What
is
A-REALL?
A-REALL is a professional learning community for arts educators, teaching artists, and arts integration classroom teachers committed to anti-racism in learning spaces. Presented by Arts Education in Maryland Schools. Inaugurated in 2020 by MSDE Fine Arts Office and Arts Education in Maryland Schools in collaboration.
The cohort of max twenty-four (24) Maryland participants convenes bi-monthly to address racial inequities in arts education by:
· learning and reconciling history and the root causes of educational and art world disparities,
· working collaboratively to address procedures, policies, and practices that lack cultural competency,
· developing teaching and learning resources for the field, and
· developing facilitation skills for brave dialogue about race with students and stakeholders.
Eligible participants are ARTS EDUCATORS or ARTS INTEGRATION CLASSROOM TEACHERS in Maryland public schools OR are TEACHING ARTISTS (residencies, workshops, assemblies) in Maryland public schools or Maryland Out-of-School time programs.
Aaron is in his second year teaching elementary instrumental music in Montgomery County Public Schools. He received a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance with a post-baccalaureate certification in Music Education from Towson University in 2017 and a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance and Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Oberlin College in 2011. Born and raised in Maryland, Aaron is passionate about making music education accessible to all students.
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Celia is a vocal/general music teacher at Runnymede Elementary in Carroll County. She received her bachelor’s degree in classical voice from the University of Mary Washington, and will receive her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction for social justice from Loyola University Maryland in summer 2023. She is also an equity liaison, union representative, and instructional support team leader. In her spare time she enjoys singing very loudly in her car and drinking too many iced americanos.
Liz Miller is a second-generation fine artist. She creates hair sculptures, sculptural paintings, wearable art, performance art pieces, and film. Her films capture community members and herself performing while adorned with hair sculptures for meaningful transformative movement rituals. The concepts embodied in her work are social justice themes centered around the black experience in America; utilizing both history and Afro-futurism simultaneously balanced within. She considers her work to be a part of a broader black liberation strategy employing black joy and serious play. Her work has been exhibited at various noteworthy institutions including the Delaware Contemporary Museum and the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, CA., and internationally (throughout Canada, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, England, Liberia (West Africa), and India). B. A. in Art and Design from Towson University and an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. She has been a teaching artist for the last twenty years and currently is an art teacher for a Title 1 school in Baltimore, MD. Guest Lecturer for colleges, including Maryland Institute College of Art, Johns Hopkins, and Loyola University Maryland.
Born in San Jose, California (1982) and currently living in Washington, D.C. / Baltimore, MD region, J’han is an emerging contemporary artist who is driven by her creativity, informed by her curiosity, and inspired by her experiences, and works within sculpture, drawing, painting, and installation art, with a recognizably unique style best described as experimental and experiential, infused with expressionist, surrealist, and abstract elements. www.studijhan.com
Statement
I find myself experiencing and navigating the tremendous imbalances of power and systematic inequality and exploring how this impacts attainment of justice. My interest is derived from explorations of my circumstances coming from poverty and limited access to resources to becoming a highly educated black female; the result of an interracial union. I am interested in the societal importance of education, the current state of academics connected to the result of SEL deficiencies, and continuous systems of oppression plus
individual implied biases affecting equity, diversity, equality, and power. As an emerging contemporary art my practice thrives on pushing curiosity and discomfort utilizing abstraction, surrealism, and the allegory of the line. Conceptually I make with intention with constant reflection of the why; the core of my practice. I am analyzing and constructing unconventional paths and creative alternatives, by conveying conceptual thoughts and identifying connections to underlying issues through suggestion, manipulation, and transformation. I explore how different materials and mediums can be intertwined to create powerful visual aesthetics. I find the body to be a versatile subject for exploration of complex concepts and how a physical rendering of a form or gesture can be viewed for what it is but, simultaneously, a method to convey the detailed complexity of being human.
Coming Soon!
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Keith is a proud graduate of Western Michigan University (2015) where he earned a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. Keith is a woodwind specialist and his primary instrument is the flute.
After graduating from WMU, Keith was recruited by Baltimore County Public Schools to teach music and is currently in his 8th year of teaching. Keith also served as a union representative, a music curriculum writer for the district, and a peer advisor for younger educators.
Outside of teaching, Keith is involved with the Baltimore Ravens Marching Band as a Drum Major and a member of Anitas Flutes , a professional flute ensemble based in Baltimore. Keith also enjoys exercising, reading, and is known to be a long time Beyonce enthusiast!
