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AMS Terms & Conditions

Terms of Use

Effective May 22, 2019.

Welcome to the American Montessori Society (“AMS”) websites, which are owned and operated by American Montessori Society (collectively, the “Websites”).

The Websites may include some or all of the following: (a) educational materials and programs regarding the American Montessori Society and the Montessori classroom; (b) a platform for the purchase and use of digital content, which allows members, subscribers, and/or one time purchasers to purchase stream pre-recorded audio and video content over the Internet for personal use, (c) an e-commerce site, which allows users to purchase products from the AMS online store, and (d) links to one or more websites where other services or online content (including content provided by other Website users and third parties), resources, tools, products, communications and social networking features may be accessed and used. All of the foregoing are collectively referred to as the “Services.” 

Please carefully read the following terms and conditions for use of the websites. By accessing and/or using the websites and by further clicking where it says, “I agree,” you are agreeing to be bound by the following terms of use, privacy policy, community posting guidelines, and anti-spam policy.

When you use a link to a third-party provider, you are leaving the AMS websites and you must read the third-party provider’s terms, conditions, and privacy policies, as those will be applicable to that third-party provider’s website, not these terms and conditions and privacy policy.  

1. Parties.  These Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy and all other guidelines, rules or operating policies that AMS posts on one or more of the Websites, which are incorporated herein by reference, collectively are referred to as the "Agreement.”  The Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of a legally binding contract between you, as a visitor to and/or user of the Websites (referred to as “you” or “your”) and AMS (“AMS,” “we,” “our” and “us”).

2. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions. The Services are offered to you on the condition that you agree to be bound by this Agreement in its entirety without modification. By accessing and/or using any of our Websites, you agree to be bound by this Agreement, whether you are a "Visitor" (which means that you simply browse one or more of our Websites) or you are a "Registered User" (which means that you have registered to use the Websites, have subscribed to use one or more of the Services and/or have purchased something from the website). If you do not accept the terms of this Agreement, you are not permitted to use the Websites and/or subscribe to the Services, and you are obliged to exit all of the Websites and discontinue any and all use of the Websites and the Services immediately.

3. Modifications. We may modify this Agreement from time to time and such modifications shall be effective upon posting at any of our Websites. By accessing and/or using any of our Websites after any such modification is posted, you are agreeing to be bound by such modifications. You also agree that it is your responsibility to monitor the Websites for the posting of modifications and to review such modifications on a regular basis. If you do not agree to be bound by any future modifications of this Agreement, your exclusive remedy is to cancel your account and discontinue your use of the Websites and the Services.

4. Registration Requirements. Visitors are currently permitted to view only limited portions of the Websites prior to deciding whether to become a Registered User. Full access to the Websites and the Services is available only to Registered Users and, if a subscription is required, then only to Registered Users who are also paid subscribers. If you wish to become a Registered User, you must register on our Websites, you must complete the registration procedures displayed on the registration page(s) of the Websites and, where applicable, pay the required subscription fee. Some aspects of the Websites and the Services are available to all Registered Users, and some are available only to Registered Users who have paid the required subscription fee and/or other charges, all of which are posted at the Websites.

5. Websites Age Requirements. By accessing and using the Websites, you agree that you are representing to us that you are over the age of 18 and you are of legal age to form a legally binding contract, and you are not a person barred from purchasing or receiving products and services, under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. Registration, subscription, access to and use of the Websites and the Services are not available to users under the age of 18 and are void where prohibited by applicable law.

6. Requirements for Becoming a Registered User. By completing the registration procedures displayed on the registration page(s) of the Websites, you agree that (a) you are representing to us that you are providing true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the registration form available on our Websites (the "Registration Data"), and (b) you are obliged to maintain and promptly update your Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future access to and/or use of the Websites and the Services (or any portion thereof).

7. Children’s On-Line Protection Act. Due to the nature of the Internet, we cannot prohibit minors from visiting our Websites. However, our Websites are not directed toward children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 through the Websites. If you believe that a child has provided information to us through the Websites, please contact us by email at ams@amshq.org or by writing us at 16 East 16th Street, New York, NY 10003 Attn: Webmaster. We will use our best efforts to remove all of the information provided by the child from our system. (See our Privacy Policy set forth below for additional information about Children’s Online Privacy Protection Policy.

8. Your Account, Password and Security. As a Registered User, you are required to choose a password, and provide your email address, and you may be asked for additional information regarding your account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of the password and all other account information, and you are fully responsible and liable for all access to and use of the Websites and the Services that occur under your password or account. You agree to (a) immediately notify us by e-mail to ams@amshq.org of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you log out from your account at the end of each session. AMS will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this section.

9. Preservation and Disclosure of Account Information and User Content. You agree that AMS may access, preserve and disclose your account information and User Content if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce this Agreement; (c) respond to claims that any Website Content violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of AMS, the other users of the Websites and Services, and the public. However, under no other circumstances will AMS intentionally disclose your account information to any third party except as otherwise provided in our Privacy Policy, which is set forth below.

10. Security Components. You agree that the Websites and the Services, and the software embodied within the Websites and the Services, may include security components that permit digital materials to be accessed, used, and protected, and that use of these security components is subject to usage rules set by AMS and/or content providers who provide content to AMS. You may not attempt to override or circumvent any such security components and usage rules embedded in the Websites and the Services.

11. Subscription Fees and Payment. Access to and use of certain Services may be subject to a one-time fee or a recurring fee ("Fee"). The Fee is payable in U.S. dollars or other currency as applicable. You will be required to provide your credit card number and other information at the time that you seek to obtain one of these Services or make payment of a recurring Fee. Except as required to process a payment transaction, AMS does not store or disclose credit card account information provided by its members and customers.  When members and customers elect to pay using their credit card, AMS immediately submits the information needed to obtain payment to the appropriate clearinghouse via an encrypted connection.  The complete credit card number is never saved on any server hosting any of the Websites or the AMS member or financial databases.  AMS reserves the right to change or modify the Fee or payment schedule at any time. Prices in currencies other than U.S. dollars are subject to adjustment due to fluctuations in exchange rates. AMS will use its reasonable best efforts to provide you with reasonable notice prior to making any fee changes or modifications, with the exception of exchange rate changes.

