Client: Twin Cities Community Preschool (Parent Participation Preschool), Bay Area, California

 

Website: www.twincitiescoop.org
Services Provided: Staff training, documentation/assessment systems, parent education, on-call support

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The Challenge

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Twin Cities Community Preschool, a long-standing parent-participation program rooted in play-based learning, entered a year of transition with a new teaching team. While the incoming staff brought warmth and enthusiasm, they had limited experience with progressive early childhood education approaches such as Reggio Emilia. The Director identified a need for professional development and systems support to ensure alignment with its values of child-led learning, reflective teaching, and strong family collaboration.

 

My Role

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ECESupports provided a comprehensive support package designed to meet both the immediate needs of the teaching team and the long-term goals of the school community. Support included:

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• Facilitating stand-alone staff trainings on observation, documentation, and assessment through a Reggio Emilia inspired lens—helping teachers build confidence in capturing and interpreting children’s growth, development, and learning.

• Leading a parent education workshop, “Kindergarten Readiness: A Whole Child Approach,” to support families in understanding developmentally appropriate practice, how learning unfolds across domains, and to reimagine “kindergarten readiness.”

• Partnering with the director to co-create a practical and values-aligned parent-teacher guidebook outlining roles, expectations, and communication pathways.

• Collaboratively designing a custom child observation and assessment template, tailored to Twin Cities’ unique philosophy and practices.

• Offering on-call support to the director, including consultation on individual children’s behavior, teacher support strategies, and general leadership problem-solving.

 

The Impact

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The teaching team gained clarity and confidence in using observation and documentation to inform their practice, families walked away from the workshop with a deeper understanding of Kindergarten readiness through a whole-child lens, and the director reported feeling more supported in her leadership. By the end of the year, the school had stronger tools for communication, assessment, and alignment across teachers, families, and leadership.