{"id":930,"date":"2019-10-01T11:52:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T15:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/?p=930"},"modified":"2019-10-01T11:52:36","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T15:52:36","slug":"spotlight-on-dr-timothy-purnell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/01\/spotlight-on-dr-timothy-purnell\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight On: Dr. Timothy Purnell"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

This past summer, we had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Timothy Purnell to discuss all things Montessori. Not only is Dr. Purnell the Chief Executive Officer of the American Montessori Society (AMS), but we are proud to say that he is also the parent of an alumna from The Montessori Children\u2019s Academy.<\/strong> With vast experience in the field of education as a teacher, superintendent, professor, public speaker, and current CEO of AMS, Dr. Purnell continues to be driven and determined to promote the best practices in education for children today and for future generations to come. Experiencing his high energy and an array of engaging stories, we came away from our visit with Dr. Purnell enlightened and eager to share his passion for education, and especially Montessori education.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MCA:<\/strong> Can you tell us a little about how you were introduced to education as a career?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell:<\/strong> I actually started out studying medicine. But as I got deeper into it, I realized it wasn\u2019t for me. My father\u2014who is himself a doctor\u2014suggested I study teaching instead. I said, \u201cNo way!\u201d My own experience had been that much of school was a nightmare, and I couldn\u2019t imagine replicating that for others. But my father responded, \u201cExactly! Change the things you do not like.\u201d And that really impacted me. So after college, I took a job as a guide in a Montessori summer program; and that fall, I accepted a position in a Montclair public school. To my surprise, I discovered that education was really my calling and that I wanted to create an environment for children that was contrary to my own experiences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell eventually became a professor in higher education, and he shared how Montessori resurfaced in his life during his experiences in the university setting. <\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell: <\/strong>\u00a0At Georgian Court University and Fairleigh Dickenson University, I asked the students to explore different pedagogies and to report back about what interested them most. They responded with many ideas about different theorists they were eager to learn more about in class\u2014such as Dewey, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky\u2014and, quite often, Maria Montessori. I am grateful to my students for \u201cresurfacing\u201d Dr. Montessori in my life!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Montessori did, indeed, find Dr. Purnell, and the Montessori Method further became the inspiration for his work as Superintendent of Schools in Somerville, NJ, where he launched a high school program incorporating Montessori values, which has since become a lighthouse for best practices.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell<\/strong>: In Somerville, during my second year as superintendent, my team and I were doing data analytics at the high school and our metrics showed the dropout rate to be increasing. We realized if we didn\u2019t take decisive action, the graduation rate would continue to decrease. So I assembled a team of like- and unlike-minded individuals\u2014students and teachers, along with input from a local resident and professor from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Dr. Randall Westbrook\u2014and my team came up with an idea to launch an inspirational, non-traditional learning space in the public sector, designed for students who were metrically at risk for dropping out, such as students who had been incarcerated, were struggling with school anxiety, were exploring sexual orientation, and\/or just didn\u2019t fit into the traditional mold.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Although it wasn\u2019t strictly Montessori, it would include such Montessori tenets as uninterrupted blocks of work time, the opportunity for self-paced learning, teachers who served as guides rather than \u201cmasters,\u201d and classes with multi-age groupings. The program was set up to be rolling, allowing for graduation mid-year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The program was specially equipped with its own non-Child Study Team School Psychologist full time for support. Students were greeted every day with food, and eventually they started a small farm, growing crops and giving them to a local restaurant. The program became a smashing success with credit recovery escalating rapidly, students progressing greatly\u2014some were even graduating early\u2014and enrollment and graduation rates improving. The program won awards, and we became a top school district for approaching learning in a differentiated way. The strength of the Montessori pedagogy approach allowed for these students who did not fit the traditional mold to achieve success.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell\u2019s great success as the Superintendent in Somerville, led to him being selected as NASS Superintendent of the Year in 2016. His reputation spread, and Dr. Purnell later became the CEO of the American Montessori Society, where he has been advocating for Montessori education and working internationally on initiatives to promote high quality Montessori programs through teacher education programs, conferences, podcasts, keynote addresses, and TEDx talks.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell is currently leading an initiative at AMS to ensure that there\u2019s emphasis on quality Montessori schools over quantity of Montessori schools. He is especially proud of the increasing number of AMS member schools that are pursuing AMS accreditation\u2014the gold standard of Montessori education\u2014as well as those that are taking advantage of a resource called the AMS Pathway of Continuous School Improvement.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But Dr. Purnell also has another personal connection to Montessori, and that is with his youngest child, who attended MCA. <\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MCA: <\/strong>What drew you to MCA?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell:<\/strong> When my wife and I were looking for a school for our daughter, we knew we wanted a Montessori environment that was not only high-fidelity, but a place where she would flourish\u2014as it\u2019s not just the pedagogy that makes for Montessori, but the entire look and feel of a program. When we entered MCA, we knew right away that this was going to be the right place. We quickly fell in love with the teacher, whom we recognized as an incredible educator and nurturer, the classrooms, the joy that we saw on the students\u2019 faces, and their focused concentration; the everything. We agreed we could make it work with our schedules, even though it meant some tricky logistics for my wife, regarding drop off and pick up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We wanted to know how the Montessori philosophy may have filtered into his own home life. <\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MCA:<\/strong> In what ways have you seen how an early Montessori education positively impacted your own child?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At home, we see it in how she takes care of the environment, treating things well and putting them back in their proper places. She speaks to us respectfully (usually!) and is helpful, especially when it comes to cleaning up, and is independent (and opinionated) about selecting her clothing. I can see her gaining confidence in herself and realizing that she doesn\u2019t always need to come to me or another adult to solve things\u2014she\u2019s learning to draw on her own resources. On top of all this, she loves to go to school. What more could a parent ask?