Conflict to Collaboration - Conflict to Collaboration Class - September 2026
Secure Your Spot for Just $375 Through August 21The Conflict to Collaboration course is designed for Montessori educators and school leaders who want to build strong, effective relationships with parents while maintaining professional boundaries and reducing stress. Children thrive when teachers, leaders, and parents collaborate with clarity, consistency, and mutual respect.
Many teachers experience stress from parent-related challenges: demands that feel unrealistic, disrespectful or emotionally charged communication, the time required to maintain frequent updates, and a lack of trust in their professional judgment. These challenges can drain energy, undermine confidence, and interfere with our first duty to serve the child. This course helps address these stressors directly by providing practical tools for developing collaborative and supportive relationships, setting kind but firm limits, maintaining professional boundaries, and fostering parent partnerships built on trust and respect.
Most parent–school conflicts can be prevented—or transformed into opportunities—through intentional communication, proactive strategies, and confident, respectful limit-setting.
Platform
The class is held live via Zoom. Access details and materials will be emailed one week prior to the first session.
Materials
Participants in the continental United States will receive a hard copy of Positive Discipline in the Montessori Classroom. All participants receive a digital copy of the book and a companion workbook.
COURSE OUTCOMES
- âś“ Recognize the purpose behind children's behavior and respond with greater clarity and confidence.
- âś“ Create classroom environments that encourage cooperation, responsibility, and independence.
- âś“ Apply Positive Discipline practices to address everyday classroom challenges with confidence and consistency.
- âś“ Develop thoughtful, individualized plans for children who need additional support.
- âś“ Build classroom communities rooted in mutual respect, belonging, and contribution.
- âś“ Strengthen collaborative relationships with colleagues and families.
- âś“ Use Class Meetings and other PDMC structures to foster problem-solving, empathy, and responsibility.
- âś“ Develop school-wide strategies that create consistent practices, improve parent partnerships, and reduce teacher stress.
Facilitated by Chip DeLorenzo
Co-author · Speaker · Consultant · Montessori Educator since 1995
Chip DeLorenzo has been a Montessori educator since 1995. Chip is the co-author, with Jane Nelsen, of Positive Discipline in the Montessori Classroom. As a teacher trainer and school consultant, Chip has worked with thousands of Montessori teachers and parents in teaching the principles and practices of Positive Discipline through various workshops and lectures. He is the former Head of School of the Damariscotta Montessori School, where he spent 20 years as a school leader and teacher. Chip holds Early Childhood, Lower and Upper Elementary AMS certifications, and has worked extensively with Montessori Adolescent students. He is the father of five Montessori children, and he and his wife, Kathy, live in Loveland, Ohio.