If AMS is for any reason unable to process a payment via your credit card, AMS will attempt to notify you via email and you will not have access to the product or service you were paying for until payment is received. You are responsible for notifying AMS of any changes to your credit card information and to update your information if your credit card has expired. AMS may suspend, terminate and/or otherwise interrupt your access to the Services if you fail to so notify AMS.

All Fees are exclusive of all excise, sales, use, transfer and other taxes and duties imposed with respect to the Services by any federal, state, municipal or other governmental authority, all of which taxes you are required to pay except for taxes based on AMS’s net income. You are responsible for obtaining and providing to AMS any certificate of exemption or similar document required to exempt any transaction from sales, use or similar tax liability.

You agree to pay your account balance on time. You are responsible and liable for any costs and expenses, including attorney and collection fees, that AMS may incur in its efforts to collect any remaining balances due from you. This paragraph will in no way limit any other remedies available to AMS. You are required to notify us of any billing problems or discrepancies within sixty (60) days after they first appear on your credit card account statement by sending a written notice to finance@amshq.org. If you do not so notify us within the time allowed, you waive any right to dispute such problems or discrepancies.

12. Content. The content available at the Websites and the Services generally consists of (a) content owned by AMS, including but not limited to the trademarks, trade dress and “look and feel” of the Websites and content created and/or acquired and owned by AMS (“AMS Content”), (b) content owned by third parties and licensed to AMS for specified uses on the Websites and the Services (“Third-Party Content”), and (c) content that may be posted and/or otherwise uploaded to the Websites and/or the Services by you (“User Content”). As between you and other Registered Users, however, the content posted by other Registered Users is considered to be “Third-Party Content.”  We refer to all of the foregoing collectively as “Website Content.”  It is possible that we may, from time to time, need to limit access to certain Website Content from various geographic locations.  If that type of limitation is imposed, you will receive a message that you cannot access the content when you click on the link to the content. Please contact ams@amshq.org should that occur.

13. Ownership. AMS does not claim ownership rights in any User Content that you post on the Websites or otherwise make available through the Services. Subject to the non-exclusive license contained in Section 14 below (“License to Your Content”), as between AMS and you, you will retain all intellectual property rights that you may have in any User Content that originates with you.  You should retain a copy of all of your User Content on your computer as AMS has no obligation to retain User Content or to maintain backup copies of User Content.  In the event of a termination, User Content will generally be removed (although not necessarily from AMS’s backups) but not returned.

14. License to Your Content. In order to enable us to permit other Visitors and Registered Users to view and share User Content that you post to a Website, we must have a license from you to allow them such access.  Accordingly, by posting, displaying, publishing, transmitting, or otherwise making available (individually and collectively, "posting") any User Content on or through our Websites or the Services, you hereby grant to AMS a non-exclusive fully-paid, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license (including the right to sublicense) to use, copy, modify, translate, create derivative works, perform, display, store, transmit, distribute, and otherwise make available such User Content on and through the Websites and/or the Services, in print, or in any other format or media now known or hereafter invented, without any obligation of notification, compensation, attribution or consent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we will not use your User Content to create commercial products such as books or other commercial publications. For purposes of this section, “commercial products” does not include use on the Websites and the Services and/or the advertising, publicity, promotional and marketing materials for the Websites and the Services in any and all formats and media now known or hereafter invented. If you wish to remove any User Content from the Websites and/or the Services, the decision will be made by AMS alone in its sole and absolute discretion, and our decision may depend on the type of User Content, the location and manner of posting, and other factors. You may contact us at ams@amshq.org to request the removal of certain User Content you have posted, but AMS (i)has no obligation to remove any such User Content, (ii)may choose whether or not to do so in its sole discretion, and (iii)makes no guarantee as to the complete deletion of any such User Content and copies thereof. In any case, a back-up or residual copy of any User Content posted by you may remain on AMS’s servers after the User Content appears to have been removed from the Websites and/or the Services, and AMS retains all rights granted in this section to all such remaining copies. It also may remain on archive servers not controlled by AMS which seek to archive the contents of the internet.  You represent and warrant that: (i) you own all right, title and interest in all User Content posted by you on or through our Websites or the Services, or otherwise have the right to grant the license set forth in this section, and (ii) the posting of your User Content on or through the Websites and/or the Services does not require the knowledge or consent of any third party and does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, contract rights, confidentiality, or any other rights of any third party.

15. Prohibited Conduct. The Websites and the Services may include features that permit you to post User Content, which includes and applies to (but is not limited to) content of your own, comments on the User Content posted by other Registered Users, and communications with other Registered Users. Such User Content includes but is not limited to information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags, or other materials. You acknowledge and agree that you shall not use the Websites and/or the Service to post or other transmit User Content that:

  • is offensive and/or promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
  • harasses or advocates harassment of another person or entity;
  • exploits people in a sexual or violent manner;
  • contains nudity, violence, or offensive subject matter;
  • solicits personal information from anyone under the age of eighteen (18);
  • provides any personal information including but not limited to telephone numbers, street addresses, last names or email addresses of anyone other than your own or other individuals associated with your organization;>
  • promotes information that is false or misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
  • violates the intellectual property or other proprietary right of any third party, including User Content that promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated video, music or links to pirated video or music files;
  • involves the transmission of "junk mail," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, "spimming," "spamming," or “phishing”;
  • contains restricted or password only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
  • furthers or promotes any criminal activity or enterprise or provides instructional information about illegal activities including, but not limited to making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
  • includes a photograph of another person that you have posted without that person's consent or, in the case of children under the age of eighteen (18), parental consent, or otherwise constitutes an invasion of an individual's privacy or infringement of publicity rights; or
  • contains a virus or other harmful component.

