Critical Thinking is Most Naturally Learned Through Play		For More on Reggio...
It is RPNS's philosophy that the critical thinking skills that young children gain through playing, constructing, socializing, imagining, experimenting, listening and dialoguing prepare them for a life long love of learning.  For the past several years, our school has been inspired by the educational philosophy of the municipal pre schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy.  Based on the belief that young children are competent and capable from birth, children, parents and teachers become equals in the learning process, listening, investigating and constructing new knowledge together.   To see how our Reggio curriculum meets the New York State Standards for preschoolers, please click here, "Meeting the NYS Standards". (In the process of being developed) As a “Reggio” inspired preschool, we believe that education is a process, brought on by the child's interaction with their immediate world.  It is through playing in this world that each child is encouraged and stimulated to explore, to experiment and to discover, using their own unique learning style and interests.  Our program uses an emergent curriculum that builds upon the interests of the children.  “Project” work evolves from the children’s ideas and interests and as teachers, children and parents collaborate to resource and research these ideas, children develop the critical thinking skills that are so necessary to succeed in Kindergarten.  Teachers document children’s progress, validating the children’s abilities and enabling ongoing assessment.  This approach helps children to develop curiosity, creativity, differing modes of communication, concentration, listening, negotiation and observation skills.  Our Board of Directors has supported continual professional development for the staff through attendance at conferences and visitations to other "Reggio" inspired programs in the US.  We have learned from the knowledge of other mentors in this approach, as they came to RPNS and shared their knowledge with our staff.  Over the past three years, we have also had the opportunity for six of our staff to attend the annual International conference, "Dialogues on Education" in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where they participated in a week long study of this philosophy with educators from around the world.  As professionals, we remain dedicated to the learning and inspiration that we receive, as we continue on this journey. The RPNS Journey:  Becoming a “Reggio Inspired” Pre School:  Our journey began in 1958, when we were created by the Rye Presbyterian Church to provide a weekday nursery school for children in the church and community.  Our basic beliefs have always been reflected in our program: Children learn through their play Teachers are “facilitators”, who set up the environment to help young children learn through discovery Our job is to help parents better understand how young children learn As RPNS grew in scope and size, from 60 three and four year olds to 320 two, three, four and five year olds of the present day, the program was taught by dedicated professionals who committed themselves to the children, parents and culture of RPNS.  In 2003, long range planning by the Board and staff determined our future goals to be: 1.  To continue to attract and retain qualified staff 2.  To create a better way to communicate to our parents how and what their children were learning at our school 3.   To provide greater opportunities for parents to participate in the RPNS program Using observation and documentation to capture the “ordinary moments” of children’s learning, the staff began to value curriculum that is emergent and more child directed.  As we investigated the world renowned “Reggio” approach to early childhood, begun in Reggio, Emilia Italy in the early 1950s, we began to realize that this methodology paralleled our own beliefs and could help us to meet our new goals. The Board approved several actions which greatly affected our program: 1.  Staff salaries, benefits and professional development became the primary focus in order to continue to attract and retain qualified staff 2.  Team teaching with 2 qualified Bachelors or Masters level teachers replaced the old “Head Teacher / Assistant Teacher model 3.  Emphasis was placed on continuous professional development for the staff in the arts and technology, as well as visits to other “Reggio” inspired schools in the US and Italy. In 2004, RPNS had 325 students and 30 staff, including a full time school nurse and part time child psychologist, speech pathologist and occupational therapist.  Parents, staff and Board worked to formulate a new mission statement that reflected our dedication to facilitating a life long love of learning.  We looked at our environment to see how it fostered our VALUES of respect, participation, nurturing and sharing:  1.   Does our environment allow our program to bring RELEVANCE to a child’s real life? 2.    Does our space help to foster COMMUNITY for staff, children and families? 3.    Is the environment esthetically pleasing with natural materials and light? 4.    Does our space enable us to respect DIVERSITY and provide a place for every child? 5.    Do we use real tools that validate a young child’s capabilities? We began planning new usage of space with the church and the Play School.  Together, with architects, we redesigned our space to work to everyone’s advantage.  Construction began and was completed during the summer of 2004 (see "Construction Photos" in our Picture Gallery).  Changes focused on: Adding color, light and allowing for visuals to be at a child’s eye level Remodeling all bathrooms with trough sinks and children’s tiles Remodeling all classrooms with new ceilings and lighting, paint and flooring Upgrading fire, phone and security systems of the school Each classroom having a “mini” art studio, light table, digital camera and computer that is wired to a professional color copier The creation of a new website, www.rpnskids.org, that allows teachers to create newsletters, pictures & documentation on a private site for each of our 28 classes The creation of an “Atelier” or art room for the school  Professional development is at the core of this journey, as teachers began to use “new languages” such as clay, papermaking and printing with the children.  Maternity leave and a provision for staff to have childcare for their babies, using Rye Play School and private childcare, has allowed valued teachers to return to work.  The entire staff is committed to the “Reggio” approach and philosophy, each at their own level of development.  Hallways reflect new documentation boards at the children’s eye level, allowing parents, children and staff to review what is being accomplished in the class.  To date, thirteen of our staff have attended the 9 day international study leave in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where they have learned from other professionals and observed exemplary pre school programs first hand.  We have visited other “Reggio” inspired schools and attended conferences in the United States, in order to build liaisons and further our own learning.  RPNS is a member of NAREA, the North American Reggio Educational Alliance  and Reggio Children, two organizations that promote the understanding of Reggio and provide opportunities for shared research and professional development.  Collaboration and sharing of ideas has helped us all to grow.  This past year more than 40 professionals visited RPNS to share our dream.  They included the Rye School District Kindergarten teachers and administration, pre school directors and staff from around Westchester, and graduate level students from local Early Childhood Masters programs		There's more Information on the Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Develpment, at the links below.... Reggio Emilia Links: Website About Reggio Emilia Approach  NAREA: North American Regio Emilia Alliance  Wyane State University: Reggio Emilia Resources University of Illinois Reggio Children Learning Materials Workshop References Carnegie Mellon Center for Early Childhood Official Reggio Emilia Site, Reggio Emilia, Italy Reggio Materials from the "Learning Materials Workshop" Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting Reggio Emilia Philosophy Reggio Emilia: A Catalyst for Change Berkley Parents Network Sesame Street Workshop about Reggio Project Tomorrow: Science and Reggio Board of Jewish Education, Chicago, Il. Experiencing Reggio Emilia: Implications for Preschools Teachers College Press Using Reggio in Columbia Pre Schools Review of Newsweek Article About Reggio Inspirations from Reggio: Leslie University Curriculum Update: The Project Approach to Learning New Zealand: Reggio Inspired Queen Margaret Preschool The Reggio Approach to Documentation Council for Professional Recognition

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