Newtowne School

About

Newtowne School in Cambridge, MA is a Reggio Emilia-inspired parent cooperative preschool for children ages 22 months to 5 years.

Story

Parent Cooperative
Newtowne is a cooperative venture of parents, teachers and children. At Newtowne, parents contribute in the following ways:

• Parent jobs: Every parent has a job, ranging from roles in school management and administration to fund raising, enrollment and classroom maintenance.

• Classroom help: Parents help out in the classroom approximately one morning every three weeks, assisting teachers with curriculum and classroom management, providing snack, and sharing their interests and family traditions with the community. Parent helping allows parents to be actively involved in the classroom and to gain insight into their child’s world.

• Newtowne events: The school relies on help from families at school fund raising events and at the annual Spring Fair.

• Work days: Twice each year, parents come together at the school to help teachers clean and prepare the classrooms for the children.

Mission

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY: Children find meaning and joy through play. Our commitment to this essential truth is seen in our rich, developmentally appropriate play-based curriculum. Inspired by the progressive education tradition, our classroom environments are carefully designed to promote a sense of wonder, inquiry, and human connection. We believe that the environment is a teacher; our bright spacious classrooms offer quiet spaces for children to work in small groups, cozy corners for being comfortable or alone, and engaging play structures at varying heights and angles for active gross motor and dramatic play.

During the course of the day, children have the opportunity to use different learning spaces for explorations involving nature, stories, engineering, mathematical reasoning, and music. Each classroom features a writing center and an expressive arts studio where children can develop their ideas in a variety of media. We also have a larger studio, staffed by our all-school Studio teacher, where children find resources, technical advice, and a place to create.

At Newtowne, we believe that the expressive arts represent the many ‘languages of childhood.’ Newtowne teachers spend time each day reflecting on each child’s development, as well as documenting children’s projects with the use of journals, cameras, and a record of the child’s own words. This documentation makes learning visible for children, parents, and teachers. As teachers observe, respond, and reflect, they encourage children to take their own learning seriously and become more deeply involved in it. This approach promotes a level of cognitive and emotional engagement that prepares children for the critical thinking they will need as they grow
older.

Newtowne has a scholarship fund for qualified families and we strongly encourage families seeking financial aid to apply. Please contact our director for more information.