We will be delighted to work with you as you earn your Montessori teaching credential. Select the appropriate link below:

Is there financial aid?

NAMC’s mandate is to provide all our students with the best price. We work hard to keep our fees as low as possible for everyone, and we couldn't do this if we offered financial aid to some of our students. 

If you cannot make the three equal installment payments, we would be happy to discuss a monthly payment plan with you. Please contact us for details:

Email: Use our Email Contact Form
Toll-Free (USA & Canada): 1.877.531.6665
Local and International Callers: 1.604.576.6621

What is your refund policy?

NAMC offers the most generous refund policy available. If a new student contacts NAMC to return their FIRST shipment of program material in its original condition within seven (7) days of their delivery, NAMC will organize to have the program material picked up at the student’s expense. Upon receipt and verification of the condition of said materials, a full refund of the Program Tuition Fee and the Curriculum Resources Fee will apply. All other fees are non-refundable.

We welcome enrollments daily from all persons interested in Montessori education.

Our student base is a diverse one, ranging from people who are looking to become Montessori teachers, to current Montessori teachers and administrators, to childcare practitioners, to parents and grandparents, to homeschoolers. We are very fortunate to work with students in North America and around the world in over 160 countries. Begin your Montessori training with NAMC today!

How do I enroll?

Enrolling is easy and convenient! You can enroll any time from the comfort of your home. Simply complete the user-friendly Online Enrollment Form and pay by VISA or MasterCard on our fully secure website. Or, if you prefer, download a printable PDF Enrollment Form and send the completed form and your payment to our office by mail or fax. We then review and process your enrollment and courier your program materials. You can begin your Montessori training within days of enrolling. It is as simple as that!

NAMC’s Montessori training programs are 100% distance education, which means you can complete the entire program from the comfort of your home. Because we do not have set start dates, you can enroll in a program at any time. As soon as you enroll in a program and we have shipped your program materials to you, the program starts with scheduled assignment due dates.

Once you enroll, NAMC couriers your curriculum manuals and support material directly to your door. These are the materials you study to learn the Montessori theory and methodology that relates to the age group of your program level.

Your program is divided into three separate components and there are a series of written assignments required for each component. Your learning is assessed based on these assignments. Each component must be completed within a ten-week period for the Infant/Toddler and Early Childhood Diploma Programs, for an approximate total of seven consecutive months. For the Lower and Upper Elementary Diploma Programs, each component must be completed within a twelve-week period, for an approximate total of nine consecutive months.

The written assignments are based directly on the curriculum manuals, curriculum support material, videos (where applicable), and other learning tools we give you. There is one assignment for each curriculum manual, ensuring that you gain a full understanding of the activities that you will be presenting in the Montessori environment. The assignment questions are primarily objective, focusing on your comprehension, but they also give you the opportunity for some critical thinking and practical application. Your personal NAMC tutor supports you throughout the program. Once you submit your work, your tutor assesses your assignments and provides you with detailed feedback.

Upon the successful completion of all your assignments, you receive a NAMC Montessori diploma for your program level!

What is MyNAMC?

NAMC is thrilled to launch our new MyNAMC Learning Environment. All of our programs have been enriched with many new and exciting online resources including short and informative videos to help you get started, valuable NAMC articles, photos, activities to supplement your learning, and an innovative study timeline to help you successfully manage the timely completion of your program. NAMC’s plan is to continually add resources to these online environments.

NAMC is proud to offer four levels of Montessori teacher training:

All of our diploma programs are divided into three components, and each component has a series of written assignments that are generated from NAMC’s curriculum manuals and resources. You will be assigned a personal tutor for the duration of your program, and you will have unlimited access to her by email, phone, and Skype.

How will my NAMC tutor assist me?

Once you enroll in a NAMC Montessori Diploma Program, you are connected with a personable and knowledgeable NAMC tutor who will be your Montessori guide throughout your program. NAMC tutors are experienced Montessori classroom teachers and mentors whose sole responsibility is working with our students on a daily basis, offering friendly assistance and making real connections. Your tutor will provide you with individual support throughout your studies, reviewing your assignments and giving you constructive feedback. And if you have questions along the way, just ask! Your tutor is happy to assist you with any questions you may have related to your coursework. She is also ready to help with information about Montessori philosophy and methodology, opening a new school, selecting Montessori materials, setting up a classroom, classroom management, practical applications, and much more. Communicating with your tutor is easy. Just pick up the phone, send an email, or Skype!

What do the assignments involve?

NAMC’s assignments correspond closely with our curriculum manuals — so that your learning relates directly to what you will be teaching in the Montessori classroom. Most of the assignment questions require short answers — sometimes a sentence, sometimes a paragraph or two — and we consistently provide you with learning tools such as videos, graphics, and templates to support your comprehension.

