Current Positions:

Lee Havis is executive director of International Montessori Society (IMS).  He also serves on the board of directors of the International Montessori Accreditation Council (IMAC), and Character Teaching, Inc.  In addition, he is a member of the board of trustees of International Montessori Trust, which supports individualized learning as “Trust Tutoring”.

Experience and Background:

Since 1967, Lee has been active in teaching and education at various levels, from preschool to college.  In 1979, these experiences led him to establish the International Montessori Society to support “true natural” Montessori teaching which he discovered at that time.  Since then, Lee has been directing and developing all IMS activities, including a distance learning course, editing and publishing Montessori periodicals and conducting over 150 workshops entitled “Creating the New Education” all over the world to develop and improve Montessori teaching skills.

In 1992, Lee initiated the International Montessori Trust to support true natural Montessori teaching in the context of an in-home tutoring program, known as Trust Tutoring.  In 1994, he helped organize the International Montessori Accreditation Council (IMAC) to serve as an umbrella accrediting agency for the entire field of Montessori teacher education.  The IMS distance learning course follows the accreditation standards of IMAC, and IMS is a collaborating organization.

In 2000, Lee began developing a project to overcome poverty through Montessori teaching with children in low-income regions of the world.  Entitled “Character Teaching”, this project is currently being sponsored by IMS in its initial planning stages.  Lee also founded Character Teaching, Inc. to serve as the ultimate sponsoring entity for this project.

In 2003, Lee consolidated a technology for conducting true natural Montessori teaching, and began incorporating this knowledge into all IMS programs, training, and activities.  A text entitled “Technology of Montessori Teaching” is being prepared to present this practical knowledge in a single comprehensive volume.

Education

1961-65	University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT), BS Engineering
1965-66	American Institute for Foreign Trade (Glendale, AZ) BFT Foreign Trade
1971-73	Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), JD Law
1973-74	University of Maryland (College Park, MD), M.Ed., Early Childhood Education
1975-76	AERCO (Philadelphia, PA); Certificate Montessori Teacher Education (3-6)

Published Writing

Introduction to “Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work”, by E.M. Standing (publ. 1998), Foreword to “The Essential Montessori”, by Elizabeth Hainstock (publ. 1995); Foreword to “”Teaching Montessori in the Home — Preschool Years” by Elizabeth Hainstock (publ 1995); Foreword to “Teaching Montessori in the Home — School Years” by Elizabeth Hainstock (publ 1996); Foreword to “Why Montessori?”, by Aisha Abdullah (publ 2001).  Author, “Evaluation of Basic Skills” (EBS) — standardized test for ages 3-18 (1996)