About Us

CMStep exists to prepare Montessori teachers, following AMS and MACTE guidelines, for careers in Montessori education at the Secondary I-II level for public and private Montessori school programs.

CMStep’s mission is to prepare Montessori teachers by emphasizing an understanding of the rationale behind the Montessori method, the spirit of the Erdkinder curriculum, and to function in the Montessori prepared environment.

CMStep’s goal is to prepare a Montessori professional who:

• demonstrates developmentally appropriate, rigorous curricula
• provides a prepared environment in which the adolescent can learn and grow
• supports the adolescent to find their place in society by developing an understanding of the Montessori philosophy
• fosters a sense of stewardship and community
• honors the principles of peace and understanding

CMStep is the outgrowth of a need for Montessori trained teachers at the secondary level in the Cincinnati area due to the success of Clark Montessori School Junior & Senior High School. Clark Montessori was the first public secondary Montessori School in the nation, founded in 1994 as a Cincinnati Public School. All of the original team of teachers were trained and credentialed for Secondary I with Houston Montessori Center.

In 2003, Marta Donahoe, program coordinator and a founder of Clark Montessori, developed the foundation for a teacher education program. She worked with a women’s leadership academy to develop a course, called the Montessori Colloquium for Teacher Trainers. This colloquium was held in the summer of 2004 with seven participants. Four of those teachers, with Marta, became the teacher education core group for the following summer.

In order to formalize plans for a secondary Montessori teacher education program in Cincinnati, Marta worked with the Mayerson Academy, the teacher-training institute of Cincinnati Public Schools. In the summer of 2004 the first secondary courses were held with eight full-time participants, 10 part-time participants and preparation of a self- study for the Secondary I-II course was begun. In 2008 CMStep courses were approved by Xavier University for graduate credit leading to a masters degree.

In 2015, Katie Keller Wood and Marta Donahoe became co-directors of CMStep, and the CMStep office location moved to Richmond, Virginia. However, coursework remains in Cincinnati, with the exception of occasional contract sites. In 2017, Katie assumed the role of executive director.

CMStep received accreditation for its Secondary I-II courses from the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE) and became an affiliate of the American Montessori Society in March 2007. Since then, CMStep has maintained continual MACTE accreditation and AMS affiliation.

CMStep also offers stand-alone courses to be taken as professional development. Click here for more information.