Hi. I'm new to a Montessori program, but have been in ELE for 4 years. This is only my second job as a lead though! I am the current colead in my classroom. I'm not trained in Montessori but working on it while my colead is trained in Montessori but out on maternity leave (haven't even met her yet). My questions are around the lead vs assistant teacher typicals. I'm wondering if I'm in the wrong somehow? At my last center I didn't work with an assistant for more than 6 months, mostly I worked solo cause I was at normal ratio for one teacher but I have been an assistant myself before. This center it's 11-14 kids so I have assistants, and even a second due to needing extra support to introduce all the Montessori independence (lots of self cloth changing, potty training, independent work, doing their own shoes, family style eating, etc. here)
My current assistant teachers are not following my lesson planning, every time I rearrange the class to fit licensing protocols and make it a more cohesive environment they change it back. I put out works (aka toys or learning activities for the children in Montessori language) to follow the lesson plan, the assistant teachers change it to something they chose or take back what I did every week. One of my assistants doesn't set boundries well and allows a child to hang on her crying every day, confusing the other kids cause they can't for example leave the classroom without asking but the other child can, or they can't use a chair because the assistant teacher protects this little girl who demands and tantrums over the one chair. This assistant mostly ignores me when I tell her that if she was more firm with boundaries over caving the child would adjust and it would be more fair to the whole class (I've also seen it work, when this teacher is out and it's just me, the child listens to boundaries well but the chaos starts over the moment the assistant comes back). The other assistant (evening only) constantly reorganizes the room, I can't have anything how I want it, she changes it back. Which is weird because she's never here for activity times (her shift is nap, snack and then outside time only) and the day assistant told me "you're here now, it's your classroom, change it how you want". I tried talking to them both, I'm making some way with my day assistant, especially about the emotional child with boundaries (she stopped giving the kid blankets all day, doesn't just let her sit crying in a special chair outside like she did before which now ends up with the child trying to actually play and be active) but the other flat out told me she finds my adjustments to the class not workable without real context or just says mhm- mind you she's a part time closer and the book shelf I moved is to cover open loose cords everyone seems to ignore is a liscencing violation and unsafe for the kids. That was our argument today and she said "I feel like it's not safe because I can't see the kids" - but it's a 2 foot high book shelf and the kids don't even use it during her shift, it also worked fine for me/the other assistant during the day cause It pretty easy to see the kids form my perspective. She also didn't offer any solutions, just that we should think of some and then mhm again.
I don't know what I'm doing. I honestly feel like I'm not a lead, I have no control over what happens in my classroom and all my work for lesson planning and prepping seems to be disrespected- which I do off the clock cause there's never time on the clock to do so, I also pay for some of the special activities which we rarely get to now. I know I'm following the lead job assignment for this job/Montessori philosophy, it says in the handbook I cover circle time, boundary setting, classroom environment and lesson planning. Guiding the children. That my assistant teachers are there to help me and I direct them to what I need. But my assistants both constantly take over leading and redo every effort I put in. And talking to the one evening assistant literally does nothing, I'm shut down, it goes right over her head. I'm just confused. I can't tell if this is a Montessori thing, or if I just got stuck with a rough batch in my class cause every other assistant who fills in for mine does what Id expect in an assistant teacher and allows me to do my job. I don't mind team work but that's not happening, no one's letting me know or asking me about what they're doing, we're not jointly making a plan. And truthfully, I've never followed an assistant as a lead before, I'm used to them following my lead or coworking a plan together. I'm used to being the one to take on a lot of the parent conversation, the lesson planning, and rearranging the environment. It's kinda making me hate working this job at this point. Every time they're out sick or on leave, it all goes fine but when they come back we clash a lot or they ignore me.
I will say for context I hear the colead of mine didn't do all her duties and when she got pregnant was sick often, so I'm aware my assistants are used to leading, but even when I say - ok I'm gonna take over- it doesn't get received well or I'm flat out ignored/told no, and I'm at a loss. Being so new I feel a little bad going to the bosses but I'm thinking it may be my only option now. I'm not sure what else I can do, yet I'm nervous my boss won't support me. My bosses are new to me and idk what kind of support they truly give yet. My old boss wouldve given me advice to do it myself or had the hard conversation if it wasn't working on my end.
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Lead for toddlers- 2/3yrs old