A Conference for Teachers and Families Brings 175 to Ochoa

The Dilemma of Reggio–inspired Programs
in the Age of Standardization

On January 12th, Superintendent John Pedicone welcomed 175 educators, families and university students to Ochoa and opened the international conference, The Dilemma of Reggio–inspired Programs in the Age of Standardization sponsored by the Tucson Children’s Project in collaboration with Ochoa, Child-Parent Centers, Inc., TUSD PACE and Desert Spring.

Our Ochoa teachers and staff played a key role throughout the three day conference. On Saturday all of our classrooms were open for visitors who were very interested in learning more about the Reggio approach at the elementary school level.

Lella Gandini, Mary Hartzell and Karen Haigh, the conference presenters, discussed the role of community, the involvement and active participation of families in the life of the school, and the importance of an organizational framework that is defined by intention and commitment.

Congratulations to our teachers, staff and Principal Aranda!

Ochoa Teachers Take A Leadership Role at the Conference

Ochoa Teachers facilitated small discussion groups during the conference Seminar Day, 1/13, and Carrie, Brandi, and Julie presented their reflections to the entire group of participants—-well over 125!

On Saturday, classrooms were opened and teachers welcomed visitors and their many questions. This was a leap of faith on our part, as our study of Reggio is in the beginning stages and our questions far out number the strategies that we have in place. However, our confidence has improved significantly as a result of participating as active researchers in the Reggio Emilia approach within the context of a public, elementary school.

Ochoa’s Study of Reggio Deepens with the Consultation Visits
of Dr. Lella Gandini and Dr. Karen Haigh

Lella Gandini visited every classroom and met individually with each teacher at Ochoa. Her observations and provocations were discussed at length and will serve as a focus for continued study and dialogue throughout the year.

In January, Karen Haigh met with teachers and the Administrative Team. She saw that the learning environments throughout the school had been transformed in the past year and suggested that we develop strategies to deepen the learning for children through in-corporating research areas and studios in the classrooms.