This site contains inclusion resources for teachers, paraeducators, administrators, youth, parents & family members, self-advocates, related services providers, and community members.
HighScope Educational Research Foundation is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization with headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan. HighScope's mission is to lift lives through HighScope Headquarters - Hutchinson House January 2008education. We envision a world in which all educational settings use active participatory learning so everyone has a chance to succeed in life and contribute to society.
HighScope activities include -
Training preschool and elementary teachers and administrators
Conducting research projects on the effectiveness of educational programs
Developing curricula for infant/toddler, preschool, elementary, youth development, and movement and music programs
Developing early literacy curricula and assessment materials and conducting related research
Presenting an annual International HighScope Conference for teachers and teacher-trainers
Publishing books, videos, curriculum materials, and assessment tools for educators and researchers
Operating a Demonstration Preschool in Ypsilanti, Michigan, that serves children in the local community and provides a model of "HighScope in action" for visiting educators
Operating the HighScope Retreat and Meeting Center in Clinton, Michigan
Spaces for Children creates developmentally appropriate spaces that enhance a child's growth and that are convenient and a pleasure for teachers to use. Aesthetically pleasing, long lasting designs promote child development and attract and maintain high-caliber staff. Teachers who feel comfortable and effective in their classrooms provide the continuity essential to a child's sense of well being.
The firm's hands-on approach includes time spent with teachers and administrators, observation of existing facilities if applicable, and, at the completion of construction, staff training and follow-up.
The principals' expertise ranges from programming to building design, from classroom layout to furniture and outdoor play yard design, from the specifics of appropriate materials, fastenings, and finishes that assure optimum play value, child safety, and durability to the selection of low-toxic materials and optimization of indoor air quality. It is this knowledge, developed through working together as a team on a large number of projects, that sets Spaces for Children apart from other architecture firms designing childcare facilities.