A Leader's Guide to Transitions
What each transition asks of your school, not just of the child.
Moving a child from one plane to the next is not only a classroom judgement. It is a question of policy, of timing, and of what you tell a family who has already decided their child is ready. Watch Sue Pritzker and Eder Cuevas work through it, at your own pace.
- Available nowRecorded live on September 30, 2026
- Watch online, at your own paceWatch online in the Members Section
- €17, with 30 days of accessExtend to 2, 4 or 6 months at checkout
The decision no one prepared you for
Most Montessori leaders were guides first. You were trained to observe a child and know what that child needs next. Nobody trained you for the version of that question that lands on a leader's desk.
Whether a six-year-old moves up in September is not only a developmental judgement. It touches your class composition, your staffing for next year, your enrollment numbers, and your relationship with a family who has an opinion. When two guides at different levels read the same child differently, someone has to decide. When a parent pushes, someone has to hold the line, and be able to explain why.
Schools that handle this well are rarely the ones with the most experienced guides. They are the ones where the reasoning is shared, written down, and consistent no matter who is in the room.
What the recording covers
Three parts, recorded live on September 30, 2026.
The planes of development as your school's framework - why a transition policy grounded in Montessori's developmental psychology holds up under pressure, and one grounded in birth dates and class lists does not. What each threshold asks of the child and of the school: Casa to Elementary, Lower to Upper Elementary, Elementary to Adolescent.
The structural decisions this forces - the questions most schools postpone. Whether a 6-12 classroom serves your community. Whether rolling enrollment between levels is workable. How you keep guides at different levels working from shared criteria, so the answer does not change depending on who observed the child. And how you recognize when your environment is genuinely not meeting a child's needs.
The conversations with families - readiness is not a birth date. Recommending a fourth year is one of the hardest messages a school delivers, and the one most often heard as "held back". How enrollment expectations set at the very beginning make these conversations possible later, and why leaders should not be afraid to tell families what they do not yet know.
What you will take away
Language for a conversation you are probably already having, with your guides, your families, or your board.
After watching the recording, you will have
- A developmental rationale you can state out loud, to a guide, a parent, or a board, for why your school times transitions the way it does.
- A clearer view of which transition decisions belong to the guide, which belong to you, and which have to be made together.
- Language for the hardest conversations: the extra year, the early move, the child your environment is not serving.
Watch the recording
For heads of school, pedagogical leaders, administrators, and anyone responsible for placement and enrollment decisions in a Montessori school, as well as guides moving toward a leadership role. No prior AMI training is required.
The webinar with Sue Pritzker and Eder Cuevas, ready to watch as soon as your payment goes through.
- Webinar recording, ready to watch now
- 30 days of access in the Members Section
- Optional extension to 2, 4 or 6 months
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Want more time? Add an extension to 2 months (€10), 4 months (€12) or 6 months (€15) in the order form.
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Meet your trainers
Sue Pritzker
Sue began as a primary teacher and administrator at Marin Montessori School, and in 1987 became Head of School at Childpeace Montessori in Portland, Oregon, where she led the school from 45 to 360 students before retiring in 2020.
She is an AMI trainer on the AMI Montessori School Leadership Course, a trainer with Whole School Leadership, and a primary level consultant with AMI-USA. She is a founding member of the Montessori Administrators Association, the Montessori Leaders Collaborative, and Lead Montessori.
Eder Cuevas
Eder is the Executive Director of Montessori México, an affiliated society to AMI, and Head of School at Colegio Montessori de Chihuahua, with over 20 years of Montessori experience. He also serves on the AMI board.
He holds AMI elementary training from Bergamo, Italy, and the AMI-NAMTA Orientation from Ohio, USA. He was on staff for the AMI-NAMTA Montessori Orientations to Adolescent Studies from 2014 to 2020. He is an AMI trainer for the AMI Montessori School Leadership Course, a Montessori Sports consultant, and an international advisor on Montessori education.
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