The Beaverton School District is blazing a trail in early education through bilingual learning labs, which emphasize playful inquiry and habits of mind.
School officials said the Early School Success initiative is designed to showcase the power of early learning and help make the case for expanded public investment in preschool.
Monique Singleton, principal at Vose Elementary in Beaverton, said the program helps children, many from immigrant families, successfully adjust to their new surroundings.
“I think the important part about the inquiry work that we’re doing with Children’s Institute, and I’ve talked about this with other principals and teachers, is that I think it’s really important just to be exploring and listening to your community and be able to explore it,” Singleton explained.
Vose Elementary hosted a learning lab earlier this week, showing participants in the district the transformative work the school is doing to improve outcomes for students and the community. The goals for the event were to hold space to nurture cross-district relationships and collaboration.
Singleton noted the emphasis is on teaching children life skills to help them cope with complex emotions and situations they either face at school, at home or both.
“The goal is to help them feel honored with a sense of belonging and a sense of safety around our emotions and a sense of identity,” Singleton pointed out. “So they don’t feel like they have to shut down a part of themselves in order to be successful at school.”
Vose’s faculty and staff are hands-on leaders who model empathy, learn alongside their staff, and consistently message the need for playful inquiry as an equity stance, Singleton added. They aim to provide children at Vose the same kind of learning experiences one might expect at an elite private school.
Disclosure: Children’s Institute contributes to Public News Service’s fund for reporting on Children’s Issues, Early Childhood Education, Education, and Health Issues.
This article was written by Mark Richardson and originally shared through Public News Service on May 16, 2024. The link can be found here.