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AMS Accreditation Standards

While meeting and maintaining these standards is required only of our accredited schools, we hold them up as best practices for all our member schools.

Each of the 9 accreditation standards, below, must be met through compliance with specific criteria, as detailed in “AMS School Accreditation Standards & Criteria.”

The quality Montessori school’s mission and vision are student-centered and guided by Montessori philosophy. The school establishes and communicates a shared philosophy that informs all facets of the school’s culture, daily operations, and instructional decisions

The quality Montessori school establishes, implements, monitors, and refines a strategic planning process to affect continuous school improvement. It ensures its effectiveness through mission- and vision-aligned governance and leadership.

A quality Montessori school implements a Montessori curriculum based on clear and measurable AMS learner outcomes: academic preparation, autonomy and independence, confidence and competence, global citizenship, intrinsic motivation, social responsibility, and spiritual awareness/cosmic education. Students actively engage in the learning process, exhibit joy in learning, and apply their knowledge and skills to real-world situations.

The quality Montessori school enacts an ongoing assessment system that monitors and documents learner outcomes that are based in equitable practices and uses these results to improve educational effectiveness.

The quality Montessori school has policies and practices in place to ensure that employees are well qualified and are assigned professional responsibilities based on their qualifications (i.e., professional preparation, ability, knowledge, and experience). Employees are provided support through ongoing evaluation and professional development and are sufficient in number to support the school’s mission and vision. The school states and follows fair, ethical, and non-discriminatory employment practices.

The quality Montessori school provides facilities, sites, and equipment that meet optimum health and safety standards conducive to a safe learning environment in alignment with the mission of the school.

The quality Montessori school maintains strong and prudent financial management practices and adequate fiscal resources to support its mission and vision.

The quality Montessori school has appropriate documentation, training, and human resources to meet applicable federal, state, and local regulations, assure health and safety of faculty/staff and students, and enable all students to achieve expectations for student learning.

The quality Montessori school fosters effective and accessible communication and relationships with and among its stakeholders, with intentional inclusion of historically marginalized groups.

  • I get it—accreditation can be daunting. There are many standards and criteria, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. AMS is here to help you along the path. If you have any questions about accreditation, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My team and I are ready to help you understand the accreditation process.

    Melanie Thiesseu
    AMS Senior Director of Membership & School Accreditation

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