The faculty and staff at Montessori Education Centre are a community of learners dedicated to the growth and transformation of every child under our care. With the active guidance and involved support of the leadership team (Head of School and Principle of Main Campus, Tammy Whiting and North Campus Principal, Rachel Lichtenberger M.Ed.), each member of the MEC team is continually striving to understand, anticipate, and fulfill the needs of our students.
Each classroom at MEC is required to have at least one certified Montessori teacher in each classroom, having completed their Montessori training through either AMS or the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). Certified teachers must complete a rigorous training program, which includes coursework in Montessori philosophy childhood development and a one-year internship in a Montessori classroom. Montessori training centers occasionally send these interns to MEC to enhance their training with experience in an example institution amongst strong, caring educators. The average experience level of the lead teachers in the twenty classrooms at MEC (Main and North campuses) is ten years.
The teachers practice an awareness of their responsibility to model integrity, respect and accountability in all they do. The prepared and committed teachers of MEC recognize that children construct their learning through direct experience with the physical, intellectual and social environment of the classroom and the world, and teachers use their keen observation skills to facilitate a match between the unique individual learner and knowledge.
MEC classes include an outdoor environment with a dedicated staff member who maintains a hands-on educational setting that runs in concert with the curriculum of the classroom(s) to which they are closely related.
All students have the benefit of an invested and caring support staff throughout the day, including office personnel, recess supervision, and LEAP (after-school) team members.
MEC has created an enriching work environment. For this reason, and others, our teachers tend to stay at our school for many years.
Employee education and experience information is available for inspection upon request. A.R.S. ยง15-183(F).