Ever wanted a business that gives you the opportunity to travel abroad? Making an investment in a KLA Schools franchise could give you that chance as well as the opportunity to learn about our innovative Reggio Emilia method.

The Reggio Emilia approach is designed to make students the drivers of the lesson rather than just responding to their teachers’ questions and commands. It encourages children to interact with their environment using their senses as they learn about the material they are studying.

A unique curriculum, such as the one that childcare centers like KLA Schools utilize, proves to be a strong differentiator that convinces many parents and guardians to enroll their children. However, the curriculum must be implemented properly in each classroom to be most effective.

Doing so can be difficult for staff, faculty, and other educators if they are not well-versed in the approach, the educational materials required, or how to use it most effectively. Those who complete a training or educational course on the curriculum will likely be best suited to teach it at their early childhood education facility.

Each KLA Schools location utilizes the Reggio Emilia method in our preschool classrooms for its ability to drive better educational outcomes for young children. We also teach our preschool franchise owners and their staff how to implement it properly so that students gain the full benefits of the approach.

One of the ways that we help our franchise owners learn about the Reggio Emilia curriculum is by organizing training programs like our study abroad trip!

This November, KLA Schools franchise owners will travel with our leadership team to Italy to learn more about our Reggio Emilia curriculum and how it helps improve the classroom experience at our locations. We chose Italy because the teaching method originated over 100 years ago in a small Italian town of the same name.

By traveling closer to the roots of the curriculum, we aim to provide a deeper understanding of why every KLA preschool classroom follows this approach. If you join this trip, you and other KLA Schools franchise owners should find it easier to recreate the Reggio Emilia experience at each of your locations.

What Is the Reggio Emilia Approach?

Reggio Emilia focuses on helping improve students’ critical thinking abilities, how they interact with their environments, and how they collaborate. Developing these skills can be difficult to do in the standard daycare environment – which is why our classrooms are structured a bit differently.

Rather than teaching students using a typical lecture style, KLA Schools faculty encourages students to participate more actively in daily lessons. This includes fostering an environment where children feel comfortable exploring their surroundings, interacting more directly with teachers, and applying what they learn to what they see in the real world.

Students at KLA Schools are given the opportunity to control the direction of their learning through the experiences of touching, moving, seeing, listening, hearing, experimenting, and investigating.

The (literal) hands-on nature of the Reggio Emilia approach promotes a deeper level of learning and understanding that most daycares can’t provide. It’s no wonder why KLA Schools have been able to drive better learning outcomes for students – and why young families have grown to appreciate the experience we create at each of our preschools.

Implementing Reggio Emilia Through Our School Design

Our use of Reggio Emilia is also present in the design of each KLA Schools classroom. Franchise owners are encouraged to work alongside architects and designers to bring their vision for a top-tier preschool to life. We also collaborate with these teams to ensure that each classroom has what is needed to properly implement our unique curriculum.

The rooms inside KLA Schools locations are unique - none share a singular design that lacks creativity. Our classrooms are wide and expansive and have large windows to filter in plenty of natural light. These features encourage the students to explore their surroundings and gain as much as possible from each Reggio Emilia-inspired lesson.

However, our design efforts go beyond just the classrooms. Each KLA Schools location is also required to have enough space for an outdoor playground. Here, children can exercise and expend some of their youthful energy. Each playground design ensures children have a fun recreational area while maintaining a safe and healthy environment.

Finding the perfect place to make all of this possible can be difficult for one person to handle on their own. By working with the KLA team, we can find the best possible location to open your school in your desired territory.

Once we’ve done that, we can also assist in the real estate process, whether you choose to construct a new school from the ground up, renovate a facility you acquire, or lease and operate out of an existing building.

If you’re ready to learn more about the Reggio Emilia curriculum we utilize and participate in our study abroad trip to Italy, come join the KLA Schools team today!

Interested in learning more about Reggio Emilia and how KLA Schools utilizes it in our preschool franchise opportunity? Contact us so we can set up a time to discuss it together!