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School-Within-School at Peabody |
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About the School-Within-School at PeabodyHistoryThe School-Within-School at Peabody (SWS) was established in September of 1995 and resulted from the collective efforts of four Peabody teachers who sought to adapt the principles and practices of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Their introduction to Reggio practices originated with a 1992 workshop presented at the Children's Museum by Lella Gandini, U.S. liaison for Italy's Reggio Emilia preprimary schools. Stimulated by the Reggio School's constructivist approach, the teachers sought additional information and attended a number of conferences on the Reggio approach: the first Reggio Emilia Symposium in the United States, in June 1993, at which Reggio founder Loris Malaguzzi gave the keynote address; a June 1994 conference at which Carla Rinaldi, Reggio's Director of Education, and Howard Gardner, professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, suggested that U.S. schools might benefit from the Reggio concept that children have many languages that should be developed and celebrated within an educational context; and an intensive two-week seminar on Adapting the Practices and Philosophy of the Reggio Schools in July 1994, presented by Ann Lewin, former director of the Washington, D.C. Reggio-accredited Model Early Learning Center, and Amelia Gambetti, a consultant from the Reggio Schools. The following October they formed, with other DCPS teachers, the DCPS Reggio Emilia Study Group, meeting twice monthly to discuss the adaptation of the Reggio approach in their own classrooms. In the spring of 1995, the four teachers applied for and were granted a School-Within-School Charter to establish a teacher-directed, Reggio-inspired school within the Peabody building. SWS opened in September of 1995. Since its establishment SWS has benefited from three significant grants from the Freddie Mac Foundation, as well as numerous smaller grants from The Washington Post Foundation and other local community organizations. A full-time art studio teacher was added to the staff following a year long consultancy with Baji Rankin, Reggio consultant and currently Assistant Professor of Education at the University of New Mexico. All SWS teachers have attended an intensive eight-day study tour of the Reggio Schools, in Reggio Emilia, Italy. SWS also benefited from a one-week consultancy with Lella Gandini, Reggio consultant, as well as workshops and seminars attended by SWS assistants and teachers presented in Washington, D.C. Missouri, Virginia, Ohio, and California. SWS teachers have also presented workshops on their adaptation of the Reggio approach to teachers in D.C. and at the annual NAEYC conference, and sponsor open houses for educators twice yearly.SWS parents have contributed significantly to the success of SWS through their collaboration with the staff. They have given generously of their time, energy and resources. The continued success of SWS relies on the creativity, dedication, and commitment of its staff, and the support and active participation of the parents of children attending SWS. "Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present." — Albert Camus |
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