Four- Part Series "Investing in Our Children: Changing Child Care in America" Published by the Brattleboro Reformer March 29- April 19, 2003.

By Ellen Keelan, in collaboration with Windham Child Care Association

Permission for publication elsewhere is freely granted, so long as credit is given to Ellen Keelan, Windham Child Care Association, and the Brattleboro Reformer.

3. Investing in Our Children: Progressive Preschools Gain Attention

In the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia, preschoolers sprawl on the floor of a well- designed space filled with light and beautiful objects, rapt with the joy of creating. The huge batik animals they're making will soon take pride of place in the city's opera house - a gesture that shows just how much this community prizes its youngest citizens.

Famed for its history of collaboration and political activism, Reggio Emilia is perhaps best known for its exemplary early care and education system. The city- run preschools and infant- toddler centers, with their explicit focus on nurturing each child's individual capacity for learning, have been visited by thousands of international educators and emulated around the world.

That wasn't always the case.

"Reggio Emilia has evolved as an amazing system," says Dale Goldhaber, Department Chair of Early Childhood Programs at the University of Vermont. "The region was devastated during World War II. After the war, residents vowed never to let fascism happen again. They decided that the way to ensure that was to create schools that would instill strong social values and reinforce the idea of community."

Parents banded together to build what has become a citywide network of dozens of early childhood centers generously funded by municipal taxes and based on a progressive teaching approach that prepares children for both lifelong learning and involved citizenship.

"Reggio's focus is not on getting kids ready for kindergarten, but on getting them ready for life," explains Marisa Edwards, director of the Reggio- inspired Winston Prouty Early Learning Center in Brattleboro. "Rather than just getting kids to sit still and recognize their name, Reggio teachers help them figure out how to solve problems - essentially, to figure out who this person is going to be."

One way Reggio programs accomplish this goal is by drawing out children's own capabilities and interests, and using those strengths to create opportunities for learning through investigation. "In America, teachers tend to say, 'Well, it's February, so we're going to learn about presidents,'" says Edwards. "Instead, Reggio looks to children and lets them become critical thinkers. If children are asking lots of questions about snow, that's what they'll study. Even the way the room is set up is based on ongoing conversations with the children."

Encouraging children to play a more active role in their learning in this way inspires intellectual inquiry, creativity, cooperation, and respect, according to educators.

"Here in America, your typical three- year- old classroom is a very active place," says Edwards. "There's usually a teacher herding kids around and making sure they're not throwing toys. The children I observed in Reggio, by contrast, weren't getting up and wandering around, but were working independently, absolutely engaged, focused, and having a good time. There was a quiet hum in the room. It was the result of children doing what they want to do."

Despite fears that this progressive system won't suit American preschoolers (or American budgets) the Reggio method has proved highly translatable to the U.S. - even in communities with limited resources.

"I recently visited Chicago Commons, a very distressed area where parents actually hang signs in the streets that say 'Please don't shoot our children,'" recalls Cheryl Mitchell, Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont and former Deputy Secretary of Vermont's Agency of Human Services. "Yet they've created wonderful preschools based on Reggio principles. People in this country say 'We can't do it here, it wouldn't work in our culture.' Then you see something so vibrant and creative being developed in a community like that, and it really begins to change your mind about what can, in fact, be done."

Goldhaber agrees. "There's nothing about the Reggio method that makes these programs particularly expensive," compared to other types of early care and education programs, he insists. "One thing that surprises people is that there aren't a lot of toys all over the place in a Reggio classroom. But toys tend to be closed- ended. If you give kids a Fisher- Price garage, they'll just play garage. I'd rather have them play with the box it came in. They can use that imaginatively in any number of ways, and it's cheaper, too."

What Reggio programs do require is a well- educated, stable workforce to support the collaborative approach and consistent student- teacher relationships that proponents believe are critical to children's well being. That's accomplished through ongoing training and attractive salaries for teachers, made possible by the city of Reggio Emilia's commitment to earmarking 12% of its annual budget for its early care and education system.

That generous funding also enables Reggio to offer its programs to parents on a sliding scale. Many families pay nothing, and no family in the community pays more than $140 a month.

Italy's national government backs up this commitment to children with a national policy that grants parents 10 months of paid job leave. To encourage equal participation in parenting, an extra month is added if father, rather than mother, takes at least three of those months to care for a child. It's all part of Italy's belief that children are everyone's collective responsibility.

But does all this commitment, this creativity, this nurturing of children's inner selves pay off? Are Reggio Emilia's students more likely to excel academically and financially when faced with the rigors of kindergarten and beyond?

"In Italy, they call that the American question," laughs Jim Squires, Early Childhood Education Programs Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Education.

"They're not as caught up in accountability in Europe as we are here. They just believe it's the right thing to do for young children."

"Reggio Emilia has made a commitment to early education. Now we have an opportunity to invest in our children. It all comes down to a value. What do we think is important? I truly believe that once we in America make that decision, the money and the expertise will follow."