Thanks for reaching out with such energy and enthusiasm. We are looking forward to a great year together. We've got a lot of irons in the fire and are getting all our residency programs settled into the new school year. I know you must be anxious to get a feel for where you fit in to the bigger picture.

The second Montessori Leader Development Fellow (MLDF) is Amy Malik. Since you both come to this work with very different backgrounds, there will likewise be different expectations for your self-construction. Amy comes with Montessori training and classroom experience, as well as experience as a charter school Assistant Principal. She will be looking to fill out the business end of her skill spectrum. Amy is just a few months shy of opening the Great Work Montessori Learning Community, with a toddler class and a primary class, to start with. She'll be submitting a charter application to Jefferson County in the Spring. I know she'll be a great support for you in your work. I'm also confident that we can structure our collaborations so that she can benefit from your business acumen and your experience in business leadership. I'll send out a formal welcome to your little cohort of two, as soon as she has signed her contract.

For you, we have a deep pile of readings and pedagogical seminars in store, to help you get up to speed on Montessori history and theory. We are going to go after this in a big way, so that you can become a vocal and effective advocate. (I hope you love to read!) At some point in the spring, we'll be asking you to lead pedagogical discussions with our secondary Apprentices, and co-host some parent education events with Amy.

For now, I will just make a few recommendations. All of the titles we recommend will be available to you in the Great Work library, but you will likely want to build a library of your own at some point. We have the Apprentices reading about a book a week–sometimes a bit less if the book is long. If that pace will be a problem for you, let's talk. The titles we'll recommend you read this year are must-haves for any school lending library, and you'll refer to them often for quotations and pedagogical rationales. You'll be building a database of quotations over the course of this year to support you in parent education and preparation of informational materials. I suggest you start right away to track quotations or sections that are particularly potent, memorable, inspiring, enlightening. The quotation database will be of your own design, with the intent of being useful for you. If it were mine to do, I'd probably start a Google doc. After compiling them for a while, my guess is you will want to be creating a system of searchable keywords. Every Montessori educator I know wishes they had begun to do this work from the start of their Montessori journey. We all turn to one another from time to time and ask, "Where is the quote about … blah blah blah?" Here's your chance!

Familiarize yourself with the AMI-global website (http://ami-global.org/ami) as well as with the AMI-USA website (http://amiusa.org/). There are numerous Montessori governing bodies in the U.S, as well as all over the globe. We (GW) choose to ally ourselves with AMI because it is the ONLY Montessori accrediting body on the planet that trains its trainers…a minimum of 3 years of intensive pedagogical training is required to become an AMI accredited teacher trainer. This creates a real training bottleneck, to be sure, but also assures quality and consistency in AMI trainings.

http://www.amazon.com/Maria-Montessori-Her-Life-Work/dp/0452279895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439408011&sr=8-1&keywords=em+standing

The Formation of Man, by Maria Montessori (short and powerful!)

http://www.montessori-namta.org/Books-by-Montessori/The-Formation-of-Man

To Educate the Human Potential, by Maria Montessori (short and powerful)

http://www.montessori-namta.org/Books-by-Montessori/To-Educate-the-Human-Potential

The Absorbent Mind, by Maria Montessori (This one is a long and fairly dense compilation of lectures, but a crucial read)

http://www.montessori-namta.org/Books-by-Montessori/The-Absorbent-Mind

I encourage you, further, to read the attached articles, about the history of Montessori in the U.S. (You will meet the authors, Jackie Cossentino and Keith Whitescarver sometime this fall. They are great friends and collaborators and Keith, at least, is likely to be deeply involved in the writing of your charter application). You'll want to be familiar with their work, as well: National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector ( http://www.public-montessori.org/ )

Well. I suppose that should keep you busy! If you can have read the Biography and the two little texts or the biography and the Absorbent Mind … plus the attached articles … before we get rolling, you will be primed to hit the ground running. If you are packing and getting ducks in a row and find that reading pace impossible, we FULLY understand. This list will then just give you a little window into the very near future.

Thanks again for reaching out, and please let us know if there is anything else we can do to support you in your big move!

Chris

On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 11:22 AM, Brian Sense <bpsense@gmail.com> wrote:

Good afternoon Chris, Kristy and Wendy!

I hope all is well in beautiful Colorado! We’re looking forward to starting the move out and settling in over Labor day weekend.

I also thought I’d check in about a couple of things, Wendy, you had left me a message about needing to revise the offer letter again, but I was unclear if I needed to do anything or if that was still in the works.

Also, in the outline you had sent me earlier Kristy, it mentioned some readings and other literature and was wondering if you had any of those pulled together for me to start taking a look at?

Lastly, I was wondering if you could connect me with the other Fellow? I figured since we will be collaborating a bit as we go through this process, it would be nice to connect prior to officially kicking all of this off.

Thanks, and I look forward to this journey (and to meeting you Chris!)

Take care,

Brian

On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 5:31 PM, wendy silveira-steinway <yourselfengaged@gmail.com> wrote:

Good Evening Brian,

Per our conversation tonight, I am sending the offer letter. As I mentioned Chris will be sending you the updated deliverables later.

Let me know if there is anything else I can clarify for you in the coming weeks.

When you return the offer letter signed please cc Chris on it.

Respectfully,

Wendy

Wendy Silveira-Steinway

Chief Engagement Officer

Sage Engagement Strategies

720.468.3907

On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 5:31 PM, wendy silveira-steinway <yourselfengaged@gmail.com> wrote:

Good Evening Brian,

Per our conversation tonight, I am sending the offer letter. As I mentioned Chris will be sending you the updated deliverables later.

Let me know if there is anything else I can clarify for you in the coming weeks.

When you return the offer letter signed please cc Chris on it.

Respectfully,

Wendy

Wendy Silveira-Steinway

Chief Engagement Officer

Sage Engagement Strategies

720.468.3907

Good Evening Brian,

Per our conversation tonight, I am sending the offer letter. As I mentioned Chris will be sending you the updated deliverables later.

Let me know if there is anything else I can clarify for you in the coming weeks.

When you return the offer letter signed please cc Chris on it.

Respectfully,

Wendy