Anna Rita joins Pine Street School after being the Head of School at sister school, Battery Park Montessori, for seven years. Before officially joining Pine Street School, she also was the Executive Director of Operations for Green Ivy International Schools. Prior to joining Green Ivy, Anna Rita helped start and headed Del Mar Academy – an independent, bilingual Montessori and International Baccalaureate school located in Costa Rica. Her journey with Green Ivy began as a result of her search for her first child’s elementary education. Her son was a graduate of the inaugural class after 9 years in the Mandarin language track, while her younger son now attends Pine Street School after attending trilingual Battery Park Montessori. She chose Green Ivy for her own family for its intellectually sound and research-based approaches to education and for its focus on languages. Having been raised speaking Spanish and Italian and later studying Russian, Anna Rita is a firm believer that being able to communicate in more than one language opens windows to understanding the idiosyncrasies of people’s histories, cultures, and everyday lives. In addition to having an elementary teaching credential and years of experience teaching elementary through graduate students, Anna Rita also has a B.A. in Russian Studies and Sociology/Anthropology from Middlebury College, an American Montessori Society administrator’s credential from West Side Montessori School’s Teacher Education Program, and an Ed.M. in Educational Leadership Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University. Anna Rita is also the President of New York State Montessori Alliance. When she is not working, Anna Rita enjoys spending time with her family and friends, antiquing, baking, dancing, and traveling.
