From the Director

To the MECA Community and Guests:

“ If houses for children do not exist, let us build them.”
~ Maria Montessori

This call to action by Maria Montessori inspired us to create MECA’s first children’s house in 1965, and it continues to inspire us to build houses for our children every day. In our school buildings, in our classrooms, but most of all in ourselves; we build a house for children to grow and grow.

As the Director of MECA, allow me to invite each one of you to discover the possibilities of enhancing your personal life by serving the child. This web site may offer some information or insights that can help you on that journey. It will also introduce you to Montessori Education Centers Associated.

MECA is a special place where colleagues work together to find the best ways of serving children. We strive to learn together how to “give the World to the Child,” as Maria Montessori proposed. It is a community of teachers and friends, students and colleagues, parents and children. As Carl Rogers said, it is a place where “I can be myself.”

Our community is an international one, with lecturers from a half dozen different countries and students from all over the globe. Our faculty members are highly experienced and up-to-date with the latest research. Our environments are beautiful and well maintained, and our facilities offer all that the student teacher needs to learn. Our three Chicago-area lab schools and extensive contacts to schools worldwide facilitate excellent internships. Lastly, our program is faithful to Montessori’s insights and offers flexible schedules and university credits.

Above all, we continually seek, as Montessori did, to find the best of education and to bring it to each child. I hope you’ll join us in our search and be a part of our community.

Warmest regards,

Celma Pinho Perry