In this NAREA Column, the founding members of the Indianapolis Reggio Collaborative share the development of their work together

Renbarger, Denna

Shelley, Ena

Sherman, Connie

Smith, Ron

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Butler UniversityDigital Commons @ Butler UniversityScholarship and Professional Work – Education College of Education2008From Solos to Symphony: The Indianapolis ReggioCollaborativeEna ShelleyButler University, eshelley@butler.eduConnie ShermanRon SmithDenna RenbargerFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/coe_papersPart of the Educational Methods Commons, and the Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood,Kindergarten Teacher Education CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education at Digital Commons @ Butler University. It has been accepted forinclusion in Scholarship and Professional Work – Education by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Butler University. For moreinformation, please contact fgaede@butler.edu.Recommended CitationShelley, Ena; Sherman, Connie; Smith, Ron; and Renbarger, Denna, "From Solos to Symphony: The Indianapolis ReggioCollaborative" (2008). Scholarship and Professional Work – Education. Paper 10.http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/coe_papers/10—  I N N O V A T I O N S I N E A R L Y E D U C A T I O N —– 22 –From Solos to Symphony: The Indianapolis ReggioCollaborativeSymphony, as I call this aptitude, is the ability to puttogether the pieces. It is the capacity to synthesizerather than to analyze; to see relationships betweenseemingly unrelated fields; to detect broad patternsrather than to deliver specific answers; and to inventsomething new by combining elements nobody elsethought to pair.(Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind, p. 130)Butler University/Ena ShelleyThrough my work as Professor of Education at ButlerUniversity, I have had the opportunity to work andlearn with educators at St. Mary's Child Center, theWarren Early Childhood Center and the EarlyLearning Centers of Lawrence Township for manyyears. Eventually I realized that, while I was aware ofhow these programs were exploring the practices ofReggio Emilia, the programs' educators did not havea way of being connected to one another. Each ofthe programs were involved in studying the Reggioconcepts of environment as the third teacher, the role of relationships, and how to translate these ideasinto their own learning communities. I knew thatdeveloping collaborative relationships among theeducators in these programs would support our professional development and the evolution of studyin the schools.How fortunate for me to be able to assume the roleof the conductor, who knew the sweet melodies eachof these programs offered to children and families! I was able to connect the leadership of the programsand, together, we found ways to begin ongoing dialogue. This eventually led to many professionalopportunities for faculty in all three programs, suchas a Reggio-inspired course offered through ButlerUniversity, participation and presentations at stateand national conferences, professional study group,and this summer, our very first Summer Institute inIndianapolis!In this NAREA Column, the founding members of the Indianapolis Reggio Collaborative share thedevelopment of their work together. The editors of Innovations and the NAREA Board would like toinvite educators from Reggio network groups and collaboratives throughout North America to con-tribute articles about this form of professional development within their own communities, to be pub-lished in future NAREA Columns. Please send your approximately 1000-word articles to Judith AllenKaminsky, j_a_kaminsky@wayne.edu—  I N N O V A T I O N S I N E A R L Y E D U C A T I O N —– 23 –As you will read, the programs are all unique. Eachone reminds me of a beautiful instrument, capable ofplaying a lovely solo. Together, we truly have becomean Indianapolis Reggio Collaborative symphony andwill enjoy creating our own music for years to come.St. Mary's Child Center/ConnieShermanDr. Shelley brought the values of the Reggio approachto St. Mary's Child Center through her passion, wisdom and the sharing of beautiful images. The 208children we serve live with great poverty and pervasive violence. These conditions are major barriersto their development but can be mitigated byinvolvement in high quality early childhood programs.Inspired by Dr. Shelley and with the intention to provide the best possible early childhood experience,we began to study and interpret the Reggio philosophies at St. Mary's. Our journey in the study of the Reggio philosophy hasbeen enhanced and strengthened by our partnershipwith the educators from Warren Early ChildhoodCenter, the Early Learning Centers of LawrenceTownship and Butler University through theIndianapolis Reggio Collaborative. St. Mary's hasexperienced support, resource sharing and the generosity of the collaborative partners.Partnership in the Indianapolis Reggio Collaborativehas truly been a "little miracle" for St. Mary's ChildCenter. We have participated in ongoing courses, visited Reggio-inspired schools, and received consultation from outside experts and our collabora-tive partners. Most