Maria Montessori Teacher Training Center

Become a Certified Montessori Teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area’s most rigorous Montessori teacher training program. Graduates leave fully prepared to lead their own classrooms, not just assist in one.

Admission & Enrollment

MACTE-Accredited Primary Certification (Ages 2½–6)

Fall 2026 Cohort Now Enrolling · In-Person · San Jose, CA

The Maria Montessori Teacher Training Center has been preparing Montessori educators in the Bay Area since 1972. Our MACTE-accredited Primary certification program trains adults to teach children ages 2½ to 6 in a fully equipped Montessori environment — combining rigorous academic coursework with hands-on practice and a supervised classroom internship. Classes are held at One World Montessori’s Foxworthy Campus in San Jose, where trainees have access to fully stocked Montessori classrooms every school day. The Fall 2026 cohort begins in September. Applications are due by the end of August.

Program at a Glance

Certification: MACTE-accredited Certificate of Completion, qualifying graduates to teach in Montessori Primary classrooms (ages 2½–6) in California and nationwide.
Tuition: $5,176 total program cost. Payment plans available — contact us for details.
Schedule: Academic classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 4–7 PM during the school year. Summer intensive sessions (Monday–Friday, 9 AM–4 PM) are available when offered, allowing you to accelerate your progress.
Duration: The academic phase spans two school years. A year-long supervised internship follows, requiring a minimum of three hours per day, five days per week in a functioning Montessori classroom. Most students complete full certification within two to three years.
Location: Foxworthy Campus, 1170 Foxworthy Avenue, San Jose, CA 95118. Training center classrooms are open for hands-on materials practice Monday–Friday, 3:30–6:30 PM throughout the school year.

What You’ll Study

The program covers the full range of Montessori Primary curriculum areas, integrated with current research in child development and early childhood education: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Cultural Subjects, Child Psychology, Classroom Management, and Montessori Philosophy. The full academic phase totals a minimum of 400 direct contact hours. The practicum internship adds approximately 600 hours, bringing the total instructional clock hours to roughly 1,000.

See the full Primary Course Summary

What Graduates Are Qualified to Do

Graduates receive a Certificate of Completion from MMTTC and are qualified to hold a teaching position in a Montessori Primary classroom. To serve as a head teacher in California, a State Teacher’s Permit is also required — typically 12 units of core classes available at most community colleges, and potentially awarded based on MMTTC coursework.

Contact

teachertraining@oneworldmontessori.org | 408-723-5140

Course History

1972

Establishment of Maria Montessori Teacher Training Center
Ursula Thrush, a world-renowned Montessori lecturer, and trainer established the Maria Montessori Teacher Training Center in September of 1972. Ms. Thrush was AMI-trained in London and Bergamo, for both primary and elementary levels, by Mario Montessori, the son of Maria Montessori, and others. She established the MMTTC so that she could continue to share with others the transformation she had experienced with her introduction to the Montessori mission. Over the years she inspired hundreds of candidates and became a catalyst in American education, aiding in the creation of many excellent Montessori teachers. Along with her work to promote education for peace in Montessori training centers and classrooms around the world, she continued to direct and train teachers in San Francisco until her death in 2002.
1973

Rebecca Keith trained by Ursula
1980

Susan Cohn trained by Ursula
After retiring as Director of the Maria Montessori Training Course, North Bay in 2015,
Susan moved to Kansas to help with the Kansans Can Initiative where she continued her
work in Montessori education by assisting Kansas State Superintendent of Schools, Dr.
Randy Watson in this initiative to promote the Montessori framework within all Kansas
public schools Kindergarten through high school. This program is now fully operational
in all Kansas public schools.

Susan Bakel Cohn has dedicated nearly 50 years to the successful education of children
and is currently enrolled in Ananda’s Education for Life teacher training course. She feels
that the lessons she is learning from the course are invaluable in the continuing spiritual
education of children. She is currently serving as the Educational Director of Polestar
Gardens Summer Camps and the Project Director of the Polestar Intergenerational
Wellness Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, where a Montessori preschool will inhabit the
same facility as Elders. Susan plans on establishing a teacher training course there by
September, 2024.

In addition to JHU Teaching Awards, Susan was honored with the Dominican University
Caritas Veritas Award in 2018, and the Wisdom of the Elders Award in 2022 from the
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education.
1983

Rebecca Keith & Susan Cohn
Rebecca Keith and Susan Cohn began training teachers under her watchful eye soon after completing their training. They are trained to work in both primary and elementary classrooms. They still teach in their classrooms today, along with running schools and delivering teacher training and occasional workshops. This allows them to continually be renewed and inspired by the children whom they serve. It also affords their trainees the opportunity to watch their trainers “in action,” interacting spontaneously with children.

At Ursula’s request, Rebecca and Susan have continued the Maria Montessori Teacher Training Center, transporting it to their own school locations, One World Montessori School and Brush Creek Montessori School, to better maintain and monitor the environments and materials. Located in the South and North Bay, both of these schools are non-profit organizations. The classrooms are fully equipped with Montessori materials that are available for MMTTC students to use for practice every school day between 3:30 and 6:30 P.M.
2015

Susan Cohn Retires & Jed Burchett becomes Co-Director of MMTTC
Susan decided to retire from her long and distinguished career in Montessori education.

Jed Burchett has taken her place as Co-Director of the MMTTC and oversaw the training at the North Bay location from 2015-2023. Rebecca and Jed will continue to maintain the quality and rigor that has always been associated with the MMTTC, as well as introduce new techniques and perspectives that increase the richness and depth of knowledge that they can confer to their students.
Present

MMTTC
The main office of MMTTC is at One World Montessori School, Foxworthy Avenue.

Accreditations and Awards

Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE)

The MMTTC was a charter member of the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE), and continues to hold Full Accreditation Status, which lasts through 2027. For more information about MACTE, please visit www.MACTE.org. MACTE is accredited by the United States Department of Education.

Pan American Montessori Society

There are many Montessori affiliations (AMI, AMS, IAME, etc.). The MMTTC is affiliated with the Pan American Montessori Society (PAMS). For more information on PAMS, please visit www.montessori-pams.org.

North American Montessori Teachers’ Association

For more information about this organization, please visit www.montessori-namta.org.

Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education* (“BPPE”)

The MMTTC is a private institution that has received approval to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education* (“BPPE”). An approval to operate means compliance with state standards as set forth in the California Private Postsecondary Act of 2009 and Division 7.5 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. (*formerly the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, BPPVE.)
For more information about the BPPE, please visit http://bppe.ca.gov.

2024 Annual Report for BPPE
MMTTC School Performance Fact Sheet

AMS Distinguished Dissertation of the Year

Our very own esteemed Director, Rebecca Keith, received the 2015 Distinguished Dissertation of the Year award from the American Montessori Society for her doctoral dissertation. This is an incredible achievement and honor. The title of her winning dissertation is “Learning As Development: Reflections of Former Montessori Students”. Congratulations Rebecca!

Wisdom of the Elders Award Recipient

Rebecca Keith was also selected as a recipient of the 2015 Wisdom of the Elders Award, given by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE). This is an incredible recognition of her accomplishments and contributions to the Montessori community. Rebecca was honored in a ceremony at the 4^th Annual MACTE Symposium on December 5^th, 2015. Her lifetime of leadership in the Montessori community, as well as her work with teachers and children, was highlighted. Many, many congratulations Rebecca!

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