Covid-19 Response
The Coronavirus crisis has required quick decision-making and nimble thinking. Metropolitan Montessori School is guided by facts and research, and as is the nature of this pandemic, we learn valuable, new information every day that informs our thinking on educating children in these times and protective health measures. MMS prides itself on being a small, village-like environment, and we believe that the values of resilience, common good, critical thinking, patience, and passion will galvanize and support us all.
Our Reopening Plan
MMS began the school year on September 9, 2020, with in-person learning, Monday through Friday for full days, for students of all levels. (Children’s House students who only attend half-day will, of course, follow that schedule.) The New York Department of Health guidance stipulated that schools “should prioritize efforts to return all students to in-person instruction at this time.” Given this preference, our default option was in-person, but parents were able to request remote learning. In these uncertain times, we reserve the right to change our plans for health and safety reasons, if need be. Over the summer, we submitted an extensive MMS Reopening Plan to both New York State’s Department of Health and Education Department. In July and early August, we held two parent town halls where we shared these plans; You can find those presentations in the column to the right.
FAQ
This FAQ addresses questions related to daily screenings, testing, what happens if a child gets sick (not necessarily with COVID-19), and more.
Health Advisory Committee
We are fortunate to have an esteemed group of professionals in medical, insurance, and scientific fields/industries to help us develop policies during the coronavirus pandemic. The group, which was formed in June 2020, met weekly over the summer and discussed the latest developments in policy and COVID-19 research over Slack on a daily basis. They recommend the following UCSF webinar session (August 5, 2020) to anyone who is interested in an overview of the medical research on opening schools safely. The group will continue to meet and counsel MMS until COVID-19 is no longer a threat.
Dr. Magdalena Cerda
Associate Professor, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Preeti Gureja
Vice President, Chubb Insurance
Dr. Luana Fioriti
Columbia University, Department of Neuroscience
Dr. Shirley Tilghman
Professor of molecular biology and public policy and president emerita of Princeton University
Monique Kotsen
MMS Trustee, public health and finance
Dr. Fabio Stefanini
Physicist and neuroscientist at Columbia University
Dr. Jillian Parekh
Physician in the Division of Academic General Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Kelli Stidham Hall, PhD MS
Associate Professor, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Claudia Hamilton
MMS Trustee, Montessori Education and Development
School Communications
NYC Testing Sites
FAQ for Parents
Update from Head of School (8/7/2020)
August Town Hall Slides (8/5/20)
July Town Hall Slides (7/15/20)
Update from Head of School (7/3/20)
Update from School (6/10/20)
New parent and current parent Town Hall slides (5/20 and 5/21)
Update from Head of School (5/8/20)
Update from Head of School (4/17/20)
Update from Head of School (4/6/20)
Update from School Psychologist (4/6/20)
Update from Head of School (3/23/20)
Update from Head of School (3/19/20)
Update from Head of School (3/10/20)
Update from Head of School (3/4/20)
Update from Head of School (2/27/20)
Update from Head of School/School Psychologist (1/31/20)
Distance Learning
Virtual Events
Virtual events have been a wonderful way to gather and foster a sense of community in an isolating time. In late April, we transformed our usual adults-only benefit into a family event with performances from students and talented parents alike. The event was such a hit, we doubled-down on virtual events for the rest of the spring. Here are two examples, and you can check out more of our videos here:
Read about our distance learning program here. Curious to learn more about MMS? Contact Marielle Lopez, Admissions Director.
