Dance, Theatre, Music, and Visual Arts Teachers in New York City have implemented action research projects and developed unit plans that support the Connected Arts Network goal of serving every student by incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion and social-emotional learning practices in their standards-based arts instruction.
Explore this work as well as teacher's overall reflections below.
On this page you'll find CAN Teacher reflections and resources developed during their work in this program.
On this page you'll find CAN Teacher reflections and resources developed during their work in this program.
On this page you'll find CAN Teacher reflections and resources developed during their work in this program.
On this page you'll find CAN Teacher reflections and resources developed during their work in this program.
On this page you'll find teacher's discussing centering student voice, teacher positionality,
and teacher developed self-reflection and planning checklists
Click on the slides below to learn how CAN inspired and transformed participants' teaching, planning, and curricula, as well as how this nurtured students' voice, choice, and identity.
CAN Elevator Pitch Hannah Arroyo Rivera Visual Art HS - Hannah Arroyo Rivera.pdfVisual Art
I’ve integrated the HILL model a lot in my teachings but also my students have been familiar with this for every project where they know how joy, skills, intellect, criticality etc. are integrated within the projects we do.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Marissa Papa.pptxDance and Theatre
This helps make my classroom a true, safe space. We are all working as a team, no one is alone. CAN has offered us different ways of approaching our students on different levels. It allowed us to have follow through and flesh out unit plans and quality of works. We have been listening and thriving together. There is always room for growth in equality and agency. It is crucial that we continue to grow and honor the diversity of our students, and incorporate all of their rich cultures.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Tina Barone.pdfTheatre
CAN has greatly impacted my teaching practice and changed the way I craft my units. I have seen great strides in my student’s ability to think critically and make choices while rehearsing for performance. They have also gained a greater sense of empathy and have become more tolerant of each other’s differences.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Bryn Thorsson.pdfTheatre
Because of CAN, I have been continually trying to be more intentional and transparent about the ways in which theatre can help us with our social-emotional growth as human beings. I am also encouraging more student reflection on the work we do in class, and how they are learning about themselves and others through our work.
Because of CAN, my students have been exposed to units and material that I may not have been comfortable choosing when I first started my teaching journey. I have felt inspired to go out on a limb and teach something that is outside my comfort zone.
Costanza.CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Gina Costanza.pptxMusic
I am more intentional about how we use our class time. I’ve built in more opportunities for deep discussion. I’m more open to learning about the lived experiences of my students and their families. More of their lives “show up” in my classroom. I use different strategies to engage students in the learning. Center-based instruction has been transformational for my practice. CAN had great PLC structures.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Barbara Canner.pptxDance
CAN has offered a place for our arts colleagues to share ideas and more. Our PLCs have been a wonderful space for our Dance colleagues to bring their ideas, sometimes “problems,” often questions, and willingness to be open to both receiving and giving feedback to further one another’s growth in teaching our students about the art of dance along with the hard work and thoughtfulness that goes into creating choreography.
SCHNELLER CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Venusagogo from NYC.pptxDance
CAN has challenged me to make adjustments to my curriculum as well as to how I present my lessons to my students. I have always attempted to be student centered, but this experience has elevated that goal to truly allowing students to have a voice.
It has given me time and opportunity to reflect on my practice in order to offer a more valuable and meaningful experiences for my students. My students feel valued and heard. They feel safe enough to take risks. They are more confident on stage.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025_Grippo - Megan Grippo.pdfDance
When planning for the year, I am always looking for small ways to bring student voice to the forefront. Every unit, no matter how long I have been teaching it, I have revised or brought forward SEL and EDI components thanks to my work in CAN. It has taught me to recognize my own perspective as not always what students may feel or see. In my day to day teaching practice I am more conscious of taking time to allow for their voice to be heard. "I feel like it has led my students to be more reflective on who they are or how they work within the dance classroom.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Michael Young.pptxVisual Arts
Feeling supported and nourished with new ideas to carry into my teaching, such as SEL and CRSE frameworks. CAN has expanded my perceptions about myself and the possibilities that exist within my instructional environment, to center who my students are and how they are showing up in the classroom.
