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. This year, we will discuss Montessori & White Supremacy Culture.

At The PEACE Program, we are committed to keeping our parent and teacher programs accessible by having sliding scale options for each of our programs, in addition to our free podcast! 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!

Here’s How It Works

  • 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]: The PEACE Summit will start on January 26, 2025 with a live webinar and a week of pre-recorded workshops to watch at your own pace. The week will culminate in a 2-hour live panel in Feb. 2nd with our whole team to answer questions and be in discussion and community with each of you. Every workshop is designed to be actionable & engaging.

  • Tickets are Now Available! We are committed to keeping our parent and teacher programs accessible by having sliding scale options for each of our programs, in addition to our free podcast! 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

2025 Summit Sessions

MONTESSORI & WHITE SUPREMACY

Montessori & Perfectionism

WITH: MARIA BAUTISTA

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

WITH: MARY LING

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 & Sense of Urgency

WITH: DEBORA GUIMARAES DE ARAUJO

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 & Quantity>Quality

WITH: 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 & Belief in One Right Way

WITH: EMELY FLORES

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 & Fear of Open Conflict

WITH: ANILA HUSSAIN

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 & Defensiveness

WITH: ANDREA SERRANO (This session will be in Spanish)

Learn about how Defensiveness 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

WITH: KATALIN LOVASSY

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.

Montessori & Power Hoarding

WITH: MADHURI PRASAD

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

WITH: RIGHT TO COMFORT

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.

  • 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.