16. Responsibility for User Content. You, and not AMS, are entirely responsible for all User Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Websites and/or the Services. AMS does not control the User Content posted via the Websites and/or the Services and, as such, we cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such User Content. You acknowledge that, by using the Websites and the Services, you may be exposed to User Content that you deem offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will AMS be liable in any way for any User Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any user Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any User Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Websites and/or the Services.

17. Rejection and/or Removal of User Content. You understand and agree that AMS may or may not pre-screen User Content posted on our Websites, but that AMS shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to pre-screen, edit, refuse, and/or remove any User Content or portion thereof that is available via the Websites and/or the Services, in its sole and absolute discretion, for any reason, including but not limited to its determination that any such User Content is not appropriate for the Websites and/or the Services, or for no reason. Without limiting the foregoing, and by way of example only, AMS shall have the absolute right to remove from the Websites and/or the Services any User Content that violates this Agreement or is otherwise objectionable in the sole discretion of AMS, or to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the Websites and/or the Services at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability. If you become aware of misuse of the Websites and/or the Services by any person, please contact AMS by email at ams@amshq.org.

18. Limited License. AMS hereby grants to Registered Users a limited, personal, revocable, non-sublicensable license to display a single copy of the AMS Content and the Third-Party Content located on or available through our Websites or Service (excluding any software code therein) solely for your single, personal, non-transferable and non-commercial use in connection with viewing our Websites and using the Services during the term of your registration. All such use is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and may be terminated by AMS as set forth in this Agreement. Except for User Content posted by you, you may not copy, store, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, make available, or sell any Website Content for any purpose whatsoever.

19. Reservation of Rights. AMS Content and Third-Party Content are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws. AMS and its third-party licensors owns and retains their respective rights, title and interest in and to their respective content subject only to the limited licensed granted to Registered Users as set forth above.

20. Other Sites. The Websites may contain third-party advertising and/or links to other sites owned by third parties (i.e. advertisers, affiliate partners, strategic partners, or others). However, the inclusion of a link in any of our Websites does not imply AMS’s investigation, evaluation and/or endorsement of such third party website. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating, and we do not warrant the products or offerings of, any of these businesses, entities or individuals, or the accuracy of the content of their advertising or websites. AMS does not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, services, and/or content of any such websites. Before you purchase goods or services from a third party and/or use any third-party website, you should review the applicable terms of use and privacy policies for such websites. If you decide to access any such linked websites, you do so at your own risk.

21. International Use. Due to the global nature of the Internet, you agree that you are obliged to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations regarding the access to and use of the Websites and the Services. By way of example only, you agree that you are obliged to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside, and that restrictions on access to and/or use of some Website Content may apply to users based on their place of domicile, residence and/or use.

22. Take-Down Notices Under the DMCA. AMS will receive and evaluate notices of copyright infringement and take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2) (“DMCA”). Written notices of claimed copyright infringement must be in strict compliance with all terms and conditions of the DMCA and must be submitted according to the procedures set forth in the DMCA to the following Designated Agent for AMS:

Name of Agent Designated to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement on Behalf of AMS, Inc: Webmaster

Full Address of Designated Agent to Which Notification to AMS Should Be Sent:

Webmaster
American Montessori Society
16 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003

Email of Designated Agent: webmaster@amshq.org

23. Term and Termination.

This Agreement, as it may be modified from time to time, shall remain in full force and effect for so long as it is posted on any of the Websites or until terminated by AMS or by you.

You may terminate your status as a Registered User and cancel your account at any time and for any reason, by notifying us by email at ams@amshq.org or by phone at 212-358-1250, but any such termination and cancellation will be effective only after AMS has processed the request. If you cancel your account prior to the expiration of any pre-paid subscription period, you will forfeit the Fees paid for any unused portion of your subscription, which are non-refundable. However, you will be able to continue viewing premium content until the expiration of your current pre-paid subscription period. You also agree that the cancellation of your account is your sole remedy with respect to any dispute with AMS. If you have obtained or are in the process of obtaining a credential through a Teacher Education Program affiliated with AMS, we will retain information about you associated with your credential to fulfill our obligations as a credentialing body.

AMS reserves the right to suspend or terminate your status as a Registered User, cancel your account, and disable your access to the Websites and Services at any time, with or without notice to you, with or without cause, and without liability to you. AMS shall have no liability to you or any third party because of such suspension or termination or related action for any reason except as follows: (a) If AMS elects do so with cause, then no refund of any unused portion of a pre-paid subscription is owing, and (b) if AMS elects to do so without cause, then AMS will refund any unused portion of a pre-paid subscription.

The following sections shall survive any termination of this Agreement, your account, and/or your use of the Service: Section 9 (“Preservation and Disclosure of Account Information and User Content”), Section 12 (“Content”), Section 13 (“Ownership of Content”), Section 14 (“License to Your Content”), Section 16 (“Responsibility for Your User Content”), Section 17 (“Rejection and/or Removal of User Content”), Section 19 (“Reservation of Rights”), Section 20 (“Other Sites”), Section 21 (“International Use”), Section 24 (“Disclaimer of Warranties”), Section 25 (“Waiver of Claims”), Section 26 (“Limitation of Liability”), Section 27 (“Severability”), Section 28 (“Indemnity”), and Sections 30 through 36.

Upon suspension or termination, AMS shall have no obligation to save any User Content that you may have posted or otherwise provided, and we reserve the right to permanently delete and destroy any of your personal information and/or User Content.

24. Disclaimer of Warranties. You agree that the Websites and the Services are offered without warranties of any kind whatsoever by AMS and/or the providers of Website Content. The disclaimer of warranties includes, but is not limited to, the following.

(a) Your use of the Websites and the Services is at your sole risk. The Websites and the Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. AMS and its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors and assigns, and their respective shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, partners, licensors, vendors and contractors (collectively, the “Related Parties”) expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement, with respect to the service, the websites, and any third party websites with which they are linked.

(b) The Related Parties make no warranty that the Websites or the Services, the Website Content, and/or the information, products and services available through the Websites or the Service will meet your expectations or requirements, or that you will achieve any particular results from the use of any of the foregoing, or that the Websites or the Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, or free of any harmless components (including viruses, malware, spyware, or comparable components.

