Thirty Years Exploring

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an article declaring Reggio Emilia the best early childhood program in the world. In the spring of 1992, Jan Phillips along with four educators and a parent from TCS, participated in a study tour of the Reggio Emilia schools led by Brenda Fyfe of Webster University. The group was so impressed with what they saw that Jan returned to St. Louis and wrote a grant proposal to

the Danforth Foundation to provide three years of funding to help TCS implement the approach, conduct action research, and mentor other schools through networking and workshops. Jan noted that “[t]he thing I found particularly interesting was the way the teachers helped children see more deeply and think more in-depth when doing their artwork and writing.” The grant was funded, and Louise Cadwell was hired as a preschool teacher at TCS. She also served as a consultant to help incorporate the Reggio Approach into early childhood programs at five area schools, including TCS. Louise was an intern in the Reggio Emilia preschools the previous year and had met Jan and the others from TCS when they toured Italy. During the second year of the grant program, Louise moved into the newly-created atelierista position, and TCS became the demonstration site for educators from other schools. Eight additional schools joined the St. Louis network, and both educators and parents worked hard to get the Reggio-inspired program off the ground. TCS teachers redesigned the early childhood space with the help of parent/architects Gay and Frank Lorberbaum. St. Louis became a leader in the United States for Reggio-inspired work. Notable educators from Reggio Emilia spent time at TCS and other St. Louis schools involved in the grant. Their presence and guidance, while at times tough, were a great boost to the program. After the grant was completed, The St. Louis Reggio Collaborative was formed with The College School, Clayton Family Center, and The St. Michael School of Clayton. In 1997, Reggio Children’s Foundation worked with the Collaborative during a two-day conference “Adapting the Reggio Emilia Approach in U.S. Contexts.” One reason the Reggio Approach worked so well at TCS was its compatibility with experiential education and the common influence of the educational philosophies of Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky. “At their core, our Reggio-inspired spaces are experiential by nature. Hands-on, playbased learning is learning by doing, by having rich and meaningful first-hand experiences with a wide variety of unique learning materials, creative mediums, and social interactions,” notes Sarah Hassing, the TCS atelierista. “An important benefit of this approach is that it helps children learn to learn, to be inquisitive, curious, collaborative, and eager to explore the world around them. When we view children as protagonists of their own learning, we are acknowledging their competency in intellectually engaging with others and with the larger world.” Sarah Hassing believes TCS draws its biggest inspiration from the Reggio Approach’s image of the child. “As in Reggio Emilia, Italy, we at TCS hold a strong image of children as competent learners that bring their own experiences, knowledge, and expertise to our classrooms. We believe that our youngest learners are citizens of today whose voices are vital components of our community, here at school, and within the larger ones in Webster Groves and St. Louis, as well. You will see this in our classrooms through how we engage children with respect, trust, and admiration.” Over the years, TCS educators have continued to seek professional development in the Reggio Approach through on-site visits to Reggio Emilia preschools and schools around the country that have successful Reggio-inspired programs. We have also hosted many visiting educators seeking inspiration for their programs. During the pandemic, we’ve taken advantage of online and digital programs through the Reggio Children organization. In addition, two of our early childhood teachers are working on their master’s degrees through a program with ties to the Reggio Approach. The early childhood program at TCS is staffed with loving, passionate educators who are committed to carrying on the Reggio tradition and respecting each child. Our goals include ongoing professional learning inside and outside of the classroom and sharing those insights with colleagues, families, and the broader education community, utilizing a variety of tools for documentation of student thinking and experiences, making time for dialogue among colleagues to process and further the work within the program, and rebuilding a local network of Reggio practitioners in the St. Louis area. The vision, commitment, and hard work that have brought us to this point will continue to support our early childhood program going forward.

Sarah Hassing, Atelierista - “I chose to enter the Masters in Innovative Early Childhood Education to continue my learning and growth as an educator who is inspired by the values and practices found within the municipal preschools in Reggio, Emilia, Italy. Like the children I teach, I view myself as a lifelong learner, as well as an advocate for young children. This program has supported my learning in so many ways. Currently, I am engaged in a deep study of the classroom and school environments and how they impact, inform, and support learning. The partnerships and friendships I have forged with instructors and peers have been vital to building a network of Reggio-inspired colleagues who will continue to learn and grow from one another long after this program has ended.”

Uchenna Ogu, Kindergarten Teacher - “I applied to the program because I am constantly seeking innovative, research-based, best practices that I can apply in my work with the Kindergarten children. As a lifelong learner, the opportunity to earn my Masters in Innovative Early Childhood Education with an emphasis on the Reggio Approach was exciting to me. I have a passion for creating joyful, high-quality curricula with and for children. Through my graduate program, I have gained a deeper understanding of how to facilitate learning within the context of relationships among people, environment, community, culture, etc. I want our students to leave Kindergarten knowing that they can have a meaningful impact on our school community and beyond, no matter their age.”

