School 33 Buffalo, NY

Ashley and I started working with School 33 in Buffalo, NY in the end of August.  The administration of this pre-eighth grade public school wrote a state grant to study inquiry and project-based curriculum as well as the Reggio Approach to the education of young children.  When funded, they found Cadwell Collaborative in early summer and asked us to partner with them in their new learning adventure. This school is dedicated to Dual Language Instruction.  They want their English speakers to learn Spanish and their Spanish speakers to learn English.  This is a great way to approach language learning and we are all for it.  The administration and the teaching staff reflects this diversity.  While we were there, we worked with the faculty for three days on the theory and practice of teaching and learning that is rich, meaningful, aligns with Common Core State Standards, and results in exemplary student work.  All of the teachers were eager and ready to embrace these new ways of working and open to trying.  This is exciting for us to be sure.

This morning, one of the teachers, Tracy Rose, sent us a blog that she just launched. She is the newly hired atelierista working with pre through second grades.  And, we also received another blog on project work launched by  curriculum specialist, Rebecca Fast.  We are so impressed that they are ready, already, to share the work that they and the teachers are doing with students.  Take a look here.  And here.

We will share more about this new project as we proceed during the year.  In the meantime, look at some of the Buffalo teachers' own work.

Two Gems Hiding Out in the Hinterlands of Indiana

Working with new client schools is always an adventure. Earlier this summer I visited and worked with two gems hiding out in the hinterland of Indiana, just north of Fort Wayne: New Beginnings Childcare and Butler Early Education.

These two small early childhood and, in the case of Butler, elementary schools are on a journey to explore the greater possibilities in education.  These wonderful educators are as serious about developing their understanding of education as any I ever met.

There is always a bit of trepidation in making new connections, with people and ideas...on both sides.  Here's a reflection note from one of the teachers: I was unsure of what this experience was going to be like.  I actually had some doubt about how effective it would be.   This teacher and I were on the same page.

Then, we discovered each other.  In both schools we worked on organization of environment and on curriculum mapping.

Another faculty member reflected: I appreciate how approachable you were.  I was impressed by how intrigued and interested you were in our individuality and community...you wanted a better understanding of who we were and where we were coming from.  I felt that you worked with us with the same intention that we try to use with our own students.  What you shared was exciting, enlightening and doable :)  I had expected to be overwhelmed, but I'm not experiencing that at all.  Thank you so much.

Again, the feelings expressed by the teacher were also my own.  I could easily have written the same to them.  Approachable.  Intrigued.  Wanting a better understanding.  Thanks.

To me the highest compliment I could ever receive is/was: I felt that you worked with us with the same intention that we try to use with our own students.  (Of course, the context here is Reggio Emilia, John Dewey, Ron Berger, Grant Wiggins, Eleanor Duckworth, Howard Gardner, et. al.)

So, more connections made.  I can't wait to see what they do next.

Last look at Summer before our School Year Begins

Ashley and I just took our one real vacation of the summer and went to Maine.  We started in New York visiting friends in the Catskills and then headed to the coast.  We took an hour ferry to get to North Haven, an island off Rockland, and settled into Nebo Lodge which is a darling, magical place, unexpected.  We have friends who go to another island in Maine every summer, Ilesboro, and they say that it is like Brigadoon as it seems to rise from the mist as they travel over on the ferry every year.

We felt the same way about Nebo on New Haven.  The food is mostly local and delicious and the chef is famous.  The rooms quaint, just as you would find in a cottage with curtains blowing in the windows, painted floors and bright quilts.  We had fun riding bikes around, visiting a farm, walking on the pebble beach and playing golf!

From North Haven, we traveled to see dear friends who live in Camden on a lake.  It was heavenly too.  A group of old friends assembled, rainy days and books, sunny days and swimming and sailing.  All in all, we had a "very,very fun time," in the words of our favorite six-year-old narrator in one of our favorite movies on Vimeo.  Don't miss it if you have not seen it.

This Sunday, Louise travels to Texas where she will work with the faculty of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M, and on Tuesday, Ashley and Louise both travel to Buffalo to work with the faculty of School 33 for three days! We will fill you in on all of that and more with our next blog posts which will, with mixed emotions, not be about summer fun anymore.  Happy August and welcome school year 2013-2014!

Summer Hike with my New Camera

Summer

How is your summer? In full swing? Hot? Are you jumping in the lake or the ocean? Going to Farmer's Markets? Enjoying outings with family and friends? We hope you are doing all of it, and relishing summer's bounty and freedom. We are doing our best and loving it, interspersed with preparing for an exciting fall with new work with some wonderful schools and architecture firms.  More on that soon.

Savor every summer day.

Louise and Ashley