1. WELCOME!

2. Background

3. One of Maine’s first charter schools
• Opened Fall 2013 with 45 children from 10 communities • 30 more children will be added in the school year • The school will grow to about 100 children, PreK-grade 5
We had over 100 applications for admission last fall, and students were admitted by lottery.

4. Catchment Area
While students may come from anywhere in the state, our catchment area for transportation includes these communities. We do have families commuting from other towns such as Durham and…….

5. Two non-profits – side by side
Fiddlehead Center Private Programs
Fiddlehead School Public Charter School
• Private Pre School – FiddlestArts
• Before & After School Enrichment Programs
• Private Music Lessons
• Birthday Parties
• Public Pre-K* (age 4)- grade 3 (age 8)
• Grade level added each year – to Grade 5 (age 10)
* Pre-K enrollment is limited to towns/ districts with Pre- K programs
People ask about the relationship between Fiddlehead Center, which was founded in _____, and Fiddlehead School. The Center offers…..
The school….
Each is an independent non-profit organization governed by its own board of directors. Children from the school can participate in after-school programs offered by the Center on a fee basis.

6. Purpose, principles & practices
What were trying to do, what guides our approach and how we carry it out

7. Purpose
The purpose of Fiddlehead School of Arts & Sciences (FSAS) is to facilitate learning through an interdisciplinary approach to the arts and sciences in a safe, creative, fun and loving environment.  
Fiddlehead School supports happy and vibrant learners who create and shape their own lives and contribute to the quality of life around them.
Fiddlehead School of Arts & Sciences provides for the foundational needs of growing children in a community where children, teachers, and families learn together in a nurturing environment. We are a school that honors children’s curiosities, interests and uniqueness, and facilitates progressive learning at the highest level.

8. At Fiddlehead, children demonstrate competency in literacy, mathematics, science, visual and performing arts, and a foreign language.

9. Through inquiry-based learning , children will also develop vital skills and habits of mind for 21st century life, work and citizenship:
• critical thinking
• communication
• collaboration
• creativity
• compassion

10. Principles
The principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach guide teaching and learning at Fiddlehead School:
• The image of the child
• Children's relationships and
interactions within a system
• The role of families
• The role of space
• Teachers and children as
partners in learning
Fiddlehead School of Arts & Sciences uses a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach to learning. The fundamentals of the Reggio Approach outlined by Gandini (2008) guide and inform our approach: (THESE ARE ARTICULATED AND ILLUSTRATED IN THE FOLLOWING SLIDES)
• The image of the child - children are viewed as capable, curious and competent, active in the construction of knowledge and the pursuit of relationships.
• Children’s relationships and interactions within a system - children are seen in relation to their family, school, community and the larger society.
• The role of families - families are vital to their children’s learning and to the learning community. Family participation is invited and encouraged.
• The role of space - space encourages interaction, relationship and communication.  The environment is considered “the third teacher”.
• Teachers and children as partners in learning - teachers are considered researchers and co-constructors of knowledge with the children. Collaboration is fostered between the children, teachers, parents and the community. Children assist each other in learning taking on the role of teacher, and teachers take on the role of facilitator and learner. Children are the protagonists of their learning and need to participate in the planning process. (Reggio Emilia Approach, 1999).

11. many languages of children. The image of the child, the
• The image of the child - children are viewed as capable, curious and competent, active in the construction of knowledge and the pursuit of relationships. They explore and express their ideas and learning though many languages, from mathematics, spoken and written language, drawing, movement … the 100 languages of children, as they are called in Reggio.

12. Children’s relationships within a system: children are seen in relation to their family, school, community and the larger society.
• Children’s relationships and interactions within a system - children are seen in relation to their family, school, community and the larger society.

13. interaction, relationship and communication.
The role of space:
space encourages
interaction, relationship and
communication.
The environment is considered
“the third teacher”.
• The role of space - space encourages interaction, relationship and communication.  The environment is considered “the third teacher”.
• Teachers and children as partners in learning - teachers are considered researchers and co-constructors of knowledge with the children. Collaboration is fostered between the children, teachers, parents and the community. Children assist each other in learning taking on the role of teacher, and teachers take on the role of facilitator and learner. Children are the protagonists of their learning and need to participate in the planning process. (Reggio Emilia Approach, 1999).

14. • Teachers and children as partners in learning - teachers are considered researchers and co- constructors of knowledge with the children. Collaboration is fostered between the children, teachers, parents and the community.
• Teachers and children as partners in learning - teachers are considered researchers and co-constructors of knowledge with the children. Collaboration is fostered between the children, teachers, parents and the community. Children assist each other in learning taking on the role of teacher, and teachers take on the role of facilitator and learner. Children are the protagonists of their learning and need to participate in the planning process. (Reggio Emilia Approach, 1999).

