Kennedy Center Partnership November, 2008
I am pleased to say that the Kennedy Center Partnership (our school district and Opera House Arts) has brought in some wonderful artists to work with our teachers to integrate the arts with literacy. This year, Karen Erickson, from Chicago, was back as our keynote speaker at our opening in-service day in August and she presented a great workshop for the K-8 staff on using drama in teaching literacy. She will be back in February for a day of demonstration teaching with students. In October, Stacey Coates, from Maine, taught "Teaching Tolerance Through Drama" at the high school and offered a public workshop at the Opera House. And in January, we're looking forward to having Jon Spelman, who is regarded as one of America's leading and award-winning storytellers. He performs throughout the U.S. and Europe, and will demonstrate to teachers how to use storytelling to enhance literacy instruction for kids.
When teachers are exposed to high quality, professional performers, who are educators themselves, they can see the fabulous possibilities for engaging all students in learning to read and write. That is just what the Kennedy Center brings us -- artists who are experts in their fields, but know, in detail, the curriculum and strategies to engage kids. The whole idea of arts integration is that teachers can learn to do this without adding on yet another thing to do during a very full day.
The purpose of the Kennedy Center Partnership (the only one in Maine, by the way, and one of 14 teams in the country) is to provide the opportunity and tools for deepening teachers' knowledge and appreciation for all art forms and their application to holistic teaching and learning. This includes expanding teachers' abilities to integrate the arts into the curriculum, providing them with innovative teaching techniques and building their confidence, comfort and enthusiasm for teaching in, through, and about the arts. Teachers are dynamic figures in students' experiences in school. Their influence on learning and attitudes is profound. Data and experience show that arts education enhances student performance and builds stronger, more diversified communities. Our partnership is therefore devoted to building on our area's unique creative heritage by enhancing professional development opportunities to assist teachers in understanding the beauty, depth and range of the arts, thereby helping the sustainability of small, rural schools.
We're lucky on our small island to have a wealth of resources and support for the arts in our schools. Through collaboration with the Stonington Opera House and our schools , a professional program like the Kennedy Center Partnership can only bring the best to our teachers and our children. Our teachers deserve a lot of credit for reaching outside of their comfort zone to learn ways to reach every child. Our Arts Integration team with our music, art and drama teachers will help make this an ongoing collaboration.
Catherine Ring