Distance Learning Program Information

March 25, 2020

Dear Aidan Community,

Today, I am pleased to share with you additional information about our distance learning program (DLP) for the students of Aidan Montessori School. I’m proud of the hard work the faculty and staff has put in these past four weeks to develop an approach that complements our Montessori pedagogy with the creativity and flexibility needed for these historic times. 

Accompanying this message, you will find two introductory letters to Aidan’s DLP - one is from Mr. Purse, explaining the Elementary DLP; and one is from Ms. Merkel, explaining the Toddler and Primary DLPs. We share these today in the hopes that you will be ready to begin on Monday, March 30th. The DLP website pages for each level will be available beginning the evening of Sunday, March 29th under the "Learning" section of Aidan's website.

As a Montessori school, our mission and philosophy traditionally eschew technology except in the most precise of exceptions. These are unique times and they call for unique solutions. Educators will likely look back on this time period and say, “As we learned during the coronavirus…” and, will recall the times they had to learn to grade without testing, assess without outcomes, and re-think some of the basic tenets of their approaches to education. 

Please know that the School’s obligation is to provide a substantial learning experience for its children. Yet, we understand that families may choose not to avail themselves of our DLPs for a variety of reasons. If you choose not to access technology or other matters prevent you from fully adopting the DLP, we understand. You should take a guilt-free pass on any components of the program.

If your family faces challenges in terms of technology, please email me directly. The school is in a position to support families with loaner Chromebooks and Wi-Fi. Let me know should you need either of these, and we can make a plan to get these to you before distance learning starts on Monday.

Aidan’s faculty and staff are more committed than ever to providing the best possible distance learning program available in a Montessori community. We are finding this to be more work than anticipated, but are enjoying the challenge of uncharted territory. Implementing distance learning requires the collaboration of our administration, our teachers, our specials, and a fair amount of technological support.

Teaching and learning will continue and therefore Aidan Montessori School will continue to collect annual tuition. Families who experience financial hardship due to the economic impact of the pandemic should contact our CFO, Blake Brophy and discuss their individual situation. The School is committed to working with families and restructuring payment plans as necessary.

These times can be claustrophobic and disheartening, but we will get through it together. It is important to stay connected, and I hope our families have found a way to do so over our extended Spring Break. Please get in touch with us and reach out to each other. Check in on someone. Have a virtual playdate. Support one another. 

We look forward to re-engaging as the Aidan Montessori School learning community on March 30th.

Stay well,

Kevin

Head of School

A Note from Jimi Purse, Head of Upper School

A Note from Denise Merkel, Head of Lower School