The Key to Success and Longevity
Elementary 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 families? 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 Elementary 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 Biff Maier, who shares his considerable 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).
Elementary Mentor Highlight
Biff Maier, M.Ed.
William (Biff) Maier is the Director of Faculty and Curriculum Development at Lexington Montessori School in Massachusetts. He co-directs the Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative (METTC), also in Lexington. Involved with Montessori since 1974, Biff is a seminar and workshop presenter, a school consultant, a coordinator for the AMS Instructor Academy for teacher trainers, and a mentor for AMS’ Emerging Leaders Program. In 2021 he received the AMS Living Legacy Award. As former Chair of the AMS Teachers’ Section, he served on the AMS National Board of Directors.
Biff graduated from Duke University with a degree in Psychology. At Xavier University, he simultaneously earned an AMS credential in Early Childhood and completed his MEd in Montessori education. Biff also earned an AMI Elementary I – II credential while studying in Bergamo, Italy.
Biff is married to a psychiatrist who practices privately in Arlington, Massachusetts, and they have two adult children who are Montessori graduates. Ida is a linguist and novelist living in Paris. Ted is a second-year law student in Boston.
Mentoring Communities
Mentoring Topics for Elementary 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
- Partnering with parents – diversified communication methods
- Candid communications – successes and challenges
- Writing insightful progress reports
- Turning the challenging parent/caregiver into a partner
Classroom Systems
- Planning & record keeping
- Classroom systems – expectations, schedules, notebooks, portfolios, work journals, sending work home, care of the environment
- Community meetings and creating a classroom constitution
- The culturally inclusive classroom
- Agency & assessment: 1-1 meetings with students & student-led conferences
- Observation: purpose and practice
- Role of technology in the classroom
- Freedom and limits: supporting students’ self-discipline and self-regulation
Preparing for Events
- Setting up the classroom before school starts
- First week of school & Back to School Night
- Preparing for and leading parent/guide conferences
- Current & prospective parent observations
- Classroom celebrations and traditions
- Making events diverse, equitable and inclusive
Curriculum
- The Great Lessons
- Anti-bias lens
- “Just right” work
- Inspiring student-led follow-up work and how students demonstrate mastery
- Going Out
- Grace & Courtesy for Elementary
- Generating student writing
- Student presentations
- Hitting the high notes – challenging third year students
- 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 (SEL, growth mindset, self-reflection)
- Incorporating nature across the curriculum
- Adaptations for students with learning differences: sensory, social-emotional, math-based, language-based
Preparation of the Adult
- Know thyself: identity and bias
- Self-care
- A growth mindset
- 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.
Elementary Mentoring Community
Apply Now
Click on the link below to complete your application to join the Elementary 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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