(c) You expressly assume the risk, by way of example, of deletion, non-delivery or failure to store postings of User Content, communications, personalized settings, or data, and you agree that the Related Parties make no warranties regarding the foregoing.

(e) Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of our Websites or the Services is accessed at your own discretion and risk, and you will be solely responsible for any loss or damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of any such material.

25. Waiver of Claims. You hereby waive, release and discharge the Related Parties from and against any claims that you may be entitled to make by reason of any use of your User Content authorized under this Agreement and/or by reason of your participation in any of the communications and social networking features of the Services, including but not limited to, and by way of example only, any claims based on copyright infringement, trademark infringement, rights of privacy or publicity, defamation and otherwise.

26. Limitation of Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable laws, the Related Parties will in no event be liable to you or any third party for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages, including lost profit damages arising from or in connection with any use of the Websites and/or the Services, and/or any website with which they are linked, and/or any content, information, products or services accessible through the Websites and/or the Services, even if any of the Related Parties have been advised of the possibility of such losses or damages. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the aggregate liability of the Related Parties to you for any cause whatsoever and regardless of the form of the action, will at all times be limited to the amount paid, if any, by you to AMS for the Services.

27. Severability. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, in certain jurisdictions, some of the above limitations of liability may not apply to you. In any such case, and/or if any terms or conditions of this Agreement are held to be invalid for any reason whatsoever, this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect on its remaining terms and conditions of this Agreement unless and until terminated by AMS. Furthermore, if any term or condition of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the intentions of the parties as reflected in the invalidated provision.

28. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Related Parties from any and all third party claims, losses, liability, damages, and/or costs (including reasonable attorney fees and costs) arising from your breach of the terms of this Agreement, or your infringement, or infringement by any other user of your account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. AMS will use its reasonable best efforts to notify you promptly of any such claim, loss, liability, or demand, and will provide you with reasonable assistance, at your expense, in defending any such claim, loss, liability, damage, or cost.

29. Modification and Discontinuation. We reserve the right at any time to modify, edit, delete, suspend or discontinue, temporarily or permanently the Websites and/or the Services, or any portion thereof, with or without notice. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for any such modification, editing, deletion, suspension or discontinuance of the Websites and/or the Services.

30. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, together with any other terms and conditions referenced herein (including without limitation the Privacy Policy), constitutes the entire agreement between you and AMS and governs your use of the Websites and Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and AMS with respect to the Websites and/or the Services.

31. Choice of Law and Forum. This Agreement and the relationship between you and AMS shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and AMS agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within New York City, New York.

32. No Waiver. The failure of AMS to exercise or enforce any right and/or remedy under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right and/or remedy.

33. Statute of Limitations. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Websites, the Services or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

34. Relationship of the Parties. You and AMS agree that they are independently contracting parties dealing at arm’s length with each other in connection with the licensing of intellectual property rights and the provision of services. No partnership, joint venture, joint authorship, employment, fiduciary, agency or other relationship is created between them.

35. Binding on Successors. This Agreement shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, administrators, licensees, successors and/or assigns of the parties, as applicable. For avoidance of doubt, you agree that AMS is fully authorized to assign, sublicense and/or otherwise convey and transfer this Agreement and/or any of its rights under this Agreement at any time, in its sole and absolute discretion, and without compensation of any kind to you.

36. Notice. Except as otherwise specified elsewhere in this Agreement, notices to AMS may be given at the foregoing email and postal addresses, and notices to you may be given at the address provided to us at the time of registration and/or the purchase of goods and services from AMS.

Privacy Policy

Effective May 22, 2019.

The following Privacy Policy ("Privacy Policy") governs your use of the Websites and the Services, which are owned by AMS, Inc. ("AMS").

We have created this Privacy Policy to ensure that you understand our policies and procedures relating to privacy, what personal information you must provide if you wish to use certain portions of the Websites and the Services, ultimately, just how we use such personal information.

This Privacy Policy is a part of and is incorporated into the Terms of Use set forth above. All defined terms in this Privacy Policy shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Terms of Use. By accessing or using any of the Websites and the Services, you agree that you have read and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

1. Sites and Site Operator The sites to which the following Privacy Policy applies are: www.amshq.org (collectively, “the Websites”). The operator of the Websites is American Montessori Society, 211 E 43rd St., 7th Fl #262, New York, NY 10017. The agent for AMS is Andrew Hofland, and the email address for AMS’s agent is andrew@amshq.org.

2. Effective Date. This Privacy Policy is effective as of, and was lasted revised on the date specified above. AMS reserves the right to add to, delete from and/or otherwise change this Privacy Policy at any time in its sole and absolute discretion. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you are responsible for monitoring the Websites to determine if any changes have been made to the Privacy Policy in the future. Access to and/or use of the Websites and/or the Services by you after the date of any such change shall be deemed to confirm your agreement to be bound by the Privacy Policy then in effect. By agreeing to the Terms of Use applicable to the Websites at which this Privacy Policy is posted, you are also agreeing to be bound by this Privacy Policy. Unless otherwise indicated, defined terms in this Privacy Policy shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the Terms of Use.

3. Information Collected by the Websites. We collect two types of information from users of the Websites: personal information described below; and non-personal information such as information about traffic patterns on the Websites.

4. Personal Information. To access certain portions of the Websites, including the portions where the Services are offered, we require you to register and with your email address and a password. Some personal data is collected during the registration process. We may then ask for additional information, including personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information.

When you make a purchase on one of the Websites, when you subscribe to the Services, we may ask you for certain personal information such as your name, address, e-mail address, or credit card number/bank account information, in order to process your order, manage your subscription, administer the contest, or send you promotional e-mails. Providing personal information in these instances is solely your choice; you do not need to provide such information, make purchases, or enter such contests to browse our Websites as a Visitor.  As noted in our Terms and Conditions, we only retain credit card information until the transaction is processed. 