Kelly Cardall (she/her) received her BA in Theatre with an emphasis in directing from Marymount Manhattan College. A Baltimore native, she spent time in the music business before returning to her first love and discovering the joy of sharing it with young minds in an educational setting. She received her MA in Theatre Education from The Catholic University of America and has been teaching and directing theatre in independent schools since 2005. Kelly is currently the Upper School Theatre Director at The Bryn Mawr School and a member of its DEI committee. She believes in authentic and equitable experiences for both actors and audience and prioritizes art that nurtures the community in which it is created.
Kira Levitzky has been a music teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools for over 10 years. She has been featured in numerous print and radio news outlets for her work founding and directing the Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra. She has a Masters in Music Education from Loyola University in Maryland as well as her Kodaly Certification. She has also completed professional development for the city on subjects such as Culturally Responsive Teaching Pedagogy as well as helped develop music curriculum for Baltimore City Schools.
Melodia Rinaldi (Mimi) is an educator in Montgomery County, Maryland. At Gaithersburg Middle School, she is the director of all vocal ensembles, the theater program, and the general music curriculum. She also serves as a sponsor for after-school activities, mentor in the Sources of Strength Program, and is a consulting member of the Conflict Resolution through Restorative Justice Team. She is also active in the community as the music director of the Gaithersburg Chorus, a community-based ensemble targeted at adult singers at any level. She is active as an educator and performer as she sings, teaches, and conducts different projects including recitals, concerts, operas, and other events of the like. Melodia attended Towson University for her degree in Music Education and Ithaca College for her Masters in Conducting. melodiarinaldi.com
Raine Dawn Valentine has taught middle school art for 14 years at Ridgely Middle School in Baltimore County Public Schools, MD and is an adjunct instructor at Notre Dame of Maryland University. She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Tribe of Chippewa in North Dakota and is rooted in her tribe’s traditional spiritual practices. She has taught workshops in intuitive painting methods and has presented at state and national art education conferences. Raine currently serves on the board of the following nonprofits: Historic Hampton Incorporated, NAEA Caucus on the Spiritual in Art Education, and Executive Director of Creative Balance Institute, a holistic learning center.
Sandra Saint Léger earned a BFA in Studio Art with Art History Emphasis and Art Education Certification from Moore College of Art and Design, a Master of Science in the Science of Instruction from Drexel University, and a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Gwynedd-Mercy College. Sandra has 20+ years in public education; 12 years as an art educator and 10 years as an elementary school administrator. She is the founder and owner of The School of Saint-Léger. The School of Saint-Léger offers children’s art programs, community events and consulting services to art educators and administrators.
Sheila Gaskins is a Teaching Artist, Activist, Playwright, Stand-Up Comic, Arts
Advocate, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Facilitator, and Healer. She is a proud native of
Baltimore, Maryland.
2022, Gaskins is the recipient of The Grit Fund and awarded a Professional
Development Grant from Alternate Roots. Her project, Puppets, Masks and Crankies -
Shifting the Story is in collaboration with Maura Dwyer and Tara Carisol. The goal of
the project is to expose children and adults to the art of Puppetry, Masks and Crankies.
Puppetry,Masks and Crankies are some of the oldest forms of storytelling
“You are empowered when you can tell your own story.”- Gaskins
Gaskins is a principle writer for the Community based play, U Thought I was Him
directed by Troy Burton, ( 2022). The play centers Black men in America and their need
for Global acceptance and humanity. U Thought I was Him centers Police Brutality and
LGBTQIA+ issues in Baltimore. U Thought I was Him, a mixtape made its debut at The
Arena Playhouse, November 11 th thru 27th, 2022. The play’s development and creation process involved a series of community dialogues,that lead to a writer’s room to auditions, rehearsals then the performance. The Arena Playhouse is the oldest continuously running Community Theatre in the United States.
Gaskins is featured in The Baltimore Sun’s 10 People Who Make Baltimore Better,
Received The Village That Vanished - Remember, Rekindle, Reclaim, Restore Award from
the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum.
Keynote Speaker for From: Building to Bridge: Redefining:the Pearle Center for Baltimore
The subject in two recent books: Conversations with Healers: Baltimore City by
Miranda Ellis Hontz and Creatives of Color: A Portrait Collection of the Unsung Heroes
in the Baltimore Art and Cultural Community by Precious Blake.
Gaskins admits when she is not using Art to improve the lives of everyone around her
and beyond; she enjoys hot steamed crabs and blowing bubbles.
Xavier Jones, MM is a Albany, Georgia native and currently teaches choral and general music at Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham, Maryland. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music-Voice from Albany State University (an HBCU in Georgia). Xavier later received a Master of Music in Music Education from Norfolk State University. Xavier's professional mission is to teach and inspire minds through choral music and the arts, serve as an advocate for arts programs in predominantly minority settings, and be a change agent in his community.
