Two of our Durham Early School teachers, Carmen Raynor and Sara Orphanides, recently visited Reggio Emilia, Italy for a study tour on the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education — a student-centered model created by by psychologist Loris Malaguzzi and parents in the villages around the Italian region.

This study tour is part of the Wonder of Learning Educational Project, a community partnership that brought an international exhibit on the Reggio Emilia approach to Durham. Carmen, Sara, and Durham Early School Head Teacher Cesanne Berry have represented Carolina Friends School on the host committee over the past two years. In addition to bringing the exhibit to North Carolina, the group has planned and offered a range of professional development and community initiatives before, during, and after the exhibit's stay. The goal was to examine equity and access to an education focused on the full potential of all children, and to build a clear and hopeful community vision for the education of young children.

This host committee received an invitation from Project Infinity, a group of schools in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, to bring a contingent of educators and community partners from North Carolina to join them in a visit to the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Twenty people joined the study tour, including representatives from Durham/Orange Head Start and Early Head Start, Child Care Services Association, Randolph County Partnerships for Children, NC State Natural Learning Initiative, UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education, The Little School, Children First, Beginnings and Beyond Preschool, and Kidzu Children's Museum.

The goal for these collaborations is to create energy, conversation, and action around how we as a community wish to cultivate the strong potential of all children. How do we create schools that are for and about children? How do we create an education that honors the rights of children to be full members of society today, while preparing them to solve the problems of the future? How can collaborations between those involved in serving children and families strength the experiences for the children we serve?

The group will take what they observe from school visits and presentations to explore these questions both in the context of the larger group, and in the context of their own classrooms. We look forward to hearing more about their work on this project!