5. How We Use Your Personal Information. We use the information collected on the Websites for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to, running the Websites and the Services and contacting users. The Websites and the Services may also make available to other Registered Users information provided by you during registration, such as your screen name. We may use your information to communicate back to you, to update you on products, services and benefits, to personalize the Websites for you, to contact you for market research or to provide you with marketing information, newsletters, or other information we think would be of particular interest. We will always give you the opportunity to opt out of receiving such materials. In addition, if you make a purchase on any of the Websites, we may send you order and shipping confirmation emails.

If you are a member of AMS, we will retain the information that you provide upon joining.  If you subscribe to publications through the Websites or request to be included in subject matter or other mailing lists maintained by AMS for the benefit of its members, we will retain the information that you provide for that purpose for so long as the list continues in existence or you tell us that you wish to unsubscribe to that list.  If you provide us with payment information, we will retain that information only as long as it is necessary to process your payment (including the time it the processor has to let us know if they payment has been rejected.  Note that if you pay through a third-party provider (e.g. a service we use to process payments), the terms and conditions and privacy policy on that third party provider’s website will govern the retention of information provided for the purpose of processing payment. 

You can remove your e-mail address from our e-mail list at any time by following the procedures set forth below (“Opt Out Procedures”) or by clicking on the "unsubscribe" link in every e-mail from AMS. In addition, you can modify your information or change your preferences, as set forth in Section 10 below (“Reviewing or Changing Your Information”). Information obtained through the Websites and/or the Services may be intermingled with and used in conjunction with information obtained through sources other than our Websites, including both offline and online sources.

You can remove all other personal information by contacting us at either ams@amshq.org or at American Montessori Society, 211 E 43rd St., 7th Fl #262, New York, NY 10017 Attn: Webmaster. If you have obtained or are in the process of obtaining a credential through a Teacher Education Program affiliated with AMS, we will retain information about you associated with your credential to fulfill our obligations as a credentialing body. In compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations adopted by the European Union, we store personal information in an encrypted format and the encryption key is not maintained on the same server as the personal information.  This is part of our efforts to assure that the personal information that you provide to us is maintained as confidential information.

When you join as a member or subscribe to an online publication or email marketing, we will ask you if we have your permission to share the information you provide with third party providers.  Periodically, we will request that you review and update that information.  AMS only shares information with third party providers when it believes that the third party provider has a product or service that would be advantageous to AMS’s members or subscribers.  Such third party providers are only given short term access to your electronic or snail-mail contact information or both, depending on the permission that you give.  Such third parties are also required to comply with applicable European Union and United States regulations regarding opting out from communications.

6. Discussions and Community Tools. The Websites and the Services may make chat rooms, forums, bulletin boards, news groups and other community tools available to Registered Users and/or Visitors. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information for other users to view and for AMS to use. Please do not disclose any personally identifiable information, including without limitation your full name or e-mail address, in these publicly accessible areas of the Websites or the Services. Please be considerate and respectful of others while using any chat rooms, forums or message boards to share your opinion.

7. Non-Personal Data. In some cases, we may collect non-personal information. Examples of this type of information include the type of Internet browser you are using, the type of computer operating system application software, and peripherals you are using and the domain name of the web site from which you linked to our Site. We use your information on an aggregated basis to do such things as operate our Websites, enhance our Websites and sell and deliver advertising.

8. Cookies. Certain features on the Websites and/or the Services utilize cookie technology. A cookie is a small data file that certain web sites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain various types of information, including a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you've visited. We may use cookies to enhance your experience on our Websites, to determine user traffic patterns and for other purposes.

Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies; however, you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent or you can flush your browser of cookies from time to time. (Note: you may need to consult the help area of your browser application for instructions.) If you choose to disable your cookies setting or refuse to accept a cookie, however, you may not be able to access all areas of the Websites and/or the Services.

9. Opt Out Procedures. You have the option to opt out of receiving information from AMS, the Websites and the Services. This opt out messaging will appear at the bottom of every promotional email that is sent out. If you no longer wish to take advantage of the Websites or the Services or receive any form of direct contact from AMS, whether it is email, discounts, newsletters, or other promotional offers or materials, contact us at: ams@amshq.org.

10. Reviewing or Changing Your Information. In order to ensure that the information we maintain is accurate, we give users the option to change or modify their information previously provided during registration. If you would like to change your information currently in our database, please log in and click the “My Account” link on the various Websites or email us at ams@amshq.org.

11. Sharing of Your Information. AMS may share your personal information: (i) with AMS’s parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, or successors (collectively the “AMS Parties”), or with third parties who are under obligations of confidentiality with any of the AMS Parties, (ii) if a AMS Party is required by law to do so, (iii) in the event of a transfer of ownership of a AMS Party, merger or other similar transaction, or (iv) as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy. The following describes some of the ways that your personal information may be disclosed to third parties:

We may employ third parties to perform services or functions on our behalf in order to improve our Websites, merchandising, marketing and promotional efforts, communications or other services. Those third parties may include authorized contractors, consultants and other companies working with us. They only have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, and they may not share any personal information with others or use it for any other purpose than providing or improving AMS's services and offerings.

We may share your information with third parties whom we believe have information of interest to you. In addition, we may share certain non-personal information with third parties for advertising, promotional and other purposes. For example, we may work with third party advertising companies, to serve and track our ads. These third parties may install other cookies. Our advertising partners may use the non-personal information they collect from our Websites, in the aggregate, to help us better market and serve our customers.

This Privacy Policy applies only to the Websites and the Services and does not address the practices of third parties who may collect your personal information. You may visit other websites, through links on the Websites, which may collect, use and share your personal information in accordance with their own privacy policies. The information practices of those linked websites are not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we encourage you to be very cautious before you disclose your personal information to others. In order to provide you with the information, products or services which you have requested, we may share or transfer your personal information with our parent, affiliates or subsidiaries, or third party agents acting on their behalf.

