Montessori Community Comes Together to Support Schools, Teachers and Families During the COVID- 19 Crisis

The last couple of weeks have certainly felt like March Madness as schools nationwide were closed with very little notice. Immediately a group of Montessori leaders and educators from across the US and internationally began to meet and work together to find resources to help schools, teachers, and families. This sparked the creation of The Montessori Collaborative Response Planning Team with members from the major Montessori organizations, leaders from teacher education programs, school administrators, and teachers. The group began to hold over flowing Zoom Town Hall Meetings to address questions and concerns. Task groups were started to gather and provide resources in several areas of need including, school business and financial concerns, teacher resources for teaching remotely, communication, parent support and self- care. Several ” How to Zoom” training sessions were held for teachers across the different Montessori levels. Facebook groups were started for teachers to share ideas. Video conference meetings have been held to address important issues of concern for schools. Short videos have and are being created to discuss specific topics of need and provide suggestions for calming, centering and staying positive during these stressful times. It is truly amazing to see what can be accomplished when a community comes together!