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MCA:<\/strong> What do you tell your neighbors and friends about Montessori?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell:<\/strong> I talk about the independence of the Montessori child. I talk about the joy of the Montessori child. Of my <\/em>Montessori child. About how she loves school, and loves learning\u2014as\u00a0 \u00a0do her classmates. Another thing I address is the focus on early learning, that is, is, birth through age 6, This is a period Maria Montessori called the \u201cabsorbent stage,\u201d when children experience intense mental activity that allows them to \u201cabsorb\u201d learning from their environment quickly and easily without conscious effort. It\u2019s a critical time in their lives, and a Montessori environment is an ideal place to nurture and support it. As Dr. Montessori said, \u201cEducation must begin at birth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MCA:<\/strong> If Dr. Montessori were alive today, what would you want to ask her? What do you want to know straight from the source?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell:<\/strong> That\u2019s a tough question because there are so many things I would want to know! To start, I would like to hear her stories about teaching children who were dismissed because they were thought to be \u201cmentally deficient,\u201d to use the very un-PC parlance of the times, and what surprised her most. I\u2019d also be interested to know her creative process in developing Montessori learning materials\u2014the prototypes of the very same materials we see here in MCA.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019d be fascinated to know about the \u201cGlass Classroom\u201d that she staged for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. This was a glass-walled demonstration Montessori classroom where hundreds of visitors would gather round to observe children at work. The children, who had never attended Montessori school before, worked with such focus that it seemed they didn\u2019t notice. How did Dr. Montessori have such confidence that this would work?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And I\u2019d want to know about her experiences living in exile in India during WWII, and her development as a pacifist. Did you know she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize three times? And of course I\u2019d want her perspectives on our world today: the use of technology in the classroom and beyond, strides made in women\u2019s rights\u2014she was also a feminist\u2014teaching tolerance. and so much more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

MCA:<\/strong> It would be a great conversation! Finally, we\u2019d like to ask, how do you see Montessori changing and benefiting our world?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr. Purnell:<\/strong> This is what Montessori is truly all about and actually the topic of my next TEDx talk in Delaware, \u201cThe Future with<\/strong> Montessori.\u201d I\u2019ll be talking about how by operating humanely, and by that I mean equitably, inclusively, respectfully, and kindly in all facets of our lives: professional, personal, familial, governmental, and especially with those less fortunate than we are, we can make the world a better place. And how the place to start is with our children. In her book, Education and Peace<\/em>, Maria Montessori said, \u201cThe child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And speaking of making the world a better place, this past year I had the privilege of leading the AMS Board of Directors and AMS staff in rewriting our mission statement. It was an interesting process that derived from personal stories they told about individual experiences with Montessori and AMS. We eventually dissected all the stories and isolated key words that everyone agreed were impactful in describing the \u201cwhat and why\u201d of our organization\u2014that is, our mission\u2014and came up with these simple but powerful words: \u201cEmpowering humanity to build a better world through Montessori.\u201d We are very proud of it, and even had it printed on T-shirts that we wore during a recent service learning project with Habitat for Humanity NYC!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We truly believe Montessori can change the world. It will happen through the children at MCA\u2014and, if we are fortunate, with children throughout the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Montessori Children\u2019s Academy extends its deepest gratitude to Dr. Purnell for taking the time to share his thoughts and experiences with us. For more information about AMS and to access resources about Montessori for families, you may wish to visit their website at amshq.org. There you may also view Dr. Purnell\u2019s impactful TEDx video presentation, <\/em>“Truth in Leadership: #GetOffYourIsland\u201d<\/strong>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  This past summer, we had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Timothy Purnell to discuss all things Montessori. Not only is Dr. Purnell the Chief Executive Officer of the American Montessori Society (AMS), but we are proud to say that he is also the parent of an alumna from The Montessori Children\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[205,144,54,52,213,145,147,137],"coauthors":[13],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7icff-f0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1199,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/06\/the-montessori-legacy-and-one-persons-journey\/","url_meta":{"origin":930,"position":0},"title":"The Montessori Legacy… and One Person’s Journey","author":"Tori Inkley","date":"November 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development(edited by Tori Inkley) As many know, the Montessori Method of education has been around for over 100 years. Maria Montessori was born and raised in Italy, which is also where she opened the very first Montessori School,\u00a0Casa dei Bambini, in San Lorenzo\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Montessori Philosophy"","block_context":{"text":"Montessori Philosophy","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/montessori-philosophy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Casa-dei-Bambini-4-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":263,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/29\/montessori-around-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":930,"position":1},"title":"Montessori Around the World","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"September 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last spring, Montessori education made international headlines when the United Kingdom\u2019s Prince George was enrolled at a Montessori school in England. 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While the course attracted international attendees, the majority were from America. Maria Montessori taught the theory lessons in Italian at her home and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Early Child Education"","block_context":{"text":"Early Child Education","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/early-child-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMG_1358.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1028,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/18\/collaborating-with-the-country-home-keeping-the-spirit-of-caring-and-giving-alive-all-throughout-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":930,"position":3},"title":"Collaborating with The Country Home: Keeping the spirit of caring and giving alive all throughout the year!","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"December 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It is always with great anticipation that MCA selects and announces the organization it will support each school year, and we take great pride in making our charitable efforts an ongoing series of events throughout the year rather than limiting them to just the holiday season. 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