On September 7, the Jewish Community of Florence opened a new preschool center for children from birth to age six. The center is located on the first floor of the newly renovated Nathan Cassuto School, which is part of the Jewish Community building. The project received strong support from the Council, including financial support, as well as from a donor.
A school open to the city
“The school was born within our community, an alive community, proud of its identity and part of society,” said the president, Enrico Fink. He explained that “the project’s central value is difference, which represents an educational beacon” and an opportunity open “not only to our children, but to all Florentines willing to get to know and share this world.” The Jewish values that permeate this project can be the foundation for “a vision which sees at its center relationship, curiosity, shared responsibility, and each child’s harmonious growth,” emphasized Chief Rabbi of Florence Gadi Piperno in an introductory text.
“We are very excited. It is a new beginning and an opportunity for a fresh start,” said Carlotta Gallai, an educator whom the Jewish community appointed to coordinate the center.
One of the key principles of the educational program, she explained, is “respect” for each child’s identity. The aim is therefore to “nurture them with stimulating experiences in an unstructured environment, alongside adults who will support them with the right degree of distance and the appropriate tools.”
This approach applies to activities inside the center and in the garden next to the synagogue. The garden used to be a playground but is now an outdoor educational space.
The child at the center
The pedagogical framework underpinning the center is the Reggio Emilia Approach, which was developed by the educator Loris Malaguzzi in the city of Reggio Emilia after WWII. According to this approach, children are endowed with “a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred ways of thinking and expressing themselves,” and the school serves as a workshop that provides conditions conducive to learning.
The Reggio Emilia approach also reflects the idea of the “plural” child found in the Haggadah of Passover, according to the Jewish community. Therefore, the child is not a theoretical model, but rather a multifaceted identity in a constant state of transformation.
Malaguzzi also believed in the importance of engaging and stimulating spaces. Gallai explained that this was one of the reasons for “the decision to start afresh with new furnishings,” which were designed to make the educational experience more effective.
It has been a major effort on every front. “Coordinating the two services will make everything more consistent, allowing the different systems to interact and develop joint projects and initiatives. But above all, it is essential to know that we have the support of the Community.”
As for enrollment, the nursery is already full, though two spots may open up. The preschool still has around ten spots left.
Adam Smulevich