The Washington Market School Peer to Peer Guide

While summertime is typically quiet in most preschools, at The Washington Market School, summer is a time for our faculty and staff to reflect deeply on our teaching practices to ensure that our young learners are always kept at the center of our work and that our uniquely blended mission that combines Montessori and Reggio is thriving. 

Last week, six faculty members collaborated with our Site Directors, Marielle Lopez and Heather Burchyns, alongside Head of School, Carrie Kries, to co-create a new section of our Peer to Peer Guide. Formally known as our Curriculum Guide, the WMS Peer to Peer Guide serves as a tool to guide our practice as well as a source of inspiration for our faculty and staff members. The 2023-2024 version of this comprehensive guide focused on Montessori, Reggio and Anti-Bias, Antiracist (ABAR) work. These three elements lay the groundwork for our school’s mission and culture both in and out of the classroom. 

The essential goal of this summer’s work on our updated Peer to Peer Guide was to articulate a system that ensures a shared approach to observation, planning and assessment. Over the course of the week, the group filled large sheets of paper with their wonderings and connections that eventually covered every wall and table surface of our music loft. Their thoughtful work will lead to the formation of a structured plan and tool for all of our teachers to use as they guide and support each of our magnificent, individual young learners.

At The Washington Market School, we celebrate our talented teachers’ unique skills and passions. Our Peer to Peer Guide enables us to uphold the integrity of that uniqueness while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of each classroom teaching with shared standards and goals. As we have learned in our work with Britt Hawthorne, establishing such a system will further ensure that every single one of our children has access to the learning they need regardless of which extraordinary educator is guiding them.