The collection contains correspondence, lecture notes, manuscripts, essays, speech texts, photographs, files, clippings, ephemera, sound recordings and publications. Materials document the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori as seen through the writings and correspondence of E.M. Standing and reflect the growing interest in Maria Montessori’s teachings and pedagogy from Europe and South Asia to the United States in the 1920’s. Also documented is the historical development and establishment of Montessori-based schools and teacher training programs in Seattle, WA and the greater Pacific Northwest and western United States. The collection includes early administrative records and correspondence pertaining to the formation of Seattle University’s Montessori Teacher Training Program.