Montessori & White Supremacy Culture

2025 PEACE SUMMIT

We have a problem.

As Montessori practitioners, we are grounded in the liberation of the child from the oppressive systems that constrain their ability to develop as they are trying to do. White Supremacy Culture perpetuates these oppressive systems that deeply impact the child, the family, and our communities as a whole.

It’s about time we talk about.

The PEACE Summit, Jan 26-Feb 2nd, 2025, is a community-focused virtual conference for parents & educators. Our international team of Montessori-trained educators provide workshops on important topics for discussion within the Montessori community. 85% of families in our parent education programs and 43% of teachers in our mentorship programs are able to access lower access fees because of our conference ticket sales. Please contact Mariana Bissonnette at mariana@thepeaceprogram.org if you need help accessing this conference. Thank you!

“Incredible conference! Thank you each for sharing and being so honest. It helped me connect, and realize that I’m not alone.”

— Syleste

Summit Snapshot

  • Preview Panel [Oct. 12th 9-10am PST]: We started the conversation on Saturday, Oct. 12th with a panel discussion on White Supremacy & Montessori.

  • 2025 PEACE Summit [Jan. 26-Feb 2nd]:

    Sunday, Jan. 26th: LIVE Introduction Webinar 9:30am PST with PEACE founder, Mariana Bissonnette

    Pre-Recorded Workshops Available throughout the Week:

    • Sunday, Jan. 26th Montessori & Power Hoarding

    • Sunday, Jan. 26th Montessori & Right to Comfort

    • Sunday, Jan. 26th Montessori and Sense of Urgency

    • Monday, Jan. 27th Montessori & Perfectionism

    • Tuesday, Jan. 28th Montessori & Individualism

    • Wednesday, Jan. 29th Montessori & One Right Way

    • Thursday, Jan. 30th Montessori & Quantity>Quality

    • Friday, Jan. 31st Montessori & Fear of Open Conflict

    • Saturday, Feb. 1st Montessori & Either/Or Thinking

    Sunday, Feb. 2nd: LIVE Discussion Panel 8-10am PST with all of the Summit Presenters!

“The PEACE Summit presentations were fantastic. They were all so clear, insightful, and practical. Really excellent conference.”

— Shawna

2025 Summit Schedule

MONTESSORI & WHITE SUPREMACY

JANUARY 26 - FEBRUARY 2ND, 2025

Live Webinar: Introduction

SUNDAY, JAN 26, 2025 | 9:30AM PST | 5:30PM GMT | 11PM IST

Join Mariana Bissonnette to kick off the PEACE Summit together with an introductory webinar with Mariana Bissonnette. Learn more about The PEACE Program, Montessori, and the intersections with white supremacy culture

Montessori & Power Hoarding

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON SUN, JAN 26, 2025

Join Madhuri Prasad to learn about how Power Hoarding shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Right to Comfort

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON SUN, JAN 26, 2025

Join Mariana Bissonnette to learn about how Right to Comfort shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Sense of Urgency

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON SUN, JAN 26, 2025

Join Debora Guimaraes de Arauijo to learn about how Sense of Urgency shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Perfectionism

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON MON, JAN 27, 2025

Join María Bautista to learn about how Perfectionism shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Individualism

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON TUES, JAN 28, 2025

Join Mary Ling to learn about how Individualism shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Belief in One Right Way

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON WED, JAN 29, 2025

Join Emely Flores to learn about how Belief in One Right Way shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Quantity>Quality

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON THURS, JAN 30, 2025

Join Joelene Draper Learn about how Quantity>Quality shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child

Montessori & Fear of Open Conflict

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON FRI, JAN 31, 2025

Join Anila Hussain to learn about how Fear of Open Conflict shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Montessori & Either/Or Thinking

WORKSHOP RELEASED ON SAT, FEB 1, 2025

Join Katalin Lovassy to learn about how Either/Or Thinking shows up in Montessori spaces at home and at school and how we can combat the embodying of this culture in our spaces, in ourselves, and with the child.

Live Panel: The Presenters

SUNDAY, FEB 2, 2025 | 8-10AM PST | 4-6PM GMT

Join Madhuri, Mariana, Joelene, María, Katalin, Emely, Anila, Mary, and Debora for a live panel discussion about the topics presented at The PEACE Summit. Have a listen and join the conversation!

