Welcome Letter
We’ve been busy living the mission of NAREA, connecting the practices and philosophies of the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, to its advocates and education professionals in the United States and Canada and those individuals to each other. We’ve held multiple initiatives and managed two exhibitions and ateliers, Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material and Bordercrossings: Encounters with Living Things / Digital Landscapes. We’ve published Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange, updated the NAREA website, supported the Reggio Children International Network and the Reggio Children Loris Malaguzzi Center Foundation, and raised funds to send professional materials to underserved communities.
It is with special gratitude that we welcome Moira Nicolosi, pedagogista, Marco Spaggiari, atelierista, and Jane McCall, interpreter. Through their sharing and exchange, we will continue to construct strong interpretations of the values, principles, and experiences of the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centers – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Finally, we thank the community of Reggio Emilia, including Reggio Children, for all they do to advance the rights of children, families, and educators. We extend our appreciation to the educators of Project Infinity for hosting this conference and for supporting its planning, including the Atlanta working group, which helped with the atelier design and organization, The Nest Nursery School and Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool for opening their school to welcome us, and Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool for its sponsorship.
To be continually encouraged to find our own unique identities as schools in different communities worthy of our own identity is to see how much the message of Reggio Emilia is based on attitudes of research and invention, rather than prescriptive dogma. For this, we are also grateful. As we invest in an approach that includes permanent study, research, collaboration, innovation, transparency, and exchange, may we keep the words of Loris Malaguzzi (1994) as a constant companion, “Children have the right to imagine. We need to give them full rights of citizenship in life and in society. . . . Instead of always giving children protection, we need to give them the recognition of their rights and of their strengths (Malaguzzi, p. 5).”
Please enjoy the pleasure of thinking, wondering, and learning together as we work to affirm the full rights of children and adults in our schools, communities, and life.
Program
Thursday, July 13
Check In Opens
Georgia State University College of Law | Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Welcome
Ceremonial Courtroom
The Right to Differences: The Values and Principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach
Moira Nicolosi and Marco Spaggiari
Mid-Morning Break
Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Announcements and Lunch
Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights Tour
100 Ivan Allen Jr Blvd NW | Atlanta, GA 30313
End of Day
The Nest Nursery School Hosts an Evening School Tour [optional]
1040 Grant Street SE | Suite 600 | Atlanta, GA 30312
Friday, July 14
Check In Opens
Georgia State University College of Law | Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Welcome
Ceremonial Courtroom
The Right to Knowledge: The 100 Languages and The Culture of The Atelier
Moira Nicolosi and Marco Spaggiari
Mid-Morning Break
Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Announcements and Lunch
Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Group Work
Moira Nicolosi and Marco Spaggiari
The Right to Knowledge: The 100 Languages and The Culture of The Atelier Continued
Moira Nicolosi and Marco Spaggiari
End of Day
Saturday, July 15
Check In
Georgia State University College of Law | Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Welcome
Ceremonial Courtroom
The Right to Subjectivity: Border-Crossings Between Nature and Digital in the Encounter with Living Subjects
Moira Nicolosi and Marco Spaggiari
Mid-Morning Break
Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Announcements and Lunch
Grab-and-Go Food from Ceremonial Courtroom Lobby
Buses Depart
Corner of Park Place NE and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue
Self-Guided Tour and/or Exhibition and Atelier
See Peachtree Map for Locations
Ateliers
Board Buses and Depart for Georgia State College of Law
85 Park Place NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
End of Day
Featured Speakers
Marco is currently one of the Reggio Children atelieristas working inside the ateliers at the Loris Malaguzzi International Center in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Daily, the ateliers welcome children and their teachers from different kinds of schools, as well as visitors and participants coming from different countries of the world in study groups and professional development initiatives organized by Reggio Children. He also follows the design, organization, and development of ateliers for Reggio Children in Reggio Emilia and nationally and internationally. He also works part-time as an atelierista in the municipal preschools, collaborates with different preschools, and has developed personal artistic projects related to his field of study. He has participated in conferences and contributed to publications with his personal artistic work. He holds a degree in visual arts from the Accademia delle Belle Arti of Bologna, Italy.
