The Key to Success and Longevity
Primary Mentoring Community
Whether you are new to the classroom or have been teaching for years, you may have questions such as, How can I build efficiencies into my planning and record keeping systems so they don’t take away from my time with students? How do I approach difficult conversations with parents? How do I support my students with learning differences? How do I balance the workload of being a new teacher and still take care of myself?
Join other Primary Guides for weekly online meetings, discussing important topics relevant to the time of year, asking questions, sharing concerns, and mining the collective intelligence of the group. This cohort is led by Veronica Burbano, who shares expertise and insight and also brings in relevant guest speakers to better address the needs of the group.
We welcome any Montessori practitioner looking for a space to rejuvenate, reflect, and reconnect to our higher purpose. We are better together!
We are now accepting applications for the 2026-27 school year!
Earn Continuing Professional Development Hours
Participants in our mentoring communities are eligible to receive continuing professional development hours from Association Montessori International of the United States (AMI-USA) or the American Montessori Society (AMS).
Primary Mentor Highlight
Veronica Burbano, M.Ed.
Veronica has over 16 years of experience as an educator. After taking her Montessori training in 2012, Veronica established the bilingual Casa de Niños program at the Amherst Montessori School where she worked for over 10 years. Veronica currently serves as an AMI Trainer at the Montessori Training Center of the Northeast in Hartford, CT (MTCNE). She has also offered consultation services to new guides at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) and the Cambridge Montessori Institute (CMI). Veronica has a strong passion for social-emotional development and is currently working on an AMI research paper titled, “How the Brain Supports the Integration of Social, Emotional, and Intellectual Development in Early Childhood and its Relation to Dr. Montessori’s Theory of Social Development in Children.” Veronica enjoys beekeeping with her husband and cooking with her two children. She also enjoys swimming, gardening, hiking, snorkeling, and frequent trips to her native country of Ecuador to spend time with extended family.
Mentoring Communities
Mentoring Topics for Primary Guides
The topics covered each week will be tailored to meet the needs of the group. Examples include:
Partnership & Communication
- Partnering with your classroom team
- Parent communication – emails, calls, photos, carline
- Communicating concerns , communicating the positive
- Writing insightful progress reports
- Turning the challenging parent into a partner
- Leading effective parent/caregiver education workshops
Classroom Systems
- The prepared environment
- Planning & record keeping
- Classroom systems (the flow of the day)
- Prioritizing daily observation
- Classroom management
- Inner discipline and self regulation
- Grace & Courtesy
- Sharing roles and responsibilities with the team
Preparing for Events
- First week of school & Back to School Night
- Preparing for and leading parent/guide conferences
- Current & prospective parent/caregiver observations
- Culturally sensitive classroom celebrations and traditions
Curriculum
- Providing “just right” work
- Outdoor environment
- Grace and Courtesy
- Incorporating art and music across the curriculum
- Ensuring that the children have a connection with nature
- Developing a community of service
- Supporting the spiritual nature of the child
- Social cognition (SEL)Adaptations for students with learning differences (sensory, social-emotional, math based, language based)
- Transition time tricks and spoken language games
- Transition between levels
Preparation of the Adult
- Creating a vision
- Positivity: Strengthening our assets-based approach
- Observation
- Stress resilience
- Closing out the year, goal setting, preparing for the next year
- Self-reflection and gratitudes
Contributing to Montessori Research
Our model is research-based. Participants in our 2023-24 mentoring cohorts were part of a research study looking at the impact of this mentoring model on teacher burnout and teacher self-efficacy. Participants in the mentoring cohorts experienced a statistically significant reduction in degree of burn out by the end of the school year, with 0 mentees reporting “very high” or “high” degrees of burn out.
Virtual Mentoring Communities
Benefits
Interactive Learning with Expert Montessorians
Empowering you in targeted areas critical to teaching and leadership
Practical Help in Real Time
Get timely and specific answers to pressing questions, expediting your progress and growth
A Collaborative Community of Peers
Mine the expertise of colleagues while building a network of invaluable partnerships
Continuing Professional Development Hours
Participants in our mentoring communities are eligible to receive CPDs from either AMI-USA or AMS.
Virtual Mentoring Communities
2026-27 Pricing
Lead Guide Cohorts
Full Price $2,250- Weekly online sessions begin in August 2026 and continue through May 2027
- Each 90-minute session includes a presentation, discussion and brainstorming related to the presented content, and Q&A
- Participants receive access to their cohort's discussion board, where they can add questions to the "parking lot" and continue the discussion between mentoring sessions
- Participants can choose to pay in two equal installments - one in August 2026 and one in January 2027
School Leaders Cohort
Full price is $3,450- Weekly online sessions begin in August 2026 and continue through May 2027
- Each 90-minute session includes a presentation, discussion and brainstorming related to the presented content, and Q&A
- Participants receive access to their cohort's discussion board, where they can add questions to the "parking lot" and continue the discussion between mentoring sessions
- Participants can choose to pay in two equal installments - one in August 2026 and one in January 2027
Is Montessori Mentoring Right For You?
Watch the Webinar to Learn More
Fill out the form below to watch our webinar on Montessori Mentoring Communities.
Primary Mentoring Community
Apply Now
Click on the link below to complete your application to join the Primary Mentoring Community. When submitting your application, you will be charged a non-refundable deposit of $50. If accepted into the program, the deposit will be put toward your remaining tuition. Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a first-come, first-serve rolling basis.
Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2026.
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