  • The PEACE Summit presentation were fantastic. They were all so clear, insightful, and practical. Really excellent conference!

    Shawna

  • Even though I am Montessori trained, I think the way she delivers information has summarized the core principles in such a clear and easy way to understand.

    Shraddha

  • I hope an increasing numbers of families can benefit from her work!

    Sheila

  • Mariana is amazing at giving a solid framework to approach different situations, so you aren't left only parroting helpful phrases, but really learning how to take on the situations yourself.

    Shawna

  • I am just continually grateful for Mariana and the support she provides for parents and our children. She has made the Montessori approach feel possible for our family.

    Tanya

  • Marina offers extremely helpful and supportive services for new parents. I wish more people had access to this kind of tailored listening and feedback.

  • Everyone is always asking me why I take parenting classes because it seems like I’m so good with my kid. And I always tell them, ‘I’m good with my kid because I take parenting classes!’ I don’t know why more parents take advantage of these programs!

    Britt

  • Mariana is always excellent. She is so helpful in how she talks about limits and freedoms.

    Shawna

  • Whether a seemingly small or larger issue, Mariana seems to provide flexible and tailored suggestions to guide parents based on their specific situation.

    Tanya

  • I feel empowered with some additional skills that will truly make us better parents. I tried some of it out last night at bedtime and I'm happy to report my toddler responded to it REALLY well.

    Virginia

  • Mariana has an incredible amount of expertise that I am sure has helped so many parents get through what is a lonely and difficult period.

    Sheila

  • I am grateful for Mariana and her program's places emphasis on reaching BIPOC families- thank you!

    Hana

  • We really appreciate the balance of offerings the Mariana has. Both the time in group coaching and the online courses, we have had lots of opportunity to learn and grow.

    Lindsay

  • I love that the group coaching and 1:1s have video recordings of sessions so that my husband can playback the videos to catch up on what we discussed. It's so helpful also if I ever miss a class!

    Nina

  • I have had a great time learning from Mariana both in reading her book and asking questions in the group coaching lives.

    Beth

  • I LOVE the examples Mariana gives as they help me connect to the big ideas so easily.

    Shraddha

  • The open-mindedness and compassion that Mariana brings to her work is invaluable.

    Sheila

  • We've already started implementing some of the tips and strategies and are seeing improvement already. Thank you, Mariana!

    Lindsay

  • It's so wonderful to feel like there's someone who is there to answer questions from a child development perspective without trying to rush or judge you.

    Beth

  • I spent 30 days with Ms. Mariana and I call them 30 days of transformation because this course changed my thinking. Concepts that seemed very familiar in Montessori, under her teaching seem entirely new. I just listened and wrote about 50 pages of notes every time she spoke.

  • Our son napped BOTH days this weekend due to your guidance...SO helpful!

    Whitney

PODCAST & CONFERENCE

The PEACE Team

EACH YEAR, MARIANA COLLABORATES WITH MONTESSORI TRAINED EDUCATORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO PUT ON OUR PODCAST AND ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

Mariana started The PEACE Program in 2016 with a free, drop-in play group for families in her local area to be with their babies and learn a thing or two about the child's development. The success of the program led Mariana to serve over 1200 families in the first three years of the program alone! However, Mariana was the only facilitator available to families. 

In response to listening to and learning from Black and Brown activists in 2020, Mariana recognized that she would not always be the right parent-educator for all familie. To address this, Mariana created a Scholarship Program (now called PEACE Mentorship) where she supported four aspiring Montessori teachers during their training with mentorship and financial assistance. 100% of the PEACE Scholars were Black and/or Indigenous. From that program and in pursuit of supporting more teachers, Mariana began building a team of Facilitators to help her deliver parenting education in addition to supporting the mentorship of upcoming Montessori teachers.

About the 24/25 PEACE Facilitation Team:

  • 67% of 24/25 PEACE Facilitators are Black, Indigenous, or of the Global Majority.

  • 100% are multilingual

  • 89% are experienced classroom teachers and are parents themselves

  • 44% are experienced parent-educators and are cross trained in 0-3 and 3-6

  • 54% live outside the United States (including Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America)

PEACE Facilitators work closely with Mariana and share responsibility for contributing to a culture based on our communal values of self-reflection, self-care, responsiveness to being/becoming Anti-Bias / Anti-Racist and a deep commitment to the whole child within the whole family.