IMC Code of Ethics
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Code of Ethics and Principles of Good Practice
Membership in the International Montessori Council implies that member schools strive to follow high professional and ethical standards in their relationship with their own students, faculty, and employees, as well as with other schools. This is particularly necessary when there may be overlapping interests between schools with respect to faculty employment and student enrollment.
The following Code of Ethics and Principles of Good Practice is based on the concept that our strength as Montessori schools is derived from both the diversity that exists among us and from the support and cooperation that we can give to each other.
Members of the IMC are committed to standards of exemplary integrity in their professional relationships with parents, students, faculty, and other Montessori schools. Although our philosophies and programs are diverse in their emphasis, structure, and style, we follow a common code of ethics that emphasizes fair and consistent policies.
As a member of the International Montessori Council, our school agrees to abide by the following code of ethics and principles of good practice:
Our school is worthy of trust
As a member of the International Montessori Council, we pledge to represent our school truthfully and accurately to the general public and internally to our parent community.
We further pledge ourselves to respect the diversity of the community of Montessori schools.
We will not engage in negative public relations nor make any negative statements about another Montessori school.
Our school honors its financial commitments to parents, staff, vendors, and others.
Core Values
Our primary focus will always be the well-being and best interests of our students.
We recognize that a Montessori school is more than a place of learning; it is a community of children and adults that have a significant impact on our students’ capacity to learn, grow, create, develop, assimilate values, and relate peacefully and respectfully to other people and to the natural world.
We treat all students, families, teachers, and staff members with kindness, warmth, and respect.
Our school uses the Montessori approach to discipline that includes peace education, conflict resolution, and grace and courtesy.
Our school will never permit the use of corporal punishment.
We consciously teach our students values fundamental to Montessori education, which include: respect for oneself, others, and their property; peacefulness, empathy, and kindness; truthfulness; a search for the solution fairest to all; the pursuit of independence and self-mastery; and a love of work and a passion for excellence.
We endeavor to provide a school environment that will promote and protect the physical and emotional well-being of our students and staff.
We seek to instill in our students, parents, and staff not only a reverence for the earth, its waters, and all living things but also a sense of stewardship for the environment based on a conviction of our individual responsibility for the beauty of the land and the health of our ecosystems.
We are committed to the principles of diversity. In that spirit, we do not discriminate in matters of admission or employment on the basis of race, religion or creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, or gender. We consciously teach principles of acceptance, respect, and celebration of the rich cultural diversity of the global community.
We consciously work to build a constructive partnership between the family and school in support of each child’s educational development.
Within reasonable guidelines established to ensure the integrity of our educational program and the privacy of other students’ records, parents are welcome to visit the school to observe their child in class or to review his/her academic progress.
We will promptly consult with parents should it ever become clear that a student is not benefiting from the school’s program or if the school is not the best program to meet his/her needs.
Transfer and Enrollment of Students
Our school recognizes each family’s right to visit and consider other schools and to hold preliminary discussions regarding admission without feeling compelled to notify the school that their children presently attend.
While we welcome inquiries and interest in our school, we will never knowingly attempt to directly recruit a student who is presently enrolled in or committed to attending another Montessori program.
Where applicable, as part of the admissions process, we will request from the child’s present school a copy of the child’s academic records and student recommendations. Upon filing an application for admission, we ask that families advise their children’s present schools and authorize in writing the release to us of their children’s academic records and student recommendations.
Employment
We consciously follow fair and equal employment practices in hiring, assigning, promoting, and compensating both teaching and non-teaching staff members. We endeavor to employ persons solely on the basis of the factors necessary in the performance of the job and the operation of our school. We do not discriminate in matters of employment in violation of the law on the basis of race, religion or creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, or gender.
No official of our school will seek to induce a teacher who is under contract at another school to break that contract. There is nothing deemed improper if a member of the teaching or administrative staff of one school independently approaches another school about possible employment beyond the obligations of their current contract.
Our school will take all reasonable and lawful precautions to maintain the confidentiality of records and information concerning teachers and other staff members who are applying for employment at another school in accordance with the rights of the individual.
Individual IMC Teacher Members
I will do my very best to ensure the safety and physical and emotional well-being of my students and any other children who are placed in my care.
As a Montessori educator, I recognize that children learn in different ways and at different paces. I will remain highly flexible and prepared to individualize and adapt my approach to the best of my ability to meet the needs of each child as an individual learner.
I will encourage each child to participate and succeed in our programs without regard to race, religion or creed, color, sexual orientation, age, physical challenge, nation of origin, or gender.
I will keep all confidential information that I learn in the course of my professional life at the school strictly private, except in the normal course of confidential professional meetings or when required by law.
I will honor my professional commitment to the school to the very best of my ability, never deliberately causing harm to the school.
Should I decide to consider a new position with another school, I will not do so without giving my current employer reasonable notice and to honor the conditions of my employment contract. Also, I will never attempt to directly or indirectly solicit families to families to follow.