A new roleHeading into the new year the Little School created a new position which Laura Haslam and Sasha Harris have taken on, curriculum specialist. They will be working with the educators at both the Hillsborough and Duke campuses to create a framework for the emergent curriculum approaches of Reggio Emilia and Project-Based Learning. These approaches have been adapted and refined over the years by the visionary founders and teachers at the Little School who saw a need to elevate their endeavor to the next logical step: create a combined approach and focus more efforts toward instructional development. At the core of the Reggio and Project Approaches is a commitment to collaboration between students, teachers, and mentor teachers. In their new roles Laura and Sasha will be able to support faculty in crafting projects, documentation, and portfolios as well as collaborating to research new educational methods and topics. The dynamic duo of coaches will work with both campuses during the week and connect with the wider Little School community through this blog and through classroom newsletters. They are excited to share in the work of Little School students and educators this year!
Laura
Hi, everyone! My name is Laura, and I'm so looking forward to returning home to The Little School. After spending six years here, I took a leave of absence for the 2015-2016 school year to pursue a Master's degree in Education and Human Development through the teacher education program at Boulder Journey School in Boulder, Colorado. This process has been quite a whirlwind, and I am excited to share the things that I have learned with the educators and students at The Little School.
I earned my BA in English in 2005 from Faulkner University, and promptly started working with three year olds at a local preschool. Since then, I have learned so much about being an intentional, thoughtful teacher from the children and adults with whom I have worked, and I’m so excited to learn from and support such a community of like minded people! I live in Chapel Hill with my husband, Josh, and our cats, Junie, Jilly, and Leonard.
Sasha
Hi, my name is Sasha Harris and I’m a well-traveled instructor with a Master's Degree in Education and twelve years of experience inside and outside of classrooms. For over three years now my family and I have loved living in Chapel Hill and for much of that time we were fortunate enough to have our daughter as a student in the Little School at Duke. Working with small children and teachers is an incredible privilege and I’m looking forward to all the opportunities to support teachers and grow alongside them. The Little School continues to be one of the best early childhood centers in North Carolina. As a parent of a Little School alum I have been able to witness this school’s amazing philosophy at work in the development of my own child and my students. For the last two-and-a-half years I’ve become an experienced student and practitioner of this philosophy. I look forward to communicating my enthusiasm for the Reggio Emilia and Project Approaches to the staff at the Little School. I’m originally I’m from Western Massachusetts and as an undergrad I received my Bachelors in Film from the University of Rochester. Later, as a working professional, I completed my Masters at Brooklyn College. 