Announcing the AMS 2025 Living Legacy: Charles Terranova
“The American Montessori Society is honored to recognize Charles Terranova as the 2025 Living Legacy. For over fifty years, Charles has worked to drive meaningful and unprecedented change for Montessori professionals, schools, and teacher training programs, while protecting the integrity of Montessori pedagogy and practice.”
— Munir Shivji, AMS Executive Director
APRIL 26, 2024—As a child, Charles Terranova enjoyed watching the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein perform on television.
“I remember his concerts with the New York Philharmonic,” Charles, the American Montessori Society (AMS) 2025 Living Legacy, recounts. “He was teaching young people from across the country how to go further through careful and intentional practice. He would say, ‘Classical music requires exposure, repetition, and knowledge. When you go to hear a complex piece of music, you can anticipate what is coming next.’”
This experience resonated with Charles. “I’ve always remembered that lesson,” he shares. “That is what I want to communicate to Montessori teachers. It takes practice, sharing, and concentration—until the philosophy becomes second nature. It’s not necessarily the material; it’s the practice.”