Professional Development

We had a full day of inspiration and reflection Thursday, leaving on the 7am boat and returning to the island at 9pm. It was a long day, but for the teachers it was an opportunity to visit a school at the forefront of early education. Charlestown Nursery School has partnerships with several universities, including the BU Child Cognition Lab, Boston College, Harvard's Laboratory for Developmental Studies  and Tufts. They are also a training location for student teachers, a preferred site for various research institutions, and are engaged in partnerships with international schools. Our relationship with the Charlestown Nursery School has been strengthened through Garden Gate’s sponsorship of the Wonder of Learning exhibit and we look forward to future professional collaboration opportunities. 

In addition our teachers were able to spend time exploring The Wonder of Learning exhibit at Wheelock College/Boston University. The Wonder of Learning is a traveling exhibition from the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The exhibit highlights the pedagogical practices of the approach and seeks to engage teachers, families, children, and the general public in reflecting on the possibility of education for even the youngest of children. Our afternoon session, an intensive staff meeting to discuss inspirations and next steps forward, energized teachers to revisit our daily work with fresh perspectives and new possibilities for sharing the wonders of learning with our children.