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Nancy McCormick Rambusch
Nancy Rambusch, who had recently graduated with her master's degree in education, found herself seeking a different approach to teaching the American students that she was such a staunch advocate for. She traveled to Paris in 1953 for the Tenth International Montessori Congress, here she met Maria Montessori's son Mario. He urged Nancy to receive Montessori training and take what she learned back to the United States. -
Nancy Rambusch Moves
After several years of using her new training to teach her own children as well as several others in her home, she moved to Greenwich, CT. -
The Whitby School
Nancy, along with a group of parents very passionate about their children's education opened the Whitby School in 1958. Nancy was named The head of school for the first Montessori school to open in the U.S. since the initial spark of interest in Montessori at the beginning of the 20th century. -
AMI Representative
Mario Montessori appointed Rambusch to serve as the U.S. representative of the AMI. -
American Montessori Society is born!
In 1960 with continued support from parents, Nancy Rambusch started the American Montessori Society. The goals matched that of AMI to support efforts to create schools, develop teacher education programs, and publicize the value of Montessori education. -
Word Spreads
In 1961, TIME magazine featured Rambusch, Whitby School, and the American Montessori revival in its May 12 issue. This brought a wave of parents to AMS that was interested in starting schools and study groups. They were later on featured in Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Saturday Evening Post. In 1962 Nancy published a book called "Learning How to Learn". All of these things led to an increase in Montessori interest. -
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Forging The Way
From the beginning, Rambusch worked to move AMS into the future. AMS expected teachers to have a college degree so that the coursework could be recognized by state education departments. AMS also broadened teachers' curriculum and worked to find ways into mainstream education by offering Montessori coursework in traditional education programs. She and a colleague also worked to move into the public sector so that it would be available to all children, regardless of circumstances. -
AMS Today
From its humble beginnings in New York City, AMS continues to support schools, teachers, and therefore students around the United States and internationally. They focus on: quality assurance, research, teacher education, and more. They also are becoming more and more involved with education policy in the public sector.
