Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Inside the Classroom: An Intern's Perspective

As the end of the year gets closer, we at Hartford Performs are as busy as ever.  We are continuing to provide arts experiences to our 26 Hartford Public Schools while taking on new challenges.  My name is Lisa Rizzo and I have been the Arts Literacy Intern at Harford Performs since May of 2013.  I am also a student in my final semester at UMASS Amherst where I will be receiving a BA in Communication.  In my time here at Hartford Performs I have worked on Summer Arts Literacy, the 4th Annual Arts Integration Conference, in-school program selection and much more.  My latest project is not just new for me, but for all of us at Hartford Performs.

In mid-October I began a residency at Hartford Pre-Kindergarten Magnet School to bring more art programs to the students.  Once a week I teach various art activities and games to 3 different classes of PK 4 students.  Having a Hartford Performs intern jump into the classroom to provide programming is a new endeavor for us.  So I was excited to get into the classroom and bring my love of the arts to the students.  There have been some bumps along the way but so far it’s been a great experience.

Growing up, I never felt like I shined in my academic classes.  I was not a bad student but I never felt special in the classroom.  Until I started music class and performing clubs.  These classes gave me a creative outlet in school that I never had before.  Music taught me that I could create something beautiful with only my voice.  To this day, singing remains one of my favorite activities and my voice is something I am very proud of.  I thrived with the arts and sought it out at every opportunity.  I was involved in choir, dance, musicals, drama clubs, visual art classes and my personal favorite comedy improv classes. I believe that all students should have an opportunity to participate in the arts and see themselves in a way they haven’t before.

On a typical day at Pre-K Magnet each class will start with a good morning song.  Then the students (or “friends” as I call them) and I stretch our bodies and transition into a warm-up game.  After we are all warmed up we get started with our activities for the day.  Every day we do 2-3 brand new activities that connect to our theme for the week. Even though we follow this structure every day, every classroom at Pre-K Magnet is a different and unique experience.
 
I am happy to say that I have seen these students grow week after week. When I started venturing into the classroom I had three things that I hoped the students would take away from our activities in the arts and I’ve been fortunate to see examples of all three:

Enthusiasm for the Arts:
We played an energy game called “Oh le le” at the beginning of a class as a warm-up.  It’s a call and response game with movement and as you continue to play the game you say the words in silly voices and as different characters.  The students put so much effort and energy into this game.  They laughed, waved their arms, and made all the silly voices especially the dinosaur voices which were a class favorite. It was great to see them all so excited and ready to participate in the game.

Seeing Things in New Ways:
One week our theme was shapes.  After making shapes with our hands and bodies the classes each had a chance to see how objects can be made using only shapes with nothing but a dry erase board and marker.  The students and I built houses, fish, robots and more with only shapes.  Then the students named shapes at random and we put them all together to make a new shape.  Although I saw it as a clown, each class saw something completely different even though the drawing was basically the same each time.  What was a clown to the first class was a scarecrow to the second, and a snowman to the third.  The students are encouraged to see things through their own eyes.

Self-Confidence:
One of my favorite moments from this experience was on the very first day.  After learning everyone’s name I wanted to introduce the students to theater.  Introduction and applause is a very simple activity and it’s exactly what it sounds like.  One at a time each student goes to the front of the classroom and says his or her name nice and loud for the “audience.”  Then they take a big bow and the audience claps and cheers in applause.  This game requires no materials and very little explanation but the impact is anything but little.  As each student took their turn their smiles went from ear to ear as they heard the applause from their peers and teachers.  In my 3 classes there is a total of about 50 students and only 3 students did not end up doing a solo bow. But even the students who were too shy or nervous to go alone were smiling and laughing when we took a big group bow at the end.

Enthusiasm, seeing things in new ways, and self-confidence are all lessons that I learned from the arts that positively shaped who I am today.  Being able to bring these positive messages to the students has been an incredible and inspiring experience.  I believe that the arts have a way of bringing out the best in who we are.  In the arts we’re allowed to be our most creative, happy, proud, and vulnerable selves.  When a student is able to jump up and sing without self-consciousness, look at a group of shapes and see something new, and take a bow like the whole world is applauding I can say that the hours of lesson planning were 100% worth the effort.   Although these wonderful four year-olds have occasional tears and tantrums, the positive impact of arts in the classroom remains evident, and I feel incredibly lucky to have shared these experiences with the students. 


With only a week left before winter vacation, my time at Hartford Performs and Pre-K Magnet is coming to a close.  But I am incredibly thankful to Hartford Performs for all the opportunities and experiences I’ve had these last 8 months.  Being in the office and in the classroom I have seen the positive effects of the arts and even though my internship will be ending I plan to continue supporting the arts and arts education in both my personal and professional life.  

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Settling into Fall After an Eventful Summer!

The beginning of autumn is a unique time of year. It is when I usually experience a sort of summer nostalgia and spend my time reminiscing on activities and events that made the days go by too fast. I also find myself daydreaming about the wonderful changes that come with the new season.

As an intern at Hartford Performs, this transitional period involves preparing our 26 Hartford Performs schools for the new school year as well as settling back into daily routines after a summer filled with preparation for the 4th Annual Arts Integration Conference!

But before I go any further, I’d like to take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Denise Roberts and I became the Event Coordinator and Planner Intern at Hartford Performs in May of this year. I graduated in December of 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Writing. Currently, I am in the process of obtaining a certificate in Nonprofit Management at Goodwin College. The vision of Hartford Performs aligns with my own belief that children in the Hartford community can develop into leaders and great thinkers if exposed to the appropriate resources.

What I find so wonderful about Hartford Performs’ approach is its ability to bring everyone in the community together to reach a common objective: to ensure that quality arts experiences are available to Hartford Public School students.

The Annual Arts Integration Conference is one of the events that highlight the togetherness of the Hartford Performs network. On August 21, I had the opportunity to take part in this amazing affair where teachers, artists, and several Hartford based organizations united for an Arts Integration learning experience. This experience included defining Arts Integration – which is the process of combining the arts with core curriculum such as English, Math, Science, and Social Studies – and highlighting practices that teachers can use in their classrooms.

Workshops from left to right: Learning on Their Feet, Moving Matters!, Exploring Art