Moira Nicolosi has been a pedagogista in the Pedagogical Coordinating Team of the Preschools and Infant-toddler Centers – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia since 2014. She worked for Reggio Children from 2005–2014 on coordinating professional development courses and Masters courses for pedagogistas and on designing and conducting research in the field of education with national and international partners on the themes of new technology and childhood, multi-culturalism and bilingualism, and documentation and evaluation in learning processes. She also collaborates on the realization of publishing projects and professional learning journeys through participating in seminars and workshops in Italy and abroad. From 2012–2014, she was the reference for the Scientific Committee of the Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Center Foundation. She graduated from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in the science of primary education where she also collaborated on teaching the course “The Approach of Reggio Emilia’s Municipal Preschools” with Carla Rinaldi.
Jane McCall has worked as a freelance interpreter and translator for Reggio Children for over 20 years. She has interpreted for Reggio educators at international study groups in Reggio Emilia, Italy, as well as at conferences with Reggio speakers in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Africa, and China. In addition, Jane translated Loris Malaguzzi’s writings and speeches in Loris Malaguzzi and the Schools of Reggio Emilia: A Selection of His Writings and Speeches, 1945–1993. She also translated Vea Vecchi’s writings in Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia: Exploring the Role and Potential of Ateliers in Early Childhood Education.
Ateliers
Session 1 (Orange Ticket)
Crossing Borders: Seeing through Different Eyes
Facilitated by Gabriela Garcia & Becky Saylor
Room 1207
This atelier calls participants to go beyond what eyes can’t see, capturing the unexpected details not visible to the naked eye. Participants are invited to immerse themselves in all their senses and investigate distance, the microworld and macroworld, perspective, and light transformation. A diverse variety of materials asks participants to develop a dialogue between light and color, experimenting with distortion and intensity.
Session 2 (White Ticket)
Storytelling: Digital Graphics
Facilitated by Candace Dupree & Belinda Parra
Room 1209
In this session, participants will encounter possibilities of research with the natural world and digital equipment as a chance to discover the language of storytelling. This atelier offers the opportunity to interrogate concepts of time, movement, space, transformation, and energy. Digital storytelling can be offered in combination with other languages that can give voice to human’s strong desire to invent new worlds.
Session 3 (Green Ticket)
Ethereal Environments: Reality Crossing Into Imaginary
Facilitated by Kym Cook, Calista Hixenbaugh, & Erin Braznell
Room 1210
In this session, we ask ourselves an important question: Can we immerse ourselves in an environment that’s both real and imaginary at the same time? In this atelier, we will play with light, reflection, digital images, and the layering of materials to create ethereal new environments. We will use light projection, shadows, mirrors, and cameras to engage with the concepts of multiplicity and transformation while we explore our own digital landscapes.
Session 4 (Yellow Ticket)
Water and the Digital World: Crossing Thresholds and Making Connections
Facilitated by Nora Thompson, Jessica Vailes, & Katie Yarrow
Room 1211
Exploring nature’s gift of water with digital tools may accentuate the digital experience and the relationship between the two. Concepts participants may encounter include reflection, transparency, microworlds, transformation, and movement. We hope to establish connections and exchanges as we work indoors and outdoors, viewing each other’s work digitally.
Session 5 (Blue Ticket)
Beyond the Surface: Navigating the Unexpected Landscape
Facilitated by: Gigi Yu, April MacLane, & Julie Fayssoux
Room 1212
Using technology tools in a preschool is often unexpected and produces unexpected encounters, encounters that speak to the relationship between personal identity and the subject observed. Participants in this atelier will enter a life study and think about “‘listening’ as an attitude for empathy and contemplation toward living things” (Bordercrossings: Encounters with Living Beings/Digital Landscapes, 2019, p. 16). In doing so, we hope to discover the crossing, as technology joins with nature to expand opportunities for exploration.
Facilitator Biographies
is an Associate Director for First Baptist Day School in Greenville, South Carolina. She has 13 years of experience working in Reggio-inspired preschools in Waterville, Ohio, and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. She was thrilled to participate in her first study tour in Reggio Emilia, where she joined her colleagues from Project Infinity. Erin took part in multiple Project Infinity New Teacher Experiences and professional development opportunities. She is eager to share her perspectives in the conference ateliers.
is a studio educator at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool in Atlanta, Georgia, and is in her 18th year with Project Infinity. She has been working in the early childhood education field for over 26 years. She studied art and education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the University of Montana. The experiences of motherhood and teaching have kept her world full of color and three study tours in Reggio Emilia raised that to technicolor.
