Save the Date!!! Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center Annual Open House When: Wednesday March 13, 2013 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm Where:409 Lafayette SE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Who: Current and Prospective Families, Friends, and Neighbors - All are welcome! What: An evening of conversation, art, learning, Reggio and wonder!

“….there are a variety of ways schools can organize to effectively support ongoing conversations about student data…..being committed to building a ‘culture of inquiry’…..three activities that support this kind of school culture…..creating and guiding a data team; enabling collaborative work among faculty; and planning productive meetings.” [Boudett, Clay & Murnane, p.12] I do realize that I have used my school and the Reggio-Emilia Approach as examples for much of what I have posted on this blog, but I cannot ignore the analogies and validation that appear throughout muchj of my study. I realize the excerpt above is not technically a quote, but it is a great example of writing and thought that both supports and critiques what we do at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center. I know my school is the best choice for students in Grand Rapids. I know there are numerous things we do well, and I also know there are many areas in which we need to improve. Two years ago, along with three team members, I was thrust into the responsibility of leading a grant writing team. As a new principal of a school in danger of closing, and with absolutely no experience in grant writing, this task was daunting. However, I accepted the challenge [I really had no choice] and dove into writing a grant to the Kellogg Foundation for funding to support a research project which was designed to identify which aspects of the Reggio Approach and our school structure were most effective and which would be best able to be replicated in traditional schools. We were ultimately awarded $200,000 for a two-year project which will end in 2013. The tie-in with the quote above really begins on the title page of Section 1 in Datawise. If you turn to page 11 in your text you will see a graphic representation of the inquiry process as the authors see it. I am including the following graphic that I took off the wall of one of my classrooms. Every staff member and student sees this every day. It is what guides us in our efforts to work and learn:

Beauty in the "Everyday" ....images from Tucson...

What an amazing, beautiful place - my memories from my last visit as a young girl have come flooding back to me during this journey....what an amazing trip....not only have I experienced validation, collegiality, inspiration, philosophy, theory and practice alongside my fellow Reggio educators, but the beauty of this part of the country - from the people, to the art, to the stunning landscape...words are not adequate, but I will keep trying to find the proper ones to express my sincere and genuine thanks not only to those who fed us, shared with us, made us laugh, and taught us while we were here at the NAREA Winter Conference....until then...thank you to everyone who made this experience possible - the WK Kellogg Foundation, NAREA, Heidi Aranda and her amazing staff at Ochoa Elementary School, everyone at Hotel Congress, and anyone who offered assistance and smiles as we made our way through your wonderful city. peace, Erin

We heard a quote from a 5 year old girl from Reggio: "Cities are pieces of the world..." this got me thinking about schools as pieces of a city ....pieces that are interconnected, different shapes and sizes, and each necessary to make a community function in a healthy way....our school is one of those pieces...familiar but very different. Amelia Gambetti said that "difference" is an element of strength which provides a level of complexity which strengthens the Approach...." The fact that each of the 55 preschools in Reggio-Emilia are different from one another validates the difference of the GRCDC as a public school and most especially as a Reggio school in the United States. A question we can ask ourselves - as posed by Ms. Gambetti: "How does the school as a learning community offer itself as a political and cultural SUBJECT not just an answer to a need?" This is a very different paradigm and approach than the response-to-needs model we have typically employed in our American system. The school becomes the agent.....

From Amelia Gambetti's speech at the NAREA Conference: The municipality of Reggio Emilia considers education as its FIRST excellence..... "We need the EXCELLENCE of everybody....." ".....put the different excellences in dialogue to work together on common objectives...." "...is this EASY? NO - this is something extremely difficult."

Images from our Annual Winter Celebration 2013

3-D Snowflakes.....

Treats for the birds....

Working in collaboratively

Friends coming in from the cold....

Stripes keeping warm....as always....

To remember not just at this time of year - but for always...

