As part of the Ontario Reggio Association’s “Inviting Complexity” Tour, Richland Academy welcomed 30 delegates on February 24th to deepen their understanding of pedagogical documentation. Visitors explored the school before participating in a group discussion on how Richland ‘makes learning visible.’ While reflecting on their experiences at Richland, visitors described their overall impression of the school as “warm,” “welcoming,” “inspiring,” “inviting,” “organized,” “natural,” “beautiful,” and “child-centered.” Guests were impressed with the “different ideas and the way they were displayed,” “the level of collaboration between the students and teachers and student/student,” “the openness of the classrooms,” and the “rich work of [the] children.”

As the tour drew to a close, we presented our guests with a special gift, including a book about our Reggio-inspired Learning Community, and hand-crafted bead strings made by our JK and SK students. We thank our special visitors for taking part in this ‘first’ for us, and look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with those outside of the school community.