importantly, the lives and futuresof our children, who experience such challenges inlife, are transformed as they learn in a Reggio-inspiredprogram that reflects our goals as a community oflearners.Warren Early Childhood Center/Ron SmithFive years ago, the Warren Early Childhood Centerwas a high quality, NAEYC-accredited program serving 150 children. It was a traditional Americanearly childhood center operating kindergarten, specialeducation preschool, community preschool and childcare services under the auspices of the MSD ofWarren Township. The program now serves approximately 450 children total, 150 with specialrights, in a Reggio influenced setting.We could not have predicted where we would benow when we began our journey just five years ago.Our study began with the support of Dr. Shelley, asshe spent many days in our school providing staffdevelopment on project work and Reggio principles.She presented beautiful provocations to our staff, asshe challenged us to reflect and think deeply aboutour personal values and beliefs regarding young children, and how those values and beliefs could bereflected in our learning environments.Dr. Thomas Sergiovanni (1992) has written about theheart (values), head (theories) and hand (actions) ofleadership. As young staff members have grown intoleaders within our learning community, our study ofReggio principles has allowed us to begin with theheart and mind so that actions full of purpose andmeaning can follow.  Learning to collaborate withchildren, families and one another in new ways led usto desire a connection with others engaged in similarwork. Our collaboration with our friends and colleagues from St. Mary's, Lawrence and Butler hasprovided us with opportunities to further refine ourbeliefs and values in ways we could not have imagined on our own!Early Learning Centers of LawrenceTownship/Denna RenbargerFor the educators in Lawrence Township, the influences of Reggio Emilia are reminders of courage.We find it takes considerable courage to act on ourbeliefs about young children. We are sometimes discouraged with the many things we are required todo; whether it be an imposed curriculum, a rushedday or an introduction to a skill that would be betterleft for next year. We often find ourselves living withcompromises to keep our programs funded andrequirements met. Yet we have found that throughforming a community of like-minded educators, wehave strength together in a common thought. Ouragreement that our beliefs about children provide thefoundation for our work and vault us to a measure of—  I N N O V A T I O N S I N E A R L Y E D U C A T I O N —– 24 –joy is a radical notion, and it became the impetus forour collaborative.All of the schools in the Indianapolis ReggioCollaborative are different but are studying the samekey components of the Reggio philosophy. Last yearin Lawrence Township, we built four new early learning centers. We scrutinized our environmentthrough the lens of our belief system. The influencesof light, transparency, circularity and provocationsthat we see in photographs and read about from theschools in Reggio give us pause, but set a standardwe strive to emulate. St. Mary's and Warren hadrecently undergone building programs and providedconsult on the Lawrence building project, as did Dr. Shelley. Making the capabilities of children visible throughdocumentation is one of our greatest challenges. We marvel at the way in which our Italian educatorfriends make it look effortless although we knowtheir work is the result of a great deal of thought,time and commitment. Educators in the IndianapolisReggio Collaborative have worked together on documentation - sharing their thoughts and analysis.Viewing the teacher as a researcher holds a keyplace in all of the schools in our collaborative. Thisperspective has become more understandable in ourongoing study of Reggio Emilia.  We are especiallybenefiting from learning to have multiple perspectives and listen carefully to each other.REFERENCESPink, D. H. 2005. A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age.New York: Riverhead Books.Sergiovanni, T.J. 1992. Moral Leadership: Getting to the Heart of School Improvement.San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.The Third Annual NAREA Summer Conference“Advocacy, Diversity and Alliance for the Rights of Children: Teachers, Children and Familiesas Co-Researchers”June 28-30, 2007 (June 27: Tour of Santa Monica area schools)First Presbyterian Nursery School, Santa Monica CASpeakers: • Carlina Rinaldi, Executive Pedagogical Consultant, Reggio Emilia Municipal Infant-Toddler Centers and Preschools• North American educators sharing ongoing work in their schoolsPanel Presentations:• “Evolutions in California Early Childhood Contexts” with California educators• “Evolutions in the Inclusion of Children with Special Rights” with Sharon Palsha, University of North Carolina, and Barbara Acton, Childhood League Center, Columbus OHContact: NAREAnarea@mindspring.com, www.reggioalliance.org

From Solos to Symphony: The Indianapolis Reggio Collaborative

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From Solos to Symphony: The Indianapolis Reggio Collaborative

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