Another principle of a Reggio-inspired school is that of documentation. Traditionally, documentation is a qualitative and authentic approach which allows all members of a community: parents, teachers and students to assess the process and product of the students individually and collectively as they approach the content of their learning and then in turn express that learning. The expression of learning can take on multiple forms and formats [e.g. writing, painting, sculpture, performance, construction, etc.] all of which is collected through transcription, photography, videotaping and display. The displays come in the form of holding boards and presentation boards. Holding boards are collections of student work in progress from which teachers derive patterns of thought and questions emerging with the students. Presentation boards are chronicles of projects from beginning to end. As a principal, I see three purposes of documentation. The first is the validation of the Image of the Child, the overarching principal in the Approach, which insures that all children see themselves as relevant and respected members of the learning community, each coming to the classroom with theories, perspectives and questions, which are then addressed through the agency of the students via the many projects in which the students carry out their learning. The second is as assessment of student learning on the part of instructional staff, and the third is assessment of instruction. All documentation is viewed as data. As a public school in Michigan, our students are also required to take the MEAP, standardized assessment which provides a quantitative measure of not only student learning, but also of instruction. Through the data supplied by the assessment, we are able to determine where gaps exist in student learning [e.g. which standards are not being met] and which gaps exist in instruction [e.g. which standards are not being taught effectively. As a public Reggio-inspired school we are, by design, a marriage of a progressive approach within a traditional framework. This mirrors the dual assessment practices of qualitative and quantitative in which we engage each day.

“….many features of the adults’ behavior convey to the children that all aspects of their work are taken seriously. This message is not communicated directly by pronouncement or announcement; it permeates the environment indirectly through a variety of actions, provisions, and strategies.” - [excerpt from The 100 Languages of Children, 2nd Ed., p.44] “……implicit modeling takes place when the processes or ideas being modeled occur as a part of an experience….this has the advantage of always being in the context of the actual process.” [excerpt from Literacy: Helping Children Construct Meaning, 5th Ed., pp. 294-295] The two statements above exemplify the crux of our vision statement at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center. That is: “…. to base all decisions on the principles of Reggio-Emilia incorporating current research on learning as well as developmentally appropriate practice.” Whenever I give a tour, or meet someone in the community who wants to know more about us, who we are, what we do, etc. I often explain our practice and programming as a perfect marriage of a progressive approach to education [Reggio-Emilia] within a traditional system [free and public education]. The way we accomplish this is by using the Principles of the Approach to guide us through implementation grounded in empirical research which is then differentiated for each child based upon their development. Simply stated, we know our approach to education is grounded in best-practices, and we use this knowledge to accommodate the needs of our individual students at the different stages of growth and learning. Every day, we see or hear incredible milestones being reached and new learning being constructed, not only on the part of our students, but also in our professional practice. Children are constantly giving us insight and perspectives that we as adults are either incapable of seeing, or unwilling to notice. Some of this is physical – the world looks very different when you are 3 feet tall as opposed to 6 feet. Some of this is cognitive – when we read books as adults, we have a lifetime of experiences, literary, social, and professional, that contribute to our understanding and comprehension of what we read. For example, when I read a novel that makes a reference to Shakespeare, J.D. Salinger, or even Carlos Casteneda, I can seamlessly and simultaneously incorporate that into my comprehension of what I am reading. Children build this prior knowledge, or schema, over time, based upon their experiences and learning. The comparison and contrast of these two stages of life help explain the basis of social constructivism and activity theory, the underlying theories that guide our work and learning.

"The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men [and women] who can dream of things that never were." - -- John F. Kennedy In education, we often have tasks before us that appear monumental or insurmountable. Running a school on a shoestring budget that seems to shrink each year, meeting mandates on curriculum, complying with state and federal laws, and addressing the needs of staff, students and families can appear to be an almost daily, insurmountable task. I have learned to approach these days and situations by drawing on our collective, and my personal visions for our school. Our school vision, as posted on our main webpage states, “….. is to base all decisions on the principles of Reggio-Emilia incorporating current research on learning as well as developmentally appropriate practice.” This vision, established nearly thirteen years ago, was crafted to convey the purpose of our American and Reggio-inspired public school. That this school could truly embody and implement a perfect marriage of a progressive approach [Reggio] and a traditional model [public education] was the original intent of those who helped design, construct and begin this very special place that has endured for over a decade, as a stand-alone charter school. Much has changed since our school began. Births, deaths, laws, politics, the economy, and technology are just a few of the changes and fluctuations we have experienced in our daily lives and throughout society since we started. No one could have imagined what the world, much less our school, would be in 2013, but here we are. However, even though we cannot predict our future, we can always dream for what we hope and work toward those goals. Education is not going to get smaller or less challenging, but it will always be exciting, changing and worthy of all our endeavors. My personal vision for our school is that we become a center for excellence. Not only an excellent example of the Reggio Approach in the United States, but also an excellent example of an American elementary school, free and accessible to all who wish to work, learn and play in collaboration. We never want to compromise the integrity of the Approach, and as long as we continue to strive toward excellence in all areas, we will continue to succeed in meeting this challenge. This is a magical place, and we have been given an incredible opportunity - it is our duty to maintain the highest standards and expectations for everyone involved – our students, our staff, our families and ourselves.

