Our Guests: Allison Jones & Elizabeth Slade
Show Notes
Allison Jones and Elizabeth Slade join the Voices in Montessori podcast to discuss the invisible structures that keep a well-run Elementary classroom humming. After realizing that they each had spent years inventing and tweaking various structures and practices that were not explicitly taught in training, Allison and Elizabeth decided to write Finding Ground: Building Strong Elementary Practice, in hopes of saving other Elementary Guides years of experimentation (that often comes at the expense of the children). The book is filled with practical tools and resources to support and ground Elementary Guides.
In this conversation, we focus on just one small part of their shared wisdom: implementing systems for shared accountability. As Montessorians, we know that intrinsic motivation and the use of the Montessori materials are essential. AND…the second plane is also a sensitive period for developing the skills of time management and materials management – skills that are essential for their longterm development.
So what does this look like in practice? How do Guides keep track of what students are working on? How do the students keep track? And do we create these systems and tools to support students’ self-reflection rather than rushing through checklists? We discuss the use of work journals in depth. Join Allison and Elizabeth for this fascinating discussion.
About Our Guests
Allison Jones
Montessori Consultant, Coach & Author
Allison has been implementing Montessori in the US, Senegal, and Vietnam for over 20 years. In addition to founding Public Montessori in Action (PMAI), Allison has worked as the Director of Student Support for Breakthrough Montessori in Washington, D.C. and with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. She has designed and refined Child Study training, school-based equity training and approaches, and designed and led Montessori Teacher Residency.
Allison received an AMI Primary Diploma from Institut Superieur Maria Montessori in Paris and an AMI Elementary Diploma from Washington Montessori Institute, with an M.Ed in Montessori Education from Loyola College of Maryland.
Allison cowrote the book, Finding Ground: Building Strong Montessori Practice, with Elizabeth Slade, which came out in 2025.
Elizabeth Slade
Montessori Consultant, Coach & Author
Elizabeth has been a Montessori educator for 39 years. She has worked to build public Montessori programs, implementing Montessori Early Intervention systems and developing the art of Montessori Coaching. She is passionate about supporting school start-ups, designing trainings and bringing the Montessori coaching method to schools across the world.
Elizabeth earned her AMI Elementary Diploma from the Washington Montessori Institute, and her AMS Administrative Credential at the Center for Contemporary Montessori Studies. In addition, she has a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Spalding University.
Elizabeth is a frequent presenter at Montessori conferences. Her book, Montessori in Action: Building Resilient Montessori Schools, was released in July 2021. Her book, Finding Ground: Building Strong Montessori Practice, co-written with Allison Jones, came out in 2025.
Resources
Finding Ground: Building Strong Elementary Practice by Allison Jones & Elizabeth Slade
Implementing Strong Elementary Montessori Workshop (Summer 2026)
Elizabeth’s website: https://www.egslade.com
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