 2019 – Retired from CMS. The CMS board of directors created the Charles Terranova Scholarship Fund to honor and recognize him.
• 2022 – Assumed responsibility as the Early Childhood consultant to the AMS Instructor Academy.

Tireless Service to AMS & the Global Montessori Community

Supporting Schools: Establishing Networks of Support for Montessori Schools

Throughout his career, Charles has worked to ensure that Montessori schools had the tools and support needed to thrive and to offer high-fidelity, authentic Montessori instruction.

When Charles and Susan first established MSM in 1985, Montessori schools were often operating in isolation. Having an organization focused on supporting schools and their evolving needs was a new concept—not only for the state but also for the country overall.

MSM allowed schools to connect and learn from one another. More established schools nurtured smaller and newer ones. This collaboration was instrumental in the expansion and strengthening of the Montessori movement throughout the state. It provided a strong foundation for Montessori and eventually led to the state recognizing Montessori training in licensing regulations.

Charles was always at the forefront of these efforts. He has served on multiple boards—including for MSM, the Association of Independent Schools In New England, the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education, and the Principals’ Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Montessori Pedagogy & Commitment to ABAR

Charles maintains a reputation of being one of the most foremost authorities on the life and teachings of Maria Montessori.

“Charles is a walking encyclopedia of Montessori history and philosophy,” Martha Torrence, former president of the AMS board of trustees, shares. “He has a passion for asking and responding to probing questions about Montessori practice, never accepting a superficial or merely convenient answer to a question about pedagogy or materials.”

Charles also understands and acknowledges the impact of implicit bias. He has participated in Anti-bias, Antiracist (ABAR) and inclusion training. He collaborated with the staff of CMS to examine implicit bias with a global thought leader in teaching skill‐building techniques to enhance productivity through diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism.

Supporting Educators: High-Fidelity Montessori Practice

Throughout his career and no matter his role, Charles has prioritized counseling and mentoring Montessori professionals—including teachers, curriculum coaches, heads of schools, teacher trainers, and members of boards.

He is known for handling all of these interactions with courtesy and thoughtfulness.

“Charles projects kindness, caring, and rigor in his Montessori practice. A keen observer who questions incessantly and has an abiding curiosity about all things, he is in contact with nature at every turn and supports the child fully,” Martha asserts. “Charles displays respectful interactions and intentional communication with adults and children alike. He is the model of patience and attentive listening.”

This approach has been instrumental in training scores of Montessori credentialed teachers across the globe. He has regularly traveled to schools providing professional development and presented at AMS conferences. He has overseen the execution for schools working to enhance Montessori methods and incorporate quality concepts in accreditation and re-accreditation self-study. He has traveled to Hong Kong, Beijing, Indonesia, Qatar, and Korea to support Montessori schools and teacher education programs.

At this stage of his life, he remains deeply committed to training the next generation of Montessori educators. He continues to be involved at MSM; he currently is leading a deep dive examination of classroom instruction using Montessori apparati, emphasizing and ensuring that children have the time and opportunity to authentically discover as they learn. He is also working with AMS as a senior Early Childhood consultant. In this role, he is conducting training for Montessori professionals in China and supporting the organization’s Instructor Academy.

In all of these efforts, he is recognized as always bringing a collaborative approach.

Examples of his continued service to AMS include—but are certainly not limited to:

• Presenting his story at the 2022 The Montessori Event during the “Montessori Voices” program. During his presentation, he shared his expertise in the amended chart of the Four Planes.
• Publishing multiple articles in the Montessori Life magazine and blog, research papers, books, and journals.
• Presenting regularly at regional and national Montessori conferences including MSM, the Montessori Association of North Carolina, and the Montessori Association of New Hampshire Association.
• Leading curriculum development workshops at schools and Montessori teacher education programs across the nation and globally.
• Serving as a team member of AMS Montessori School Accreditation team.
• Charles continues to be recognized internationally for his indelible contributions to the movement. However, he is perhaps most appreciated at the local level. Among the students and families he served during the five decades as a teacher and leader, he is highly regarded and well-known for his undying dedication to ensuring Montessori education is available to all.

Life Today & Looking Forward

Charles and his family live in Plymouth, MA. He is retired from full-time employment but is far from inactive. When not working part time as a consultant, curriculum instructor, and designer for AMS, he stays active in issues related to social justice. Charles has been a member of ACLU; through Amnesty International, he petitioned to release various political prisoners of regimes in Iran and Syria.

He also often can be found in his local community garden. He admits that even in this environment, he cannot resist the urge to instruct.

He laughs and admits, “I love to teach people how to garden. We have 45 different plots, and I have a presentation on how to prepare the soil and grow produce using no chemical fertilizers. I have a full PowerPoint developed, and they find it all amusing!”

However, his heart remains with Montessori. He remains a fervent advocate of Montessori and feels a deep responsibility to teach.

“We have an obligation to educate everyone about what Montessori education is,” he says. “Throughout my career, I have never missed an opportunity to educate—whether it’s at a council for aging, at a nursery school, or public school.”

He goes on to explain that it is important that people understand the authentic teachings of Montessori because it is not just as a method of educating children. It is also a vehicle through which we can positively and actively improve our world.