The most important thing to know about our assignments is that they are manageable. You can do this! NAMC is proud of the fact that our dedicated, motivated students never fail. We assess you on the merit of your assignment answers. There are no examinations, and although grammar and composition skills are important, they are not the subject of your training.

Our assessment procedure is unique, and it is one of the reasons our motivated learners succeed. After you submit your assignments, your tutor evaluates your work and provides you with personal feedback, reviewing your answers with you to ensure that you thoroughly understand what you are learning.

NAMC wants more for you than just completed assignments; we work with you to make certain that you understand the program content and that you will have success applying what you have learned. We are kind of Montessori that way!

What if I cannot complete my assignments by the scheduled date?

If I have more time to commit to my studies, may I accelerate my program?

Yes, if you can work on your studies full time, you may accelerate your program and complete it sooner. You are able to do this with NAMC because we include everything you will need to teach with our program fees. In other training programs, teachers must create their own Montessori manuals and printable resources, and this takes hundreds of hours. We have done all of this for you! Once enrolled, please contact Student Services to discuss a customized schedule, as we do have minimum time frames for each program.

Is there an internship or practicum involved?

No, NAMC programs do not include an internship or practicum. Requiring our students to have an internship would exclude many wonderful candidates who need to continue working while they take their Montessori training. We feel that this is too high a price to pay, and fortunately, many Montessori schools hold a similar view.

Is an internship or practicum important?

An internship or practicum is always useful, but it is seldom a requirement to gain employment.

A mentor is a valuable resource for teachers

Prospective employers appreciate seeing initiative on the part of an applicant, and undertaking a practicum on your own time certainly shows initiative — it shows that you are genuinely enthusiastic about working in a Montessori environment. If you have the time and the opportunity, we always recommend that you volunteer in a local Montessori school during the final component of your NAMC Montessori training.

However, the reality is that few schools, if any, will hire a recent graduate of any Montessori training program to be a lead teacher. Most Montessori administrators think that graduates require at least one year of on-the-job training with an experienced teacher before assuming leadership of a Montessori classroom. To these schools, an internship is inconsequential as they know that anyone they hire will be spending a year with one of their experienced Montessori teachers — essentially a paid internship. Schools are much more concerned with finding enthusiastic, child-oriented graduates to join their team and embrace their ideals.

NAMC’s dedication to our students sets us apart from the number of other excellent options for Montessori training. We created our Montessori distance education programs with you in mind — providing established, quality training that is affordable, flexible, and accessible.

NAMC has graduates living and working in over 160 countries worldwide, many of whom stay in touch with us long after they have completed their training. Many have also taken the time to express how they feel about NAMC and their training.

How our graduates feel about their training from NAMC may be the best indicator of how you will feel. To find out how they feel, we would be happy to put you in touch with a graduate in your area – contact us for more information.

How many graduates successfully acquire employment?

The number of Montessori schools has doubled in the last ten years, so it is a wonderful time to be a Montessori teacher in what is widely considered a “recession-proof” career. Montessori teachers are in greater demand today than they have ever been. We receive emails and calls all the time from schools requesting teachers!

Montessori training centers are not permitted to promise students employment upon graduation, but we can assure you that Montessori teacher demand has never been greater and NAMC graduates are embraced all around the world!

Investigate requirements to teach children, both before school-age and school-age, with the government agency responsible for childcare and preschool licensing or elementary education in your area.

It depends on where you live. The answer is “yes” in some areas and “no” in others. It can depend on a variety of factors, such as the age group you want to work with, class size, whether you want to be a lead teacher in a classroom or work in your home, your educational background and prior experience, and so on.

If this is a concern, we recommend that individuals interested in teaching infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children contact someone working in the Montessori community or their local government agency responsible for childcare and preschool licensing.

People interested in teaching elementary-age children are also advised to contact someone they know or their government office responsible for elementary education. Private and independent schools are often more flexible with their teacher education requirements than public schools.

Is the NAMC diploma recognized internationally?

NAMC is proud to have graduates in over 160 countries and counting!

Yes, like all Montessori diplomas, NAMC’s diploma is recognized internationally.

NAMC does not offer an upgraded “International Diploma” for an additional fee because our programs already cover all of the information required for international certification.

Wherever you teach, either you know the method and curriculum or you do not. A Montessori program in Dubai should look and feel just like one in New York. Except for the language spoken, Montessori teachers should be interchangeable while the Montessori method remains the same.

NAMC is an independent Montessori training center, like most in the world, and we, along with our students and graduates, have been very successful with this status for over 25 years.

NAMC is a member of the following organizations:

Canadian Association of Young Children (CAYC)

 

International Montessori Council (IMC)

 

Pacific Northwest Montessori Association (PNMA)

 Are NAMC's diploma programs accredited?

The Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE) is an accreditation organization to which Montessori training programs with classroom training can choose to belong. To qualify for MACTE accreditation, training centers must require that students complete three weeks of classroom instruction and a minimum of 400 hours as an intern in a MACTE-accredited school. Currently, MACTE does not accredit programs that train solely through distance education.

Are NAMC, AMS, and AMI interchangeable?

No, we are not. To better understand these organizations, please consider the following:

American Montessori Society (AMS)

AMS training programs require that students spend a minimum of 300+ hours attending in-class sessions to graduate. AMS does not offer distance education as an option.

Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)

AMI training programs are typically one year in duration and require full-time classroom attendance.

Out of the approximately 6,000 Montessori schools in the USA, approximately 3%, or about 200 schools, are AMI certified. Those schools may choose to hire their own graduates first. The other 5,800 schools almost always hire teachers who have been trained outside the AMI realm.

Will the lack of association with the above bodies affect my career prospects?

It is possible for any Montessori-trained teacher seeking employment to encounter a biased teacher or administrator. All Montessori teachers, regardless of their training, are exposed to this risk. However, research in the past ten years has shown that few schools explicitly cite a particular Montessori diploma as a pre-requisite for employment, and the difference between salaries among teachers with different Montessori credentials is not significant.

We certainly agree with these findings because we know that the teacher holding the diploma is far more important than the diploma itself. Our experience indicates that NAMC graduates are every bit as successful at acquiring employment and starting their own Montessori schools and daycares as alternatively trained Montessori teachers.

Without question, the most important predictors of Montessori career success are the inherent personal qualities that you bring to the profession. Administrators hire candidates who present themselves as child-oriented, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. Most administrators also agree that although parents expect teachers to have Montessori training, few are interested in its source. In fact, most parents have never heard of AMI, AMS, MACTE, or even NAMC.

Quite simply, the letters on a Montessori teacher’s diploma are at the bottom of parental priorities. Parents are only truly interested in the quality of the individual school, classroom, and teacher. Montessori owners and administrators realize this, and, to prosper, they hire accordingly.

Will I be able to teach at any Montessori school with my NAMC diploma?

As no one owns the rights to Montessori, schools have the freedom to determine which Montessori teaching credentials they choose to accept. While many schools around the world proudly accept NAMC trained Montessori teachers, others do not. The same may be said about teachers who receive their training elsewhere. Nobody can grant you a diploma and assure you that it will be accepted at all Montessori schools. Having said that, Montessori teachers are in demand around the world and NAMC has graduates working in over 150 countries. As we are fond of saying, most Montessori schools, especially independent schools, are more concerned with the teacher holding the diploma than the diploma itself.

How can I use NAMC’s Montessori manuals and resources?

NAMC’s proprietary Curriculum Manuals and Resources are used to study and learn NAMC’s diploma programs. Once the diploma program is complete, the Manuals and Resources can be used as a personal reference to teach and guide children in a classroom setting.

NAMC’s Curriculum Manuals and Resources can be purchased separately from our diploma programs for the following purposes: To be used as a personal resource in a Montessori classroom while you are working with children; to be used as a personal resource in a homeschool environment while you are working with children; to be used as a personal resource for a school administrator.

NAMC's Curriculum Manuals and Resources cannot be used to teach other adults about the Montessori method.

NAMC does not authorize any person, trainer, training center, school, college/university, homeschool organization, or other organization to use any part of NAMC’s copyrighted Curriculum Manuals or Resources as part of a formal or informal training program, course, seminar, or any other such study, or to be used to demonstrate or guide another adult to learn the Montessori method (e.g., how to present the activities; how to use the Montessori materials). NAMC does not authorize the use of our Manuals and Resources for any commercial purposes, whether for profit or not-for-profit.

NAMC does not authorize any person, school, or organization to photocopy, duplicate, upload in a digital format, adapt, or translate into another language any part of NAMC’s copyrighted Manuals or Resources. NAMC only offers its Manuals in a published (hard copy) format. We have not authorized anyone to use it in a digital format.

NAMC has dedicated 28 years to developing and continually improving our proprietary Montessori Manuals and Resources. These copyrighted resources are for the exclusive training purposes of our Montessori teacher training diploma programs.

Thank you in advance for understanding and respecting our use and copyright policies.

Yes, our new Early Childhood Diploma Program provides you with the same Montessori teaching credential as our Preschool/Kindergarten Diploma Program.

The diploma, the duration of the program, and its overall format remains the same, focusing on Montessori philosophy and methodology as it applies to children in the 3–6 year age range. While the program has not changed, our curriculum manuals have. We have given the program a new name to reflect these exciting revisions. The Early Childhood Diploma Program now includes beautifully redesigned hardcover curriculum manuals that feature even more Montessori theory and philosophy, written in a clear and easy-to-follow style, with detailed, step-by-step instructions and even more beautiful, full-color images.