Alternative Schools in Florence by Andrée

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As if wading through the public school system were not difficult enough, there are also several alternative schools that are an option for families living in and around Florence.

But first a quick note on the Italian public school system for those of you who have not yet become acquainted with it. Public schooling is available for your child beginning at age 3, but it is not compulsory until age 6.  The public schools are zoned by neighborhood, and you will most likely be compelled to attend the school that is nearest to you. Although preschool (called “asilo” or “scuola materna”, ages 3-6) is not compulsory, it is your child’s right to attend, free of charge. You can not be refused admittance for lack of space or any other reason. Prior to age 3 there are private daycare centers (referred to as “asilo nido”), which are almost never free. From what I have seen, almost all Italian children attend “asilo” beginning at age 3 and many attend “asilo nido” (usually beginning at 1 year) as well. The full school day for preschool / asilo is usually 8-9am to 3-4pm, however, you can request to attend part-time at most schools, meaning that you pick your child up after lunch (around 1:30pm), but very few people choose it, so the school may not even mention that option to you unless you ask. Also, there is no “3 day a week” formula for “asilo”. If you want your child to go 3 days a week instead of the full 5, you will probably have to pretend that you plan to attend the full five days, and then just not show up for the other days. No one expects you to call in the morning if you are not coming in, and if they ask you where your child was the previous day, you can just say that you had an appointment or that your child was ill. I don’t usually encourage other mothers to lie to their schools, but I have found this to be the only way around that rule (unless you go to a private school). When my son was attending public preschool I was told that he either had to attend school 5 days a week or not at all (but if he was “sick” for two days a week there were so many children in his class that nobody even seemed to notice). Most preschool classes seem to be about 25 children (or more) to one teacher. Sometimes there are two teachers in the class together, but then there are usually more children. I find this ratio to be a bit high for that age group.  Also there is no “kindergarten” or “reception” year in Italy. Ages 3-6 are grouped together in one classroom with the same teacher.

Elementary school (“scuola elementare”) is first through fifth grades, and while it seems to vary from school to school, the school day generally ends at 12:30pm (before lunch) 2 or 3 days a week, and at 4:30pm on the other days (unless you request after school care, which may or may not be available at your school). Also, elementary school children stay with the same teacher for all five years. Beginning in preschool all public schools are required to teach religion (called the “ora di religione”), which generally means Catholicism, to the children. You are allowed to have your child “opt out” of this class, but usually only a few do. The enrollment cut off for September is usually in the first or second week of January, so be sure to check out your local school!

Beyond the public schools there are only a few options. At the preschool level (ages 3-6) you have the following that I know of (if anyone knows of any others, please let me know): Italian speaking: the Waldorf School, the Kindergarten School, and an outdoor or “Forest” preschool located in Impruneta. English speaking: the International School (ISF). For elementary school you have: the Waldorf School, the Kindergarten School, ISF and the Pestalozzi School (which is Italian, and is the only one of these schools that does not have any tuition). There is no Montessori school in Tuscany that I know of.

There are many reasons that people seek out alternatives to public schools. Personally, I was unhappy with the quality of care in my local preschool. I found it to be overcrowded and understaffed and I did not feel like my son was having a positive experience. I also found the use of television in the classroom to be inappropriate and the parents were not even consulted about what the children would be watching. In my case, after extensive searching, I ended up at the Waldorf preschool and (despite the long trip we have to make to get there everyday) my son (now in his second year) has had a positive experience. The school is located near the Campo di Marte train station (on Via Bovio), although there is another Waldorf preschool in the town of La Romola (above Scandicci) as well as an elementary and middle school at the same location. The Via Bovio school is very small. There are only 15-20 children, with two teachers in the classroom at all times. The school itself is currently housed on a ground floor apartment with a very small garden. I find the size of the location to be one of the only drawbacks of the school (although they are looking quite seriously into moving into a larger space) The Waldorf School, (which now has about 1,000 schools all over the world and was founded in Germany in 1919 by Rudolf Steiner) strives to “transform education into an art that educates the whole child—the heart and the hands, as well as the head”, but put plainly, Waldorf preschools are notoriously full of wooden toys, organic food, and teachers that usually hail from the hippy side of the fence. The day is spent playing dress-up, building forts, baking bread, sewing, singing, playing outside, drawing, etc. The Waldorf schools believe that children in today’s world are forced to grow up too fast and are often pushed into intellectual pursuits and forced into an adult world before they are ready. The Waldorf schools also place importance on the seasons and each season is celebrated with its own festival, which my son personally loves, especially the fall festival where the children make their own lanterns and go on a lantern-lit procession through the olive groves at dusk, and then everyone gathers around a big bonfire to sing songs and eat snacks. I have also been very happy with the level of enthusiasm found in the teachers, who seem to sincerely love and believe in what they do and honestly care about each child. I have never seen a school where the parents are so involved in the school community and their participation is so highly valued and the teachers never seem to tire of having one on one meetings with you about the progress of your child. That said stepping into a Waldorf classroom can be a bit daunting at first. It is very bare compared to the toy-filled rooms of today’s kids. Being an American, consumerism is in my DNA, and my son like most kids has a room filled with way too many toys, but I have to say that there is something liberating about the idea that my son is spending his day engaged in truly playing, and not just being entertained by the latest electronic device. Perhaps some of the public preschools engage the children just as much, but given the size of the classrooms in public preschools, the teachers are stretched much thinner, and it is often difficult for them to give them the same kind of one on one attention.