Woodward CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Erin Woodward.pdfTheatre
I have expanded my lens to more instinctively check for criticality and diversity in the work…basing the “why” I do something with my students in their world as much as our goals, standards, and values. What I notice is that my stronger CAN units result in some stronger examples of work, through writing or performance, and that my effort in the planning and thought is directly proportional to the potential work created by the students.
Kemba - CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Kemba Lodescar.pptxTheatre
Through this experience, I’ve learned to approach my practice with greater intentionality, collaboration, and purpose — always centering students’ identities, voices, and lived experiences. Working within a PLC allowed me to engage in deep reflection and dialogue with other arts educators. Together, we examined how our lessons could align with Gholdy Muhammad’s framework. As a result, my planning has become more culturally responsive and student-driven. I now start by asking: How will this lesson help students see themselves? What knowledge will they gain? How will it empower them to think critically about their world? This shift has transformed my classroom into a more inclusive, affirming, and creative space where every student can thrive.
MariaLisoCAN Elevator Pitch Fall 2025 - Maria Liso.pptxVisual Arts
CAN, through its research-based learning, has impacted my teaching by understanding when teachers support students’ identity they support the student as a whole person which fosters engagement and community in their classroom.
Students who see themselves reflected in art and are given the freedom to question and critique and are more engaged with the task but also with their peers. Respect and a sense of community are also positively impacted as students learn about one another and make connections with themselves and with the art.
SW-CAN _Elevator Pitch” - Scott Walters.pptxDance
CAN PLCs:
Gave me collaborative structures to co-plan, share strategies, and problem-solve.
Helped me refine discipline-specific grading and performance-based assessments that honor student growth, not just outcomes.
My students now:
Experience dance as a space of belonging, their identity is seen and celebrated.
Have greater access to rigorous and joyful learning that balances technique, creativity, and collaboration.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 (1) - Catherine Blades.pptxTheatre
CAN has led me to be more reflective and intentional about strategies, I have been able to invent and fine-tune protocols, activities, routines and roles that have supported my students to be more empowered in their own choices, both as student directors and actors creating their own motivated blocking. As a result, my students have discovered how PLAY onstage in character leads to the most interesting and authentic staging choices. They were able to make the connection between SEL and ensemble-building that we do and the trust required to play onstage.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 ndesilva copy - Niaren Desilva.pdfVisual Arts
Being a part of CAN, and the PLC‘s has helped me to create a community of arts teachers who share best practices we can understand each other and learn from each other. The impact of CAN on my students and they’re learning has showed me that building relationships with the students and between the students is a huge part of building a safe and brave community of artist. We learned from each other and celebrated our uniqueness and amplified the students' voices.
Y.Torres CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Yvette Torres.pptxMusic
CAN and PLC’s helps me stay accountable and be more mindful about my planning. Seeing what my colleagues are doing and asking each other questions help me improve what I am doing and/or confirm I’m on the right track. As a result of participating in CAN my students benefit from having a more conscientious and passionate teacher who is always working towards being better than I was the year prior.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Joel Gerson.pptxMusic
The work I have done with CAN over the years has helped me develop newer lessons. Working with the team of music teachers in the same area, has helped me learn from them as much as I have helped them, to shape the lessons to take them into the new era of teaching.
McAdams CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025.pptx - Lyndsey McAdams.pdfTheatre
CAN has certainly helped me use data in a more productive and meaningful way. Prior to this experience, data in the arts classroom felt hard to wrap my head around. Now gathering data feels simpler to me, and it has certainly made me able to see progress and my students experience of my art form in an applicable way.
My students have more ownership and connectivity over their learning, as they have both more choice in their activities as well as more say in the goals they are working toward within their year in theater.
can elevator pitch- laura blau - Laura Blau.pdfVisual Arts
CAN and PLCS have had a significant impact on:
My ability to coach other teachers and to learn from veteran and newer teachers alike.
Learning to listen to other teachers, learning to take input and then take stock of what’s happening in my own classroom.
Learning to listen to my students and observe their learning through their work, reflections and actions.
NZCAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Nicole Zernone.pptxVisual Arts
Being part of the CAN and PLCs has greatly influenced how I plan and teach, shifting my approach toward a more student-centered classroom. Through collaboration and reflection with colleagues, I’ve learned to use data, student voice, and shared inquiry to guide instruction. These structures have helped me design lessons that are more responsive to students’ needs, interests, and identities.
I’ve become more intentional about creating learning experiences that center student voice, foster belonging, and promote deeper engagement.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Joella Delisi Melnikov.pptxMusic
My lessons are much more thoughtful when planning and delivery. I consider whom my students are, what they already know, and where we are going. I also think about how I can include their backgrounds and personalities. My students have shared that they feel much more involved and have a sense of ownership in their lessons.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 Lijoi - Jonathan Lijoi.pptxMusic
CAN made me more reflective in my work and has created a drive to always do better and not get complacent. Also utilizing the HILL Model has had a huge impact on teachers being able to codify their work.
Furthermore the idea of using Data to drive practice but in a way that is authentic to the music making process. Reframing the idea of data is something I continue to work on but being part of CAN and facilitating a PLC has helped with this.
CAN has given me the tools to address the needs of all students in a more authentic way and center their voices and identities while creating a high performing music program.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 25 EBrathwaite - Edwin Brathwaite.pptxDance
My students became more deliberate in revising their choreography by applying specific feedback, resulting in clear improvements in timing, transitions, and movement clarity.
Collaborative and Growth-Focused Environment: The classroom culture shifted toward collaboration and continuous improvement, as students embraced peer critique as a vital part of the creative process.
Sorenson CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Helen Sorenson.pdfMusic
I became much more aware of making my repertoire choices reflective of my student population and exploring my students’ identities in a deeper way. In my jazz unit on improvisation with a 1st grade class, I was delighted to see students who were shy about engaging in class before the unit, shine on the instrument of their choice as they joyfully improvised together with their classmates.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Elizabeth Kinkel.pptxVisual Arts
Incorporating the HILL model into my curriculum has been beneficial for my students. They are creating work that centers their voices By offering my students "windows and mirrors" they expand their thinking and access to the world outside their own doors, but are also able to see themselves reflected in beautiful, intriguing artwork.
I've become a better teacher, overall. My curriculum design has gotten more inclusive, overall. The lessons are more reflective of my student's identities, and allow for a lot more student choice so they have the chance to create work that has personal meaning.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Audrey Mullen.pdfMusic
CAN has helped guide my teaching practice. There is SO MUCH that can be taught. Focusing the lens has helped me be a better teacher.
My PLCs have provided ideas and support for my teaching practices.
My students have been able to have more choice in music class. They have also been able to share their music and ideas with each other.
Through composition, they have also been able to show more creativity than they have in the past.
Irwin CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Michael Irwin.pptxMusic
CAN has been foundational and essential to my planning and teaching practice. CAN has helped me to push the concepts of joy and belonging to the forefront of my students' experience in the music classroom.
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 - Carol Lonnie.pptxDance
CAN helped me to:
Look at assessments in my classroom that are reflective of student work and feedback.
Students were able to become leaders in the classroom.
Use different protocols for students to assess themselves and one another.
Hone in on student skills and help them in finding their own joy within the discipline.
Rosen CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025 (1) - Jordan Rosen.pptxVisual Arts
Meeting my students where they are culturally, academically, and socially; writing learning targets, from objectives, from standards; co-writing rubric criteria with students; all examples of development from CAN and PLC’s which have impacted my practice in significant ways in terms of having a larger impact on my students
CAN Elevator Pitch BIG TAKEAWAYS Fall 2025.pptx - Mr Holt.pdfVisual Arts
Connected Arts Network has given me tools to critically examine and expand my lessons and curriculum to be more authentic and relevant to my students. I have been able to add elements that connect the learning concepts and skills to the world beyond the walls of the art studio. I have noticed that students are more engaged with the curriculum as they have ways to connect it to their own values and lived experiences. Students are able to see themselves in the work and also expand their point of view to allow for differing perspectives.
