It was an intimate evening where we cozied up around a lovely table filled with yummy food and wine while Roleen talked about the Reggio history and evolution of New School West.
“It’s really cool that in Italian, ‘complex’ and ‘whole’ are the same word, and I only thought about that in thinking about the Whole Child which we hear a lot, and when Roleen was talking tonight, I was thinking about how complex a community is and how its complexity is what makes it whole.” – Melinda (Ephy, EW)
“Hearing this story now, leads me even more into clarity of what you’re doing here because there’s no one out here that I know of that has had these experiences and now I see how it led to here and now. It’s a really incredible journey and an incredible story and I think the community aspect you’re talking about is what I feel is the next thing, it’s really getting everybody else aligned with this vision. What you’re doing here really makes me want to advocate. The foundation is here, the children have that foundation, I feel like its us being participants in this, us becoming advocates for this philosophy and children’s rights.” – John (Miles, WW)
“I haven’t been here that long, but coming in, there was such an emphasis, I kept hearing the work ‘connection’ and just being in this environment I realize that its in the atmosphere and I feel like the longer I am here, and I start to feel that, and I feel that with the other teachers, and then when I see kids connect and then they just like come out because they feel the connection, that’s been really powerful and I realize in our time and age, we’re becoming more and more disconnected, and so when you come into an environment where there’s a lot of attention in connection, it was like my body needed to tell my mind, that this is an oasis and I feel like I am still realizing the power of connection and what that actually means. Between the families, and the teachers, and the children, it’s recognizing all humans were created to be in these kinds of environments to fully thrive and just the power of something really simple.” – Jacqueline (teacher)
“It was so great to have context!” -Toby (Rufus, WW)
“I felt more enlightened. There was more insight through seeing the transformation of the school.” – Bruno (Bodhi, WW)
“It really shows why we were drawn to this school…they think outside the box…not to just be like other schools. They think about children individually and really focus on children.” – Zoe (Bodhi, WW)