“It is essential that you take the time to interact with staff about their practices……The teacher must be the primary client of the school-based administrator, whereas the district’s primary client and the teacher’s primary client is the student. The only way you are going to effect higher student achievement is through the teacher and his or her actions in the classroom.” [Downey et al, p.7] This quote from Three Minute Classroom Walkthroughs supports the views of the principal as instructional coach and the teacher as the most significant variable in the classroom, but it challenges the view of the student as the ultimate and primary focus [i.e. client] of the school organization. I am not arguing against, just taking a moment to analyze its paradigm. Traditionally, we have thought of the principal as manager of the organization and responsible for production. We have viewed the teacher as the worker, expected to produce. The product in this instance is student achievement. This historical view places the student in the role of client, the receiver of the good and or service, and also, one could argue, the parent, since the parents pay for the service either directly [tuition] or indirectly [taxes]. With this statement, the principal is now responsible to the teacher, to insure his or her achievement, which in this context is improvement of practice and content knowledge, which is in turn expected to increase achievement.

Face painting fun at our annual "Fall Celebration"!

To prepare for the celebration teachers ask students what the season means to them - many students named "soup" as something that reminds them of Fall. Several families brought in their favorite soup to share with the students and staff. Always a popular table!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 I have been so inspired by my current graduate study that I feel compared to share some of my thoughts. The reading, study and activity I have been engaged in at MSU for the past year and a half has been relevant, applicable, current and, on occasion, truly inspiring. From Instructional Rounds: The Sixth Principle of the Instructional Core - We learn to do the work by doing the work, not by telling other people to do the work, not by having done the work at some time in the past, and not by hiring experts who can act a s proxies for our knowledg about how to do the work. (City et al, p. 33). This quote refers to, and explains the social process and environment that exists to provide for the development of practice. The authors of Instructional Rounds, in explaining their framework, and using the analogy of medical rounds have also pointed out the lack of structures to insure successful induction, sustainable development of expectations, and open, objective dialogue. All of these components are intended to coordinate and combine to facilitate the evaluation process and thus make solutions to problems of practice transparent and achievable. Even with well over 100 years of universal public education in this country, we continue to be, as the authors point out, an "....occupation trying to be a professiona without a professional practice."(City et al, p. 33) I remember hearing this lament twenty-five years ago, as I was beginning my own preparation, and even though educators before and since have tried to be identified as professionals, there is still ground to be gained. The authors advocate, and I agree, that the objective will only be obtained with ongoing analysis of our practice before we are able to assess and repair. The most important point in the quote above is that labor begets labor, that we only learn to do the work by doing the work.... The school in which I work is a stand-alone charter which is in its thirteenth year of implementing and interpreting the Reggio Emilia Approach to education. I say implementing because the mission and vision of the school is to address and follow the principles of the Approach, and I say interpreting since the Approach was originally conceived as a framework for early childhood education in a small municipality in northern Italy. Our school is a K-5 elementary and is in the middle of Grand Rapids, Michigan, so it already defies the orignial intent of its founding. One of the practices adopted from the Italian founders is that of the weekly reflective meeting, held between teaching partners and collaborative planning sessions held among the entire instructional staff, all with the intent of identifying problems of practice and as a community addressing and solving those which have been identified. The other aspect of the approach that aligns with this quote is the fact that there is no formal course of study or certification one can engage in to become a Reggio teacher, our approach is based upon the reality that it is a constantly evolving practice and intrepretation, which only becomes understood through the doing of the work, which provides a lens to the learning of both teacher and child.