The AMS Parties may be obligated to cooperate with various law enforcement inquiries. Each AMS Party reserves the right to disclose or transfer personal information and non-personal information about you and your activities on our Websites in order to comply with a legal requirement or request from law enforcement or other government officials, administrative agencies or third parties as we, in our sole discretion, determine necessary or appropriate for the administration of justice, or in connection with an investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringements or violations of any other law, rule or regulation, our Terms of Use or other rules or policies of our Websites, the rights of third parties, or an investigation of any other activity that may expose us or you to legal liability, or to investigate any suspected conduct which AMS in its sole discretion deems improper.

12. Security. Providing a secure site is essential for your peace of mind and trust in AMS. We have installed encryption software conforming to the Secure Socket Layers (SSL) protocol to safeguard all of the commerce related (e.g. credit card and billing address) information you send to us. All information is stored on our servers in a secure location. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. If your password is compromised, notify Customer Service at once at ams@amshq.org.

13. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Policy. The Websites and the Services are not intended for or directed to users under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly or intentionally collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 or other minors. Where appropriate, we take reasonable measures to determine that our users are adults of legal age and to inform minors not to submit such information to the Websites or the Services or in response to advertisements. If you are concerned that personal information may have been inadvertently provided to or collected by AMS, please contact us immediately at ams@amshq.org so that we may appropriate steps to remove such information from our database.

14. Privacy Precaution Warning. Please note that no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee the security of the information that you transmit via our online services.

15. Your Consent. By using the Websites and/or the Services, and by providing your personal information to us, you also authorize the storage, use and export of your personal information as specified herein.

16. Applicable Law. The headquarters of AMS is located in the State of New York, U.S.A. This Privacy Policy and our legal obligations are subject to the laws of New York and the U.S.A., regardless of the location of any user. Any claims or complaints must be filed a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of New York, U.S.A.

California “Shine the Light” Law

California’s “Shine the Light” law (Cal. Civ. Code Sections 1798.80, et seq.), adopted effective January 1, 2005, provides California residents with the right to receive certain disclosures when personal information that has been collected online is shared with third parties for direct-marketing purposes.

If you are a California resident and you provided personal information to AMS through a website in the past, and/or if you do so in the future, you are entitled to submit a request in writing to AMS for a description of the information we may have provided to third parties. To submit your written request, please send it to andrew@amshq.org and put the following words in the subject line of the email: “California Privacy Request.”

Within 30 days after receipt of your request, we will send you a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties during the immediately preceding calendar year, along with the names and addresses of the third parties who actually received such information, if any.

We reserve our right not to respond to requests sent more than once in a calendar year.

Please note that the California “Shine the Light” law does not cover all aspects of on-line information sharing, and our policy relates only to information covered by the law.

Community Posting Guidelines

By joining and using this online community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines.  You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium.  This is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation.  Questions should be directed to us via the Contact Us link on this site.

In order to preserve an environment that both encourages civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in this online community for anyone who violates these rules.

The RULES:

  • Respect others.Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them.Please extend the benefit of the doubt to newer guests and members; there’s no such thing as a stupid question.
  • Respect the purpose of the community.Use the community to share successes, challenges, constructive feedback, questions and goals instead of products or services that you provide.If you’ve found a product or service helpful, please share your experience with the group in a respectful way.
  • Use caution when discussing products.Information posted on the discussion groups and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to applicable laws includes the laws of libel, slander and antitrust.
  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal materials are strictly prohibited.Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.
  • Respect intellectual property.Post content that you have personally created or have permission to use and have properly attributed to the content creator.
  • When posting items in our collaborative environment, please indicate if the item is not available for reuse.It’s also advisable to contact the owner of any material if you would like to reuse it.
  • Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate communities.This helps ensure that all messages receive the best response by eliminating “noise.”

    Discussion Group Etiquette

  • State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line.This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
  • State messages such as “thanks for the information” “me, too” to individuals, not to the entire list.Do this by using the “Reply to Sender” link in every message.
  • Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group.Instead use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list.If you are changing email addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new email address.Simply change your settings.

Anti Spam Policy

We do not sell or provide email addresses to any unauthorized third party and do not authorize any third party or affiliate to misuse products or services created by or associated with AMS in spam or bulk emails. If you feel you have received any unwanted emails from us, please contact us immediately and we will look into the matter.

AMS prohibits the use of their website and/or services in any manner associated with the transmission, distribution or delivery of any unsolicited bulk or unsolicited commercial e-mail.  You may not use any AMS services to send Spam. You also may not deliver Spam or cause Spam to be delivered to any customers of AMS.

In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701, et seq., Public Law No. 108-187, was S.877 of the 108th United States Congress), e-mail sent, or caused to be sent, to or through the AMS website or service or on behalf of AMS may not:

  • use or contain false, misleading, invalid or forged headers
  • use deceptive or misleading subject lines
  • use or contain invalid or non-existent domain names;
  • employ any technique to otherwise misrepresent, hide or obscure any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path;
  • use other means of deceptive addressing;
  • use a third party’s internet domain name, or be relayed from or through a third party’s equipment, without permission of the third party;
  • contain false or misleading information in the subject line or otherwise contain false or misleading content;
  • fail to comply with additional technical standards described below;
  • otherwise violate our Terms of Use.

AMS does not authorize the harvesting, mining or collection of e-mail addresses or other information from or through the website or its services. AMS does not permit or authorize others to use the AMS services to collect, compile or obtain any information about its customers or subscribers, including but not limited to subscriber e-mail addresses. AMS does not permit or authorize any attempt to use its services in a manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair any aspect of any of the services, or that could interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of any AMS service.

If AMS believes that unauthorized or improper use is being made of any service, it may, without notice, take such action as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate, including blocking messages from a particular internet domain, mail server or IP address. AMS may immediately terminate any account on any service which it determines, in its sole discretion, is transmitting or is otherwise connected with any e-mail that violates this policy.

Nothing in this policy is intended to grant any right to transmit or send e-mail to, or through, the AMS website and/or services. Failure to enforce this policy in every instance does not amount to a waiver of AMS’s rights.

Unauthorized use of any AMS services in connection with the transmission of unsolicited e-mail, including the transmission of e-mail in violation of this policy, may result in civil, criminal, or administrative penalties against the sender and those assisting the sender.

