MIA promotes training for teachers of children birth to three and three to six. MIA teachers are not required to have an undergraduate degree. Experience with children, love of learning, responsibility, patience, and some formal education may be combined to meet the two-year college prerequisite. MIA also makes every effort to keep tuition for candidates as economical as possible. Most interning teachers work under the direct supervision of a certified teacher, although some exception is made for self-directed internships.
Interns receive reasonable stipends.
Montessori Institute of America is a founding member of the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education. The Washington program offers the Early Childhood and Birth to Three course on videotape for those unable to attend an on-site program. The level 6-9 will be available in 2001. Mid-America Montessori Teacher preparation Center by Dr. Helen K. Billings. After earning her Ph.D. in Education, Dr. Billings enrolled in Montessori training in Italy in 1964.