The Waldorf elementary school (and the other preschool) are located about 20 minutes outside of Florence in the hills above Scandicci in the town of La Romola (comune di San Casciano). The “La Romola” preschool is housed in an old stone country house, surrounded by olive groves. This is the most beautiful / idyllic preschool I have ever seen (but unfortunately we live too far away). The kids have a garden, a tree swing, and loads of space outside to roam in. There is also a Waldorf preschool in Prato.

For more info: www.scuolawaldorffirenze.it

Tuition: circa 3,500 per school year.

The preschool day is from 9 am to 1:30 pm (2:30 pm if necessary). The school believes that preschool aged children should not be kept at school until 4pm. The elementary school day is from 8.30 am to 2 pm.

Languages: The school is taught in Italian, but the kids study English and German (with native speakers of the language) beginning with elementary school.

Class size: 20 students for the preschool. 10-15 students per class for the elementary / middle school.

Here are a few brief notes on the other private / alternative schools that I know of:

The International School of Florence (ISF)

What: The ISF was founded in 1952, but moved to Florence in 1963 to support the growing English-speaking community here. All classes are taught in English and the children study Italian as a foreign language, although an integrated program is offered to Italian students who wish to meet the requirements of the local public schools. The ISF is divided into two locations.

Where: The lower school (located in Bagno a Ripoli) and the Middle and Upper Schools (located near the Piazzale Michelangelo). Both schools are housed in lovely Villas. The schools themselves are well equipped with modern art labs, computer labs, science labs, sports fields, & libraries.

Tuition: circa 13,000 euros per school year

Number of students: 360

The school is modeled on the International Baccalaureate program established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968 to “provide an internationally acceptable university admissions qualification suitable for the growing mobile population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy, international and multi-national organizations and offer internationally standardized courses and assessments for students”. The primary years program is inquiry-based, and consists of six inter-disciplinary themes supported by six subject areas.

For more info: http://www.isfitaly.org/

Scuola-Città Pestalozzi

Where (Via delle Casine 1– Santa Croce area)

Number of students: 160 – grades 1-8

Tuition: none

Founded by Ernesto Codignola 1945, as a social service to offer help to the underprivileged children and working families of the Santa Croce ghetto, which is why the school day is so long (8.30am – 4.30pm including lunch). The school is based on the methods of Swiss pedagogue and philosopher Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827). “His method is to proceed from the easier to the more difficult. To begin with observation, to pass from observation to consciousness, and then from consciousness to speech. Then come measuring, drawing, writing, numbers, and reckoning.”

The school also firmly believes in the social and civil character of education, the idea of education as a means towards greater personal and cultural freedom. For this reason the well-being of the group is of utmost importance, and no child is allowed to hang on the sidelines. Every child is made to participate fully, and “togetherness” is very much a central theme in the classroom.

The school also places great emphasis on experimentation and laboratories, and the students do things like tend a vegetable garden, theatre, woodworking, art, and music. The school library is also very important. The school also does not use text books during the first 5 years. They do use computers. The school also has an enormous garden, despite it being located right in the center of town.

In the next issue we will discuss KINDERGARTEN (www.kindergarten.it) and the Outdoor forest preschool located in Impruneta. If your child goes to either of these schools (or any of the schools that have been discussed here) and you would like to write a paragraph about them for the next issue, please let me know!