The Glen Montessori School Achieves AMS Pathway Verified Status
The Glen Montessori School Achieves AMS Pathway Verified Status
We are proud to share that The Glen Montessori School has reached an exciting milestone on our journey toward accreditation! The American Montessori Society (AMS) has officially designated The Glen as a Verified School—a significant step forward in our five-year plan to achieve full AMS accreditation.
This recognition places The Glen among a select group of Montessori schools. Fewer than 20% of Montessori programs in the United States hold AMS accreditation. The Glen is the only school in our region to have reached Verified School status—the second-highest level of recognition on AMS’s Pathway of Continuous School Improvement.
Accreditation goes above and beyond the basic requirements for licensing. While The Glen has held licenses from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Department of Human Services for nearly 40 years—and has long been a Member School of the American Montessori Society—accreditation marks the beginning of a new era. It reflects a deeper level of commitment, accountability, and excellence in Montessori education.
“This milestone affirms what we’ve always known: The Glen offers a deeply rooted, authentic Montessori experience,” said Jackie Herrmann, Head of School. “Our commitment to this educational model goes beyond philosophy—it’s a daily practice lived out in every classroom, by every teacher, and with every child.”
What Does “Verified” Mean?
To reach Verified School status, The Glen completed a process of documentation and third-party verification of five essential components that define an authentic Montessori program:
Trained Montessori Teachers: Educators at The Glen complete 2–4 years of specialized Montessori training beyond their undergraduate or graduate degrees.
Multi-Age Classrooms: Students are grouped by developmental stage, encouraging mentorship, collaboration, and leadership.
Montessori Materials: Authentic, hands-on, self-correcting tools support deep learning through concrete-to-abstract exploration; many of these were designed by Dr. Montessori herself.
Child-Directed Work: Children choose their work and progress at their own pace, building independence and intrinsic motivation.
Uninterrupted Work Periods: Long, focused blocks of time allow children to dive deeply into learning and develop mastery.
Together, these five elements form the foundation of quality Montessori education—and confirm The Glen’s alignment with the highest standards of Montessori excellence.
“As a parent, I see every day how the Montessori approach shapes my kids into confident, curious, and capable people,” said David Garlock, Board President and parent of three Glen students. “This recognition just reinforces what so many of us already feel: that The Glen is something special.“
“Being part of a Verified School is meaningful for us as educators,” added Lori Pawlak, Program Director and Lead Teacher in the Children’s House department (ages 3-6). “It validates the intentional work we do each day and the trust we place in children’s natural desire to learn and lead.”
We are grateful for the dedication of our faculty, leadership team, and Board of Directors—and for the continued support of our parent community—as we move confidently toward full AMS accreditation in the coming years.