2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat
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2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat
2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat
2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat

BY PUBLIC MONTESSORIANS, FOR PUBLIC MONTESSORIANS​

Let's get together in Milwaukee

  1. NCMPS has a great weekend planned for our 2026 Conference and Retreat. Come together with us to visit schools in Milwaukee’s 51-year old public Montessori program, visit vibrant downtown, dive into sessions all day Saturday, and stay for a National Center tool launch and wrap-up session on Sunday.

Registration is Closed

If you’re attending, you can access the schedule and session information by clicking the button below:

Keynote Speakers

Saturday Keynote

Peace Literacy: A skill set for uplifting humanity

Paul K. Chappell, Executive Director, Peace Literacy Institute

Paul K. Chappell

Executive Director
Peace Literacy Institute

Jacqui Miller, Educational Architect & Consultant

Jacqui Miller

Educational Architect & Consultant

What if…

  • people were as well trained in waging peace as soldiers are in waging war? 
  • people were trained to address root causes of problems rather than symptoms?
  • we taught peace as a skill set, as life-saving literacy, with as much rigor as we teach reading and writing?

A West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran, now an author and international peace literacy educator, Paul K. Chappell founded the Peace Literacy Institute to “help students navigate the most difficult parts of being human.”

Longtime public Montessori educator and leader Jacqui Miller has infused peace literacy capacities and skills into staff development and student support systems.

Sunday Plenary Session

Integration, Intention, and the Prepared Adult

Dr. Nicole Evans, Senior Director of Leadership, Embracing Equity

Dr. Nicole Evans

Senior Director of Leadership
Embracing Equity

Regina Dyson, Board Chair, Montessori for Social Justice

Regina Dyson

Board Chair
Montessori for Social Justice

The Closing Plenary is a moment of gathering and grace—an intentional pause to integrate our learning, honor our shared journey, and return to the work ahead as more fully prepared adults.

Together, we will revisit the insights, questions, and truths that surfaced throughout the conference, holding them with care and curiosity. Through guided reflection and communal witnessing, participants are invited to name what has shifted within—what has been affirmed, unsettled, or newly imagined—and how this growth prepares us to serve children, communities, and one another with greater clarity and compassion.

As we depart, we do so not in closure, but in continuation—carrying forward renewed commitment, collective wisdom, and the quiet confidence that we are not alone in this work. The circle remains, even as we step back into our lives, classrooms, and communities.

Friday

Visit Milwaukee’s
Public Montessori Schools

  • Tour schools in the morning
  • Q & A with school staff in the afternoon
  • Visit the Exhibitors
  • Happy Hour Reception back at the hotel
  • Explore downtown Milwaukee for dinner
 
 
 
Breakfast, lunch, and reception included

Saturday

Sessions to
Engage and Inspire

  • Early morning yoga
  • Attend four sessions across four tracks:
    • Classrooms that Inspire
    • Adults who Lead
    • Curriculum that Connects
    • Systems that Work
  • Visit the Exhibitors
  • Keynote speaker TBA
 Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included

Sunday

Stay for the Wrap-Up

  • Early morning yoga
  • NCMPS facilitated table-talks on key issues, ideas, interests, and more
  • Wrap-up session to take conference learning home 
  • Grab coffee on us and make your way home inspired!
 
 
Light breakfast included

Sponsors and Exhibitors

Support public Montessori and promote your brand

Sponsorships available at all levels.


Registration and Hotel

Registration

$725 

Closes March 13

Registration includes:

Conference Events
School Visits
Exhibitors
Happy Hour Reception
Conference Sessions
Keynote

Meals
Friday breakfast, lunch, and reception
Saturday breakfast, lunch, dinner, and coffee breaks
Sunday coffee break

NCMPS Individual Members get an automatic 10% off Conference Registration.  If you’re not yet a member, join here first and then continue to registration.

NCMPS School members get one or more discounted registrations depending on school size. To learn more and become a member, click here.

Hotel Reservations

Hotel Update

Our guest room block at Saint Kate is sold out! We have secured an additional block of rooms at the Drury Hotel just one block away from the Conference location at $175/night.

Attendees can contact the hotel directly at 1-800-325-0720 or use the button below, referring to Group Number 10181705.

All sessions will be held at Saint Kate—the Arts Hotel.

For more information, contact us at conference@public-montessori.org. 

Conference Sessions

Choose four sessions among four themes.

Presented by public Montessori educators, NCMPS staff, and special guests.

Preparing Montessori Schools for Children With Learning Difficulties

Amy Cushner

Amy Cushner

Pickerin_Joyce_S-22
Joyce Pickering

The Cosmic Task of Montessori Leadership​

Peter McClure

Peter McClure

Needs of Humanity: 

Social and Environmental Justice

Sovandara-Chhin
Sovandara Chhin

Montessori
Literacy Pathways:

Practical Steps towards
State Approval

Annie-Frazer
Annie Frazer
Laure Fleming
Laure Fleming
Linda Zankowsky
Linda Zankowsky

Differentiation

Looking for Entrances
and Exits in Lessons

Cheryl Allen
Cheryl Allen

Coaching Systems​
that Work:

Building a Sustainable Framework

Katie Mosquera
Katie Mosquera
Melissa Sugzdinis
Melissa Sugzdinis

The Apartment:

Montessori Life Skills for Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities

Rachel Barker
Rachel Barker

Innovative District Partnerships

Matt Matera, Partner, Empower Schools

Matt Matera

Julia Webb

Culturally Responsive Montessori:

Inspiring, Affirming, and Empowering

Jazmin Corbell

Jazmin Corbell

Grow Your Own
Teacher Pipeline: 

University and Community Partnerships

Kathryn Picanco, Director of Montessori Programs, Whitworth University
Kathryn Picanco
Rhonda-Turnipseed

Rhonda Turnipseed

Designing Choice: 

Universal Design for Learning in the Montessori Environment

Katey Dodd
Katey Dodd
Melanie Brown

Melanie Brown

Implementation Science, Montessori Style:

A Case Study and Template for System Change

Emily Madison

Emily Madison

The Science Behind the Prepared Environment

Classroom Design for Attention, Regulation, and Learning

Laura Foster, Affiliate Faculty, Loyola university of Maryland

Laura Foster

Building the Bridge

Supporting Adolescents in the Leap to High School

Ravin-Michelle

Michelle Ravin

From Montesorta to Montessori in San Mateo

Data, Strategic Planning,
and Action

Nima Tahai, Principal, Parkside Montessori

Nima Tahai

Montessori Report Cards

Milwaukee’s Montessori
Grading System

Abigail Rausch

Abigail Rausch

Exhibitors

The Conference will feature an Exhibitors Hall for a select group of vendors.

Look out for these exhibitors who have contributed to the event:

WMA
Whitworth University
University of Wisconsin Montessori Programs
Transparent Classroom
Seton Montessori Institute
One Spot
MyMontessori
Montessori Residency of Chicago
Montessori for Social Justice
Monarch Readers
Montessori Institute of North Texas
Milwaukee Public Schools
Montessori Homegoods
Language Works
Global Montessori Educators
The Center for Guided Montessori Studies
Ancona
Alison's Montessori
2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat
2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat
2026 Public Montessori Conference and Retreat

Here's what attendees said about the last Conference:

Conference was excellent! Such important discussions and connections.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to connect with other Montessorians in the public sector. 

I felt the intentionality of themes of equity intertwined in all sessions—this is the way that it should be!

A deep bow of gratitude for everyone who made this gathering a reality. It was a space held for mental, emotional, and spiritual growth. All the parts came together to form the whole.