After 40 years mentoring journalism students, Fieldston News advisor steps down

For 40 years, beloved Fieldston School teacher Robert Montera inspired young journalists as the faculty advisor to the Fieldston News. Now, as the school newspaper enters its centennial volume, Montera is stepping down from his role at the News.

Countless journalism careers, including those of New York Times journalist Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman, White House correspondent at The Times, have begun in Riverdale under Montera’s tutelage, making his departure the end of an era for the Fieldston community.

“I’m going from commander in chief to first-base captain,” Montera said, emphasizing that he will continue to remain involved as two new faculty advisers take over.

He plans to remain a history and English teacher at Fieldston, though he will teach only in the fall semesters. He is stepping away from his adviser position to focus on spending time with his family, particularly his wife, Alice Montera, who taught Spanish at Fieldston for 30 years, and his two children.

Montera began his tenure as faculty adviser at the school newspaper in the spring of 1986. For Montera’s former students, the Fieldston News was not just an extracurricular but a launching pad. Some, like Haberman, cite their time as student journalists in Riverdale with Montera as one of the driving forces behind their passion for storytelling, reporting and public service.

Haberman told the Fieldston News in an Oct. 19 article last year that Montera was an “excellent teacher” who made journalism appealing to her in a different way, primarily for the ability to share people’s stories and inform the public about events.

Emmy-nominated comedy writer and bestselling author Bess Kalb, who was editor in chief of the Fieldston News under Montera, described him as one of the major reasons she became a writer.

“With good humor and good faith, he was the first adult who took me seriously as a ‘professional’ writer,” said Kalb. “I’m so grateful for him and am forever indebted to him. Not financially. But in a less legally binding sense.”

Yale Law School professor David Schleicher, also editor in chief of the school paper, remembers Montera as beloved among students.

“All of us were totally obsessed with Bob,” he said.

While alumni often consider him synonymous with the Fieldston News, Montera saw his role as a guide and protector for students.

“There’s less of Bob imprinting on things, and there’s more of the student shaping of things,” he said.

A fierce defender of free speech, Montera often defended controversial student articles, such as pieces criticizing new security cameras and reporting on anti-racism efforts in the school community, when met by resistance from faculty or administration. He deeply valued students’ rights to report on all matters and to share their perspectives.

“I think the real success has been that we tapped into this workshop tradition that is very much a part of the progressive education model,” he said. He has derived endless joy and satisfaction from his impact on students and can vividly recall each issue, editor and key writer. “I learned a lot from them. It was reciprocal.”

Montera turned the Riverdale area into a hub for student journalism, with many of his students going on to intern at Bronx publications before pursuing media careers. As he steps back from his advising role, he continues to be amazed by the work of students and alumni. In fact, the writer of this piece, Sophia Ahmed, was Bob Montera’s student for a semester last year and is an editor-in-chief of the Fieldston News. She is now interning at The Press. 

“There’s a special satisfaction from looking at the names of Fieldston newsies who are working for The Times or the Washington Post, or National Public Radio,” he said. “That just makes me the happiest guy on the planet.”

His former students say his departure is a bittersweet turning point. Kalb joked, “As much as I am a champion of free press, I do sincerely think the paper should shut down once he leaves. No more News. No more Montera.”

Of course, Montera said, “they will do no such thing.”