Violators of the CAN SPAM Act may be subject to cease and desist orders or penalties from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) of up to $11,000 per violation. Criminal prosecution is also possible in the case of egregious offenders, which can result in penalties such as fines, forfeiture of proceeds and equipment. The worst offenders can also be subject to prison time.

Professional Development Policies

It is the goal of AMS to support your participation in professional development opportunities that fit your interest and availability. The following policies have been developed to ensure the viability of our offerings which are dependent on the commitment of the participants.

Non-Application Programs

If you are not able to fully participate in a non-application program (including but not limited to certificate programs, short courses, workshops and videos), you have the following options:

    Cancel

  • Cancellation requests received in writing at least 28 days before the start date will receive a refund minus a processing fee of up to 8% of the payment. This is dependent on the method of payment.
  • Cancellation requests received in writing between 5 and 27 days prior to the start date will receive an AMS credit subject to a processing fee of 8% to be used for later AMS programming or fees. Credits are good for three years.
  • There will be no refunds or class credits for cancellations within 5 days of the class start date or after the class begins.
  • All cancellation requests must be emailed to pd@amshq.org with a copy of your registration receipt.

    Defer

  • Deferrals to future sessions will be considered in rare circumstances, depending upon availability and after consultation with AMS staff. Please contact AMS PD staff at pd@amshq.org with any questions.

    Transfer to another participant

  • You may transfer your program registration to another person up until the day the program begins. Please provide us with the name and email of the person who will be taking your place via email to pd@amshq.org.

Application Programs (Any class that requires an application for admission.)

If you are not able to fully participate in an application program, you have the following options:

    Withdraw

  • Withdrawal requests made more than 30 days prior to the program start date, will receive a refund minus an 8% processing fee.
  • Program fees are not refundable within 30 days of the program start date or after the start of the course.

    Defer

  • Once an application program has begun, it is our intention that all participants will complete the full run of the program. However, in very limited circumstances, AMS will consider deferrals to a future session, pending availability, and in consideration with AMS staff and the program instructor. No refunds will be issued.

Please email pd@amshq.org to request a withdrawal or deferral.

Participants are responsible for ensuring the email address used for registration is up to date and monitored. Participants who do not respond to class invites and correspondence are still financially responsible for the program fees.

Cancellation of Workshops

AMS reserves the right to cancel programs due to lack of sufficient enrollment or any events beyond our control. Participants will be notified as soon as possible and will receive a full refund of their pre-paid program fee.

AMS reserves the right to withhold program enrollment for outstanding balances.

Questions about Our Policies?

Send an email to the AMS Professional Development team at pd@amshq.org or call us at 646-965-5574.

Event Policies

Consent for Use of Image

Registration and attendance at, or participation in, AMS conferences and events constitutes an agreement for AMS, or anyone authorized by AMS, to record and use, as AMS may desire in its sole and absolute discretion, all recording and reproductions or depictions of such exhibitor’s, or attendee’s name, likeness, voice, persona, words, actions, and/or biography, which AMS may make, including without limitation, the right for AMS, or anyone authorized by AMS, to use such recordings, reproductions, or depictions in or in connection with any legitimate purposes, including for advertising, publicity, trade, and editorial purposes, at any time in the future in all media now known or hereafter developed, throughout the world.

Health, Safety, and Conduct Expectations

COVID Policy

In an effort to keep all our attendees, presenters, exhibitors, volunteers, and staff safe, regional events will be run in accordance to local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines related to mass gatherings. AMS encourages attendees to wear masks at our regional events this year.

AMS will continuously monitor best practices from health experts to make decisions that best support the wellbeing of our community.

Authorized Attendees

No person under the age of 18, including infants and toddlers either handheld or in carriers, will be permitted at the Symposium. This policy is in effect to address safety concerns as well as to ensure the professional nature of the event. We love children (clearly!) and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

If you are a nursing mother who will need onsite accommodations, please contact our conference team at registration@amshq.org, Subject Line: “Symposium Nursing Accommodations” at least 1 month prior to Symposium. Children, including those who are nursing, are not permitted in workshop/event rooms. An alternate caregiver must be arranged for children at all times apart from when nursing accommodations are in use.

Questions about Registration

Call AMS Member Services, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (ET), at 212-358-1250, or send an email to registration@amshq.org.

AMS strives to create a welcoming, inclusive, and safe learning environment for all participants of its virtual event and online learning programs. This includes, but is not limited to registrants, both paid and complimentary; speakers; volunteers; staff; exhibitors and sponsors; and invited guests.

We require that all participants of our virtual events and online learning programs abide by this Code of Conduct.

AMS does not permit, and will not tolerate, harassment of any kind. If you experience or hear of harassment or unacceptable behaviors, contact us immediately at ams@amshq.org, or 212-358-1250. All such matters will be immediately brought to the attention of the Executive Director.

AMS defines the following behaviors as unacceptable:

  • Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form.
  • Verbal abuse of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ASAE staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
    • This includes verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, AMS staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest.
  • Interruption of any and all presentations, including political demonstrations. All participants must comply with the instructions of the moderator and any ASAE virtual event staff.

Additionally, the following behaviors will not be tolerated and may result in expultion from the virtual event or online learning program.

  • Using any chat, message boards, or other interactive elements to promote products and services, special offers and discounts, employment opportunities, or solicitations of any kind.
  • Screen shots other participants’ images or words. Participants may screen shot any learning material presented by a speaker within the presentation, as well as the likeness of the speaker.

Recording presentations and distributing such recordings will result in legal action on the part of AMS.

AMS reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior. AMS may prohibit attendance at any future meeting, virtually or in person, and bar an offending individual and the organization they represent from membership within the Society.

AMS Labposium

Labposium Cancellation Policy

Registration fees are non-refundable after December 16, 2023. Cancellations prior to Dec. 16 will incur a $50 processing fee. Cancellations must be submitted in writing to registration@amshq.org. Please include the name and AMS ID number of the registrant as well as the organization or individual who made the original payment. Refund requests will be processed using the same method of payment used for registration. No refunds will be granted if the refund request is not received via email by the required date, and “no-shows” are not eligible for a refund. AMS is not responsible for any hotel room cancellations; please contact your hotel directly.