15. Practices
• Learning environment • Curriculum • Documentation • Assessment • Multi-age groupings

16. Learning Environment • The physical space encompasses
both the indoors and outdoors.
• Extensive periods of time - for in depth investigations, thoughtful observations and reflections. 
• A community of learners - children, teachers, and parents co- construct knowledge.  
• Interactive materials -tools that support development, expression, problem solving and communicate thinking.
• Technology enhances children’s real world experiences.
The learning environment at Fiddlehead School of Arts and Sciences will educate the whole child through systems that support interactions and learning - physical space, time, community, tools, technology, and collaboration.
The physical space encompasses both the indoors and outdoors. Our site offers a variety of space for small and large group interactions. We consider ourselves a school without walls as we expand our learning into the community.
We afford extensive periods of time for in depth investigations, thoughtful observations and reflections, which allows for questions and new ideas to unfold. Our role is then to identify the thinking and/or concepts unfolding in the process through observation and documentation. Documentation then informs our portfolio assessment.
Our school will create a community of learners, where children, teachers, and parents are all invested in co-constructing knowledge. We will include small and large group instruction.  Educated and informed teachers actively observe individual and group’s interests, abilities and curiosities within their play, work, and explorations inside and outside of the classroom.  
We offer children a thoughtful and respectful environment abundant with interactive materials and natural, recyclable and reusable material – all tools that support development, expression, communicate thinking, encourage the solving of problems, and serve as catalysts for investigation in order for children to learn about the world in which they live. By providing materials and infusing questions we can enhance and extend the learning without interrupting the flow of ideas.  
Technology will enhance the children’s real world experiences. Access to information in a timely fashion can support and extend the learning at hand when used as a natural part of the learning process and for a real purpose. Developmentally appropriate software will be chosen.

17. Curriculum
• Teachers observe and document children’s learning • Curriculum grows out of children’s interests and questions. • At the same time, teachers guide learning to ensure that children are developing necessary knowledge and skills. • Interdisciplinary, project-based learning is central– in the classroom, outdoors and in the community.
Curriculum- After carefully planning a rich and thoughtful environment, teachers observe children and document their learning. They then reflect, plan and take action. This emergent, dynamic curriculum process includes children and families. At the same time, teachers guide learning and assess individual growth to ensure that children are developing necessary knowledge and skills.
Interdisciplinary, project-based learning is central. Children engage in investigations both in the classroom and outdoors, explore their community, identify and solve problems, measure, read, and express their ideas and understandings through a variety of forms and media, from observational drawings and mathematical explanations to stories and songs.
Children assist each other in learning, taking on the role of teacher, and teachers take on the role of facilitator and learner. Children are protagonists in their learning and need to participate in the planning process.

18. Not a pre-set curriculum but a process of inviting and sustaining learning-after carefully planning a rich and thoughtful environment, teachers observe children.  From those observations, they reflect, plan and take action. The power of documentation-documentation makes learning visible for the parents, teachers and children, and is also a tool to help direct the learning experiences in alignment with the children’s interests. The many languages of children-the ability for children to communicate ideas through a variety of expressive mediums is known in Reggio as “The Hundred Languages of Children”. Projects-a hands-on experiential approach provides opportunities for exploring projects generated by the children, a child, or the teacher.  Revisiting ideas and experiences helps to support understanding and learning throughout the year.  
Not a pre-set curriculum but a process of inviting and sustaining learning-after carefully planning a rich and thoughtful environment, teachers observe children.  From those observations, they reflect, plan and take action. The power of documentation-documentation makes learning visible for the parents, teachers and children, and is also a tool to help direct the learning experiences in alignment with the children’s interests. The many languages of children-the ability for children to communicate ideas through a variety of expressive mediums is known in Reggio as “The Hundred Languages of Children”. Projects-a hands-on experiential approach provides opportunities for exploring projects generated by the children, a child, or the teacher.  Revisiting ideas and experiences helps to support understanding and learning throughout the year.
Not a pre-set curriculum – but a process of inviting and sustaining learning.

19. Projects: a hands-on,
experiential approach.

21. Documentation
Teachers document children’s learning through notes, photographs and examples of children’s work. This makes learning visible to children, parents and teachers, and informs next steps in curriculum. Older children participate in documentation of learning.

22. The power of
documentation

23. Assessment
At the same time that teachers are documenting children’s learning as a group, they are tuned into the growth of individual children.
Each child has a portfolio organized around an assessment framework that describes key knowledge, skills and habits of mind.

24. Each child’s development is documented and reported to families twice a year through summaries and portfolios.
We also use assessment data to identify children who need additional support, and to inform improvement of our program overall.

25. Multi-age groupings
While there are developmental “norms,” each child develops knowledge and skills on their own timetable. Children in multi-age classes shine in their own ways, learn from each other and progress on a continuum that is not tied to their chronological age.

26. Interested in joining the
Fiddlehead School Community?

28. Would your child thrive as a learner…?
• Children are equal partners in a reciprocal learning and teaching environment.
• Children learn through active, hands-on learning.
• A culture of questioning, listening, and reflection supports a strong academic environment.
• Children are natural scientists – they investigate, observe, question and analyze their world every day.
• The arts provide a vehicle for expression, communication, understanding and personal growth.
• Time in nature allows children to develop a relationship with the natural world - a foundation for ecological literacy.
The most important question for families is “would your child thrive as a learner in this environment?”
We are not a traditional school, so it’s important that our approach and your approach are in sync.

31. Application process
• Letter of intent postmarked to school by February 20th • Lottery will be held Wednesday, March 5th at noon • Notifications within 14 days of lottery • Commitment form must be returned within 14 days of notification

32. Questions?

33. 25 Shaker Road Gray, Maine www.fiddleheadschool.org