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Policy: University Partnership


April 22, 2013

Dr. William F. Tate
Department of Education
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

Good morning, Dr. Tate:

I'm writing to recommend that the Washington University's Department of Education create a dual degree program with the Montessori Training Center of St. Louis.  The program could allow students to earn their Master's of Arts in Education with a specialization in Montessori Education while completing their AMI Primary training with Montessori Training Center of St. Louis.  Similar partnerships already exist between the University of San Diego and The Montessori Institute of San Diego, the University of Hartford and the Montessori Training Institute of New England, and Loyola University Maryland and the Washington Montessori Institute.

Montessori is a comprehensive, time-tested philosophy of education that is all but entirely backed up by modern psychological research (see Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Lillard).  Given the geographic proximity of your schools, timeliness regarding the President's focus on early childhood education, and the momentum of the research-supported Montessori movement, you are in position to lead at a pivotal time.  For more information on the Montessori philosophy, see this video.  As [intro to self], I am also happy to answer any of your questions.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
[Name]
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