Voices of EsF: Peace in Practice: Building Community through Montessori
We are excited to announce the upcoming Voices of EsF session on Peace in Practice: Building Community through Montessori which will take place on Friday, October 2nd at 15:00 CEST. The 90-minute session will explore how Montessori education and principles can serve as a foundation for peaceful, inclusive, and connected communities. Register for the session here.
With presentations from Pavithra Rajagopalan (AMI Trainer), Meisha Perrin (Executive Director for the Black Montessori Education Fund), and a joint presentation by Nora Springer (Director of Outreach and Licensed Social Worker at Montessori Center of Minnesota) and Janice LaFloe (Executive Director and Founder of Montessori American Indian Childcare Center), we will explore how Montessori moves beyond barriers of traditional education systems and how its principles translate into everyday community building practices. You can expect a presentation that explores key ideas alongside practical examples of how Montessori principles have been used to promote peace within communitiesThe three presentations will be followed by small-group discussions, offering participants an opportunity to reflect and exchange ideas. This session aims to inspire our participants with practical, actionable ways of integrating peace into their daily interactions.Read below for details on the session, speakers, and registration!
Participants who attend the live session are eligible to receive a certificate of attendance.
To register, click here.
Registration Charge: The suggested cost of the Programme is €20, which will go towards supporting EsF initiatives. If €20 is not possible for you, you’re welcome to contribute whatever amount works for you.We want everyone to feel welcome, so if donating is not possible for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@montessori-esf.org. We’d love to have you join us!
About the Presenters
Pavithra Rajagopalan is an AMI 3-6 Trainer. After earning her AMI Primary diploma in 2005, she worked in Montessori schools in India, the US, and New Zealand. Since becoming a trainer in 2020, she has served as faculty for Diploma courses in India, China, and Tanzania- where she also leads the Pilot Community Rooted Education programme for government school teachers - and is Director of Training for the first AMI course in Indonesia. She has conducted orientation courses worldwide as well.Pavithra is particularly interested in how to ensure in child safety in learning environments, including the roles policymakers, school heads, teachers, parents, and caregivers each play in ensuring it. She also works closely with the Gandhian Institution Shanti Ashram in India, strengthening early childhood education projects in underserved communities.
Pavithra will offer a theoretical, big-picture overview of the connection between peace, education, and community building, exploring which Montessori principles are most foundational to fostering trust, belonging, and cooperation.
Meisha Perrin, M.Ed is a writer, educator, and Executive Director of the Black Montessori Education Fund, dedicated to making Montessori education more accessible to Black children, educators, and communities worldwide. An AMS- and AMI-trained Montessori teacher, consultant, and program leader, she has worked in Montessori environments across six countries for over a decade and is the founder of Montessori Meisha, an online store for culturally affirming Montessori materials.
Her journalism background shaped her focus on the educational and economic disparities facing Black and other marginalised communities, driving the question at the heart of her work: how do you make Montessori both high-fidelity and genuinely aligned with the cultural values of the community it serves?
Meisha believes economic justice is inseparable from racial and social justice, and that caring for the land and caring for each other are the same question. In the session, Meisha will highlight that peace and inclusivity require actions (not just reading and talking about peace) and should not solely be the responsibility of the person who is typically excluded to create that space or drive the action. In fact, it needs to be primarily driven by allies in order to be truly transformative and most effective
Janice Lafloe is the founder of Montessori American Indian Childcare Center (MAICC) and the former Primary Guide in the Children’s House. She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe – Belcourt, North Dakota. Janice earned her Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She completed her Montessori training at the MN Montessori Training Center in St Paul in 2013 as a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow.
Nora Springer is Director of Outreach and Licensed Social Worker at Montessori Center of Minnesota (MCM). She provides mental health consultation, social-emotional intervention support, and resource and referral services to Montessori Partners Serving All Children (MPSAC) partner schools. Prior to MCM, she worked with Early Head Start and Head Start in St. Paul, MN. Nora holds a Master’s in Social Work from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.Nora and Janice will share the story of their partnership through MCM's initiative, MPSAC, a network of independently run, community-rooted Montessori programmes. Together, they will highlight MAICC’s work bringing American Indian child-rearing values and Montessori together in an Indigenized early learning environment that nurtures children’s connections to family, culture, and community, including experiences with Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota languages.