Lauren C. Ostberg Most communities have heard it by now: it takes a village to raise a child. But Somerville's youngsters have an entire city, and an active educational community, to get them ready for school. The Third Annual Community Conversation on Getting School-Ready united community-based childcare agencies, education-based non-profits, parents, teachers, and two local health groups on Wednesday. The conversation focused on "The Many Cultures in Our Lives." Organizers broadened the definition of culture beyond the usual national origin, linguistic and urban-rural divides to include classroom culture. "A classroom is a cultural community with shared practices," asserted Dr. Jayanthi Mistry, Chair of Tufts University's Department of Early Childhood Education and the event's keynote speaker. | ||||
"Culture is what you do," said Sarah Davila, director of Somerville Public School's English Language Learner program.
Classroom culture, especially in early childhood education, has distinct routines, terms, and practices - for example, "circle time," the notion of "free play," and the rhythm of each school day. It takes time for children and their families to adapt to a new culture, and a great deal of knowledge and communication for classroom leaders to incorporate these students' diverse cultures into the classroom.
Alex Pirie, Coordinator of Immigrant Service Provider Group, said the movement from a nurturing childcare environment to a more competitive, task-based school environment is an adjustment for most children. Parents, also, need to learn a new role, and negotiate their level of involvement in the child's school and education.
Mostly, though, it was about making sure that Somerville's youth get a good start.
According to Superintendent Tony Peratozi, "early childhood education leads the way" at Somerville schools.
"Early childhood is a strength of our district," said Adam Sweeting, the Ward 3 School Committee member.
Discussion groups at Wednesday's event, each led by an early childhood professional, pooled their diverse experiences and resources to brainstorm a set of best practices, and to develop an effective-inclusive approach to early childhood education.
"We all bring our own cultures into this experience," said Nomi Davidson, Director of the Somerville Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Program, who organized this collaborative event.
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