There are four steps to our admissions process:
STEP ONE – VIEW AN INFORMATION SESSION AND REVIEW THE PROGRAM HANDBOOK
As the first step of our admissions process, we invite you to watch the video located on our homepage and then sign up to view an online information session to learn more. We also invite you to review our program handbook to gather additional information. Information sessions are prerecorded and are approximately half an hour long. Please complete the form below to continue.
If you have additional questions after viewing the program and level overview videos, we invite you to connect with the Coordinator for your level of interest. They are available to discuss program specifics, schedules, admissions, and enrollment for both domestic and international students.
Our Coordinators offer individual or small-group meetings monthly (and more frequently during peak application windows) to ensure you feel supported as you explore your options.
Contact details for each level are listed below.
Program Director: Lisanne Pinciotti lpinciotti@wsmsnyc.org
Infant Toddler: Maria Rosado mrosado@wsmsnyc.org
Early Childhood: Lisanne Pinciotti lpinciotti@wsmsnyc.org
Elementary: Sheba Kapur skapur@wsmsnyc.org
Administrator: Melissa Freeman mfreeman@wsmsnyc.org
Montessori Inclusion Endorsement: Melissa Freeman mfreeman@wsmsnyc.org
STEP TWO – SUBMIT AN APPLICATION
The second step of our admissions process is to submit an application. Please have the following ready before submitting your online application:
- Credit card for $100 non-refundable application fee ($200 for International Applicants)
- Written responses of a maximum of 200 words per response. We strongly recommend that you draft your responses in a separate document and copy/paste them into the online application.
- WSMS-TEP is committed to creating a space where every member of our community experiences a sense of belonging. We request that you tell us about yourself; what are qualities that make you uniquely YOU? Common social identifiers include: age, ability, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and family composition but please feel welcome to share anything that is significant to you.
- Describe your personal philosophy of education. If you are applying for the ADMIN PROGRAM, please also let us know how you became interested in an administrator position in a Montessori school.
- What do you hope to gain from this teacher preparation program and what strengths do you offer in the process of working within a cohort of learners?
- When you are accepted, how will you plan to balance these additional studies with your other life commitments (work, college, family)?
STEP THREE – Submit additional application documents
- Original college transcript from your highest earned degree. Elementary, Administrator, and MIE require a minimum of a US bachelor’s degree for admission. Infant Toddler and Early Childhood may be admitted with a minimum of a high school diploma to earn the Associate Credential.
- Scan(s) of previously earned Montessori credential(s)
- Students with an international degree are required to submit transcripts directly from that institution to World Education Service for an equivalency evaluation. We request the WES ICAP ‘Document by Document Report.’
- Three letters of reference (two professional, one personal). A sample form is available here.
- MIE applicants must submit one of their professional letters from their current Head of School on school letterhead, including their hire date.
- Social Security Number: If you have a valid social security number, please provide it in this secure linked form.
- International applicants, please also submit scanned copies of your passport ID page, proof of finances, and any current visa and/or I-94 to skapur@wsmsnyc.org to expedite your I-20 application.
WSMS-TEP prefers electronic documents. Soft copies/scans of all documents, including official e-transcripts, may be emailed to registrar@wsmsnyc.org.
Hard copies of official transcripts or WES reports should be mailed to the TEP office listed below, NOT to West Side Montessori School.
Lisanne Pinciotti, WSMS-TEP
12 Powelson Drive, Hillsborough, NJ 08844
STEP FOUR – ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT AND FEE
When all application documents have been submitted and received, WSMS-TEP will email an Acceptance Letter and Enrollment Agreement to the email address provided on the application. Your return of the signed agreement and fee payment are confirmation of your enrollment into the program. Applicants will be added to the cohort roster when the agreement and fee are received. Applicants who have agreed to a tuition subsidy by their school are expected to facilitate the process of paperwork and tuition invoice delivery.
WSMS-TEP actively seeks diversity in its student body, faculty, staff, and administration. WSMS-TEP does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender identity or sexuality in its admissions procedures, educational policies, financial aid programs, employment practices, and all other administered procedures and programs.
