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 distance learning and protective health measures. As we look to the 2020-21 school year, we aim to safely return to 85th Street as soon as possible. As a community, we are heartened by the can-do spirit of our faculty and administration and the many parents who have answered the call to lend their time and talents (you’ll see one example below) to our community. MMS prides itself on being a small, village-like environment, and in this difficult time, we believe that the values of resilience, common good, critical thinking, and passion will galvanize and support us all.

Health Advisory Committee

Caring for our community’s health and wellbeing is paramount. Every school is now grappling with how to safely re-open, an effort that requires substantial expertise, investment, and coordination. We are fortunate to have an esteemed group of professionals in medical, insurance, and scientific fields/industries to help us plan. The Health Advisory Committee will consider a wide variety of steps to prevent the spread of illness from classroom reconfigurations to building enhancements, increased cleaning, and measures that our students, teachers, and parents can adapt to support the health of our community. The group’s charge is as follows: “Advise Metropolitan Montessori School on policy and protective measures to prevent and limit the spread of Covid-19 within our community, starting June 2020 and until coronavirus is no longer a threat. Be available to attend all-committee meetings, twice monthly over the summer, monthly over the school year, and as needed should urgent matters arise, as well as to serve on sub-committees geared toward specific objectives and questions. While the school’s operational leaders are tasked with implementing anti-viral measures and communicating with the broader community, the Health Advisory Committee will provide expert guidance and a well-rounded array of perspectives on health and safety to help comprehensively address concerns and minimize the chance of the virus affecting our community.”

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