Our Program
Secondary I-II (ages 12 – 18) Credential
Application Deadlines:
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- Low-Residency: January 17, 2025
- High-Residency: April 1, 2025
Check out the Pacing Guides and Calendars for more scheduling information!
Interested in earning your Montessori Secondary Teaching Credential?
- CMStep now offers two pathways to help you meet your goal: High-Residency & Low-Residency
- Both pathways lead to the same outcome: an AMS Secondary I-II Credential
- Low-Residency Cohort 1, Section 2 (Barcelona, Spain)** begins January 19, 2025. Applications are due January 17, 2025.
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Low-Residency Cohort 5, Section 2 (Cincinnati, Ohio) begins January 19, 2025. Applications are due January 17, 2025.
- High-Residency Cohort 19 (Cincinnati, Ohio) begins June 22, 2025. Applications are due April 1, 2025 to ensure that the minimum cohort size of 12 adult learners is met.
The upcoming Low-Residency & High-Residency cohorts have In-Person Summer 1 training in June & July 2025. To join Low-Residency Cohort 1, Section 1 (Barcelona, Spain)** or Low-Residency Cohort 5, Section 1 (Cincinnati, Ohio) which began January 9, 2024, please contact us to inquire. Late applications are accepted on a case-by-case basis.
*CMStep is an Applicant in Good Standing for its Secondary I-II courses in Barcelona, Spain with the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE). Applicant in Good Standing status in no way determines the outcome of the accreditation decisions by MACTE. CMStep has also applied for affiliation of its Secondary I-II courses in Barcelona, Spain by the American Montessori Society (AMS). We are happy to report that CMStep received initial accreditation from MACTE and affiliation by AMS for its Secondary I-II courses in Cincinnati, OH in March 2007. Since then, CMStep has maintained continuous MACTE accreditation and AMS affiliation for this location and all additional locations served. **Enrollment incurs an additional location fee of $300, due at the time of application. Training will be delivered in English but we’re excited that bilingual instructors will be present. Assignments may be submitted in Spanish.
High-Residency
In-person training time:
- Summer Intensives: 8 weeks, spread over two summers (5 weeks in Summer 1, 3 weeks in Summer 2)
- Fall Intensive: Thursday through Monday (5 days)
Online coursework expectations:
- Digital winter intensive (5 days)
- Practicum Zoom sessions (3 sessions required, offered monthly)
- The Overview Course, a prerequisite required for anyone who does not already possess an EL I-II Montessori credential (40 hours, fully self-paced)
- Mindfulness Fundamentals, required in the fall (10 hours)
Prerequisites:
- The Overview Course, a prerequisite required for anyone who does not already possess an EL I-II Montessori credential (40 hours, fully self-paced)
- Prerequisite readings: 3 books and 9 articles from our website
We recommend securing your required readings for Overview (2 books) before you begin. Find the reading list and pre-training work here.
Application deadline: April 1, 2025
Applications for High-Residency Cohort 19 are due April 1st, 2025 to ensure that a minimum cohort size of 12 is met.
Training begins: June 2025
This is the start of the orientation for the courses in Cincinnati.
Low-Residency
In-person training time:
- Summer Intensives: 3 weeks, spread over two summers (14 days in Summer 1, 8 days in Summer 2)
- Fall Intensive: Thursday through Monday (5 days)
Online coursework expectations:
- Semi-weekly practicum Zoom sessions (after Summer 1 school year)
- 9 Online Minimesters: Low-Residency participants should budget about 5 hours per week for online coursework, organized into four-week chunks called Minimesters. There is a one-week break between each Minimester. (Contact us for a more detailed schedule or check out the pacing guides here)
- The Overview Course, a prerequisite required for anyone who does not already possess an EL I-II Montessori credential (40 hours, fully self-paced)
- Introduction to Secondary Montessori, a prerequisite required for all Low-Residency adult learners (40 hours in 6 weeks, paced)
- Mindfulness Fundamentals, required in the fall (10 hours)
Prerequisites:
- The Overview Course, a prerequisite required for anyone who does not already possess an EL I-II Montessori credential (40 hours, fully self-paced)
- Introduction to Secondary Montessori, a prerequisite required for all Low-Residency adult learners (40 hours in 6 weeks, paced)
- Admissions interview with Steph Bijoch and/or Katie Keller Wood (rolling, scheduled when the application process is initiated)
We also recommend securing your required readings for Overview (2 books) and Minimesters 1-3 (4 books) before you begin. Find your reading list and pre-training work here.
Complete application deadline: January 17, 2025
The application must be completed in full, including the enrollment fee. Late applications to Section 1 are accepted on a case-by-case basis. Contact us to inquire.
Prerequisite coursework begins: January 19, 2025
The online coursework begins with Introduction to Secondary Montessori, a prerequisite to the Low-Residency Minimester courses. If you have already taken our Introduction as a stand-alone course, please make sure to mark this off on your application.
Not Sure Yet?
Prerequisite and beginning courses (Introduction to Secondary Montessori and The Montessori Overview Course) can also be taken for stand-alone PD credit! Click here to learn more or sign up for these stand-alone courses. And don’t worry! If you take one or both of these courses now and then choose to enroll for in the training program, the amount paid for your PD courses will be deducted from your total CMStep tuition.