is a Georgia native, parent, and the executive director of Grant Park Cooperative Preschool. She serves as a pedagogista and director within Project Infinity. She has been learning and practicing in the field of early childhood education for nearly 20 years, with these last 15 years inspired and provoked by the influence of the Reggio Emilia Approach. She looks forward to your participation and exchange, as we encounter aspects and inspirations from Reggio Children’s Bordercrossings: Encounters with Living Things / Digital Landscapes exhibition and atelier.
is the director of First Baptist Day School in Greenville, South Carolina, and a member of Project Infinity. She has been in the field of education for the past 18 years, with the last 13 at First Baptist Day School. She became an admirer of the Reggio Emilia Approach while her own daughter attended preschool at First Baptist Day School. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, relaxing at the beach, and curling up with a good book.
is a strong advocate for the rights of young children and is passionate about the Reggio Emilia Approach. She is a founding member of Project Infinity and the founding director of the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool where she worked as executive director and pedagogista for 20 years. Originally from Mendoza, Argentina, she is fluent in Spanish and English. She is currently a program associate at NAREA, supporting professional development partnerships and other NAREA projects and initiatives.
currently works with 3–6 year-olds in the studio at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool. She is part of a thriving studio team that works daily with children and adults and is a member of Project Infinity and NAREA. Before her role at Peachtree, she gained experience as a classroom teacher and curriculum administrator, and earned her Master of Arts in Education from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She recently participated in a Project Infinity study group in Reggio Emilia where she was able to continue to learn, grow, and deepen her knowledge.
currently works with 2-year-olds in a 5-day classroom at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool. She has taught for many years, serving as mentor teacher, atelier facilitator, and valued colleague. She is part of a flourishing collaboration between educators of Project Infinity. She is a member of NAREA and has attended multiple conferences where she continues to grow in her understanding of the Reggio Emilia Approach. Recently, she participated in a Project Infinity study group in Reggio Emilia. With an affinity towards nature, she brings a creative and natural perspective to life.
is the atelierista at Grant Park Cooperative Preschool in Atlanta, Georgia. She helps create and support art as a powerful means of communication and a tool that facilitates divergent and holistic thinking. She enjoys finding new ways to view the world. She participates in ongoing professional formation. Recently she attended the Project Infinity Study Tour in Reggio Emilia and is a frequent NAREA conference attendee. She brings a strong and varied artistic viewpoint to her work with children and adults.
currently works with 2-year-olds in a 3-day classroom at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool. She is part of a co-teaching team that often includes an inclusion specialist. She is an active collaborator with educators of Project Infinity and the local community. She is a member of NAREA and has attended multiple webinars, special events, and conferences. Recently, she participated in a Project Infinity study group in Reggio Emilia. In addition to teaching, she is a member of the Cobb County School Board where she offers her unique perspective as a foster parent.
is the spring and summer issue editor and peer review associate editor of NAREA’s publication Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange. She is an assistant professor in art education at the University of New Mexico. The early learning programs of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and their deep respect for children’s artistic languages inspire her creative work and research. Her study of the Reggio Emilia Approach began in 1999 while working as a studio art coordinator for Chicago Commons. In 2014, she was the project manager for The Wonder of Learning exhibition in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
has worked in the field of early childhood education in both general and special education public school settings in Michigan. She has been a classroom teacher, a director of a municipal child care center, and lead teacher/director in an inclusive early childhood center based on the Reggio Emilia Approach. She was a teacher educator at Michigan State University and is now a program associate at the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance. She is also a grandmother who loves to explore nature with her four grandchildren.
has been an educator at Peachtree Presbyterian Preschool since 2001. She first fell in love with the Reggio Emilia Approach to learning when she participated in a Reggio-inspired professional development initiative at one of the original collaborative schools of Project Infinity in 2003. She then became an integral part of the process of Peachtree’s study and transition to a Reggio-inspired preschool. She has participated in NAREA conferences in Tulsa, New York, and Washington, DC, and two study groups in Reggio Emilia.
is an educator at First Baptist Day School in Greenville, South Carolina, has been teaching in a 2-year-old/3-year-old looping class for 9 years and served as a pedagogical support for teachers this past school year. She has a master’s degree in early childhood education and is dedicated to the image of the child as competent and capable. She is a member of Project Infinity. When not working with children, families, and fellow teachers, she enjoys spending time with family, caring for her garden, and being outdoors.
Together, we are empowering exceptional education.