AMS Regional Symposium

Transfer and Cancellation Policies

Transfer of Registration

You may transfer your event registration to another person in your organization up until one day prior to the symposium date. To do this, you may email registration@amshq.org or call the Membership Services team at 212-358-1250. Please include the name and AMS ID number of the current registrant as well as the name, email address, and AMS ID of the new registrant.

Registration fees are non-refundable.

Shop AMS Policies

Acceptance of Terms and Conditions for “Shop AMS”

The American Montessori Society (“AMS”) provides amshq.org and https://account.amshq.org/amsssa/ecssashop.shopping_page in support of its retail operation, “Shop AMS,” which supports AMS’s mission of empowering humanity through Montessori education.

By accessing the AMS website, you accept without limitation or qualification these terms and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”). AMS may revise these terms and conditions at any time. These revisions will be binding. If you do not wish to be bound by these terms and conditions, exit the Shop AMS website now and refrain from further use.

Protection of privacy

AMS is committed to protecting the privacy of its website visitors in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. All information gathered from you in connection with your use of the Shop AMS website is governed by AMS’s Privacy Policy. Please note that the AMS website is not specifically dedicated to children and AMS does not actively solicit information from children. Children under the age of 18 are required to obtain permission from an adult before submitting information to the Shop AMS website.

Trademarks

The names, titles, trademarks, service marks, and logos that appear on the Shop AMS website are registered and unregistered marks of the American Montessori Society, including but not limited to the American Montessori Society, Shop AMS, and The Montessori Event (“AMS Trademarks”). You may not use the AMS Trademarks without AMS’s prior, written permission.

The trademarks of third parties may also appear on the Shop AMS website from time to time; you may not use these trademarks without prior, written permission of their respective owners. You acknowledge and agree that nothing on the Shop AMS website grants, expressly or implicitly, any right or license to use any of the AMS Trademarks, or may be construed to mean that AMS has authority to grant any right or license on behalf of any third-party trademark owner.

All content is protected by copyright laws

Images, text, software, documentation, electronic text and image files, audio and video files and clips, and other materials on the Shop AMS website are protected by copyright laws and may be covered by other restrictions including for example, rights of privacy and publicity, as well. AMS retains all rights it may hold, including copyright, in data, image, text, and any other information contained in these files. Copyrights and other proprietary rights in the material on this website may also subsist in individuals and entities other than, and in addition to, AMS. AMS expressly prohibits the copying of any protected materials on this website, except for the purposes of fair use as defined in the copyright laws, and as described below.

Fair use is permitted

Fair use of copyrighted material includes the use of protected materials for noncommercial educational purposes, such as teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary, and news reporting. Unless otherwise noted, users who wish to download or print text, audio, video, image and other files from the Shop AMS website for such uses are welcome to do so without AMS’s express permission. In accordance with scholarly practice, users of materials (whether copyrighted or not) in publications, etc., should cite the author/artist as well as the source; the citation should include the URL “http://www.amshq.org.”

By downloading, printing, or otherwise using text, audio, video, image and other files from the Shop AMS website, whether accessed directly from this website or via other sites or mechanisms, users agree that they will limit their use of such files to fair use, and will not violate AMS’s or any other party’s proprietary rights.

Commercial use is prohibited

Unauthorized downloading, publication or exploitation of AMS’s files for commercial purposes is specifically prohibited. Anyone wishing to use any of these files or images for commercial use—including to solicit students for schools and teacher education programs--publication, or any purpose other than fair use as defined by law, must request and receive prior permission. All requests to reproduce work from Shop AMS should be sent via email to webmaster@amshq.org.

Reservation of rights

All rights not expressly granted by AMS herein are specifically and completely reserved. Nothing on the AMS website or in these Terms and Conditions grants, expressly or implicitly, by estoppel or otherwise, any right or license to use any content or property of any third party, or may be construed to mean that AMS has authority to grant any right or license on behalf of any third party.

Copyright infringement

AMS respects the intellectual property of others, and asks users of the Shop AMS website to do the same. AMS may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, take reasonable steps to disable and/or terminate access to the AMS website of users who may be repeat infringers of copyright. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide the following information to AMS:

  1. an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright;
  2. a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
  3. a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the AMS website;
  4. your address, telephone number, and email address;
  5. a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  6. a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf.

Send your information via mail to:

Chief Executive Officer
American Montessori Society
211 E 43rd St.  
7th Fl #262
New York, NY 10017

Submissions

Any communication or material you post, transmit, or distribute to AMS by electronic mail or otherwise, including any data or other content, questions, comments, suggestions, or the like, is and will be treated as, nonconfidential and nonproprietary. Anything you transmit or post may be used by AMS or its affiliates for any purpose, including but not limited to, reproduction, disclosure (to law enforcement entities or others), transmission, publication, broadcast, and posting. Furthermore, AMS is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any communication you send to the AMS website for any purpose whatsoever including but not limited to, developing, manufacturing, and marketing products using such information.

Return Policy

Your satisfaction is our goal. If for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, you may return the merchandise within 45 days for an exchange or refund in the form of original payment.

  • Please inspect your order upon delivery. If your merchandise arrives damaged, please contact orders@amshq.org immediately.

Return Information on U.S. Orders

  • Ship any returns, via ground service, to:
    • American Montessori Society
      Shop AMS
      211 E 43rd St.  
      7th Fl #262
      New York, NY 10017
  • Shipping and handling charges incurred by the return are not refundable.
  • Shipping and handling charges incurred by the initial purchase, if any, will be refunded.
  • The item returned must be in its original product packaging in salable condition and mailed in an appropriate size shipping box. Brochures must be in the original unopened plastic wrap.
  • Non-furniture items must be returned in good condition - unused and unwashed.

Information on International Orders

The Shop AMS website does not accept orders to be shipped outside the United States. To order items from Shop AMS for international shipping, contact orders@amshq.org.  

Have a question?

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