My first stop on Friday the 24th of April will be at the International Training Institute of Atlanta to meet with a sparkling group of trainees ready to come to Loyola's Intensive Summer Session in June. It will be great to see Joen Bettman who always has some great suggestions for locations to imbibe and shade oneself from the Georgia sunshine.Then it's a quick stop in Phoenix, Arizona to our newest partner location (approval pending) for an Open House. Please stop by the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies if you are in the area on Saturday at 10 a.m. I'll be there with Primary trainer Ann Velasco (Loyola graduate......) to discuss the next Academic Year course in the fall and how the Master's of Education degree fits in to the mix.
Next stop will be San Diego, where I am always spoiled by MISDs hospitality - it will be great to meet with the current cohort and discuss summer options as well as some prospective applicants to the Loyola program. I also want to get an update from Sharon and Silvia on the Inclusive Education course that is finishing this summer. There is never a dull moment in San Diego, they have 2 multi summer programs starting in June and 2 more Academic Year cohorts this fall. Whew!
After squeezing as much time as I can in San Diego - it's off to another, very underrated city - Houston. Just getting to spend some time at the Post Oak school is reason enough to go - but it doesn't hurt at all to spend time with Mirani Smith and the team at the Houston Montessori Institute. I will attend their Open Session on Thursday April 30th, 7:30 p.m. and also check in on some of our current students who work at Post Oak.
The trip will conclude by back tracking to San Francisco to support Jen Davidson and her Montessori Northwest team as they invite interested students to their new Primary and Assistants to infancy cohorts in the bay area which will be housed at the LePort School in downtown Frisco. Look for the Twitter offices.... find the Starbucks.... and they are right down the road.
Then there will only be one more place to visit; last but certainly not least - on May 8th I'll be back at Loyola's Columbia campus reconnecting with the students at the Washington Montessori Institute and helping them get ready for their final 3 courses to complete their Master's degree.
Along the way I hope to visit every Montessori school between Baltimore and San Diego (a stretch target) - so if you see me at your door, just know that you have been warned.
... I can't wait to get on the road again.