By Leah Zueger, Development and Communications Associate

As you might imagine, there is a certain energy that pulses through the building at the start of every school year. The excitement and enthusiasm of the students are palpable, and if you’re lucky enough to be in Fifth Grade, the fall theme — Monarchs and Insects–takes that energy and flies with it. What began as a project in 1992 became a full-fledged theme in 2006 and remains a TCS favorite to this day. How could it not with all that it entails? Throughout the theme, from the second week of school when students begin sewing butterfly nets through to the Monarch Bake and Craft Sale at the end of the trimester, these eager students transform into citizen scientists who understand not only the life-cycle of the monarch and its migratory journey (which passes right through St. Louis) but the critical importance of it all to the world’s ecosystem. While the Fifth Grade faculty, Carol Fitzsimmons and Scott McClintock, know that the butterflies are coming, they’re never certain how early they will appear, how many will come, and how long the migration will last. Thanks to the flexibility of our program, the dedication of the students, and myriad locations for tagging opportunities in the region, the unknowns are just another part of the learning experience. Students also learn about why monarch populations have markedly decreased in recent years and to be prepared for more challenges with tagging and data collection as a result. With that said, for the first time in several years, 200 monarch butterflies were tagged by TCS students last fall! As TCS faculty are wont to do, Carol and Scott added an exciting new layer to this year’s study that will serve students well into the future. Since 1992, fifth graders have shared data cards collected on tagged butterflies with Monarch Watch, an education, conservation, and research program based at the University of Kansas. This information

Handmade items for purchase from the Monarch Bake & Craft Sale A monarch butterfly being tagged by Fifth Grade students from The College School

includes tagging location, sex, weather variables, and OE presence (OE, ophryocystis elektroscirrha, is a parasite that infects adult monarchs and can be fatal to larvae). This year, in addition to working with Monarch Watch, students captured the data electronically as part of a longitudinal study to help understand the dynamics of the fall migration with specific regard to the St. Louis region. With this authentic data set, students can now explore variables over an extended period that may be impacting annual migration patterns and population densities. While this is the first year the data has been captured electronically in class, the data cards from the previous five years were entered as well, totaling information on nearly 500 monarchs, resulting in a rich set of data to work with! This real-world data will be used when teaching other analysis and graphing concepts in math and science throughout the year. Students are excited to see how their work joins that of the past to create a vast amount of information that can be analyzed. Of course, no study of the monarch would be complete without observing metamorphosis, and what a powerful experience that is! Students begin rearing their monarchs from the larval (caterpillar) stage, with many as small as ½” long. In addition to measuring the larva daily, students become experts at recognizing and gathering milkweed and identifying the beginnings of subsequent stages. One of the many joys of this theme is how families are engaged in the process as the larva travel home with their students on weekends. If they’re lucky, a larva transforming into the “J-form” stage and then forming their chrysalis can happen right before their eyes. As you might imagine, this is an incredible event to witness in real-time. Once the monarchs are tagged and sent on their journey to Mexico, students spend time researching, writing, and drawing insects of their choice. They also learn the essentials of experimental design and hone their observational skills, most notably regarding similarities and dissimilarities of two different species of roly-polies (pill bugs). Students also investigate an area of interest (ie. animal behavior, environmental conditions, variables that affect speed, etc.) and develop and implement science experiments from start to finish. This includes developing hypotheses, identifying variables, writing procedures, creating data tables/ graphs, running their experiments, analyzing data, writing conclusions, and considering potential next steps. Needless to say, the students’ scientific exploration during this theme is broad and engaging. Throughout the Monarch and Insect theme, students study the important roles that insects play in the biodiversity of ecosystems. Monarchs, in particular, are critical pollinators, and nearly 75 percent of food crops around the world depend on pollinators. Students recognize the need to restore and protect habitats for monarchs, and each year they hold a Monarch Bake and Craft Sale to raise funds to support such work. This year’s Fifth Grade class brought in more than $800 through the sale of monarch-themed holiday ornaments, adorable larva bracelets, 3D butterflies, mini pillows, earrings, magnets, colorful hair scrunchies, an edible chess set, and numerous other yummy delights, to name just a few available items. The proceeds were split between the Monarch Butterfly Fund and Forest Park’s Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape, a lovely new location in the city that proved to be the perfect location to capture and tag monarchs! The students were thrilled to support two wonderful organizations that are working to increase monarch populations locally and across the United States. Much like the larvae they rear, the transformation of these students into citizen scientists is quick, steady, and beautiful. We know that students learn best when they are invested in their education and participating directly and engaging in research and discovery is arguably the most impactful way of capturing a child’s curiosity and attention. This approach to learning is what The College School does so well. We are excited to see where these experiences take these students in the years to come.

Preschool through Eighth Grade 7825 Big Bend Blvd. Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314) 962-9355 thecollegeschool.org

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Find out more information about these events on our website. 4/5 Play Performance Wednesday and Thursday, February 13 and 14 Third Grade River City Market Day Friday, March 8, 1:30-2:30 PM Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day Friday, March 29, 10:30-12:00 PM Gala and Auction Saturday, April 13, 6:00-10:00 PM Middle School Shakespeare Performance Tuesday, May 14, 7:00-9:00 PM Summer Camp Begins Monday, June 3 Summer Camp at The College SchoolSpring trip season is in full swing! We love hearing about all of the wonderful adventures our students have. We would also love to hear about yours! Have a great TCS memory to share? Want to take part in planning our upcoming 60th anniversary celebration? Send an email to Brie Alley at balley@ thecollegeschool.org today. Adventure on!