American Montessori Society (AMS) – International Montessori Society

Soon after Dr. Montessori’s death in 1952, son Mario sought to restore a working presence of his mother’s work in the United States.  In this effort, Mario assigned the AMI-trained American educator Nancy Rambusch, to represent the AMI interests in America.  However, when certain philosophical and personal differences arose between Mario and Nancy, concerning Montessori education, Mario sought to reassert AMI authority and control in the USA under the direction of Margaret Stephenson, who established an AMI teacher education center in Washington, DC.   In response, however, Nancy continued her own separate training of Montessori teachers, first in the state of Connecticut, and then later through a new organization, separate from AMI, known as “American Montessori Society.” (AMS)

This new AMS organization then provided its own brand of Montessori certification and training of teachers beyond Connecticut through a network of affiliated AMS training centers and schools.  The philosophy was oriented to the American “culture”, which fit comfortably into conventional American higher education. The AMS has now expanded its “culture” type Montessori teaching to other countries, giving a distinctive alternative to the AMI “personality” type philosophy in the field.