Need supportive Reggio information/research/articles

[artgirl]

Hi. The powers that be are threatening to close our most fantastic Reggio preschool due to a budget crisis. We (the parents) will be going to the board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20 to try and convince them otherwise. I am desperate to save our school. I thought that asking for help here on MDC, with so many active and well-informed mothers, I'd be able to find some info. I know you all do your reading and research to find the best solutions for your children. Does anyone have an Reggio (specifically) or early education information that could help me persuade this board that their money will be well spent here. I believe that setting kids up early with a love for learning, a freedom of expression, a connection with the earth, etc. will pay of ten fold in the future. That the board would be very short-sighted to not see that. But I need info/research/quotes from other mothers who've been through Reggio with their kids/articles, etc. that I can use in the presentation.
Does anyone have anything?
Also, this school is the only one of its kind in this area. We will have no alternative that even compares if they close it down. Any stories of districts that hung in there during the rough starting years for a big pay-off in the end?
Thank you to anyone who can help.

[artgirl]

nothing? Nobody?

[lauren]

Hi there--the Reggio people are a little fewer and far between. Sorry about that! I'm so sorry to hear about your school. That sounds very discouraging. Wish I could say something more helpful. I'll see if I can at least highlight your thread on the main education forum.

[bugginsmom]

Um, I'm not sure what you are looking for exactly. If you are looking for info/research, check the Reggio Alliance. I am a Reggio trained teacher and have my son in a Reggio inspired private school right now. Is it a matter of the school district cutting Reggio or Early Childhood programs? I mean there is the whole "Reggio has been working and showing positive results since WWII" angle, but as for specific research comparing the outcome of children in Reggio programs to other types of environments I am not sure how much you will find. Boards tend to want concrete data, kwim? You could focus on the humanity side of it, the success that has been shown in Europe with this model, etc.

Just out of curiousity, what district are you in? I think it is really neat that your school district offers a Reggio program!

[crl]

Hi,
Are they trying to close all early childhood programs or just the Reggio one? If it is just the Reggio one, do you have any idea why they are targetting that one? Is it about budget or about philosophy or what?

The Presidio Child Development Center in San Francisco is a Reggio school (infant through pre-K and afterschool for grade school kids). It has faced a couple of battles to stay open, but the issue here has been that it is the only child development center in leased space (at least that's my understanding). So the first fight to keep it open was about reducing the cost to the district (negotiating reduced rent, instituing new application fees, fundraising) more than about Reggio per se. I believe the second fight was about the landlord (the Presidio trust) considering razing the building along with a couple of other buildings to make room for something else.

Here's a link to the wiki article on Reggio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

It cites some other articles and might be a jumping off point for you.

If you don't already know what the board's concerns are, you might simply plead for more information and more time at the meeting. It's pretty hard to fight if you don't know what their issues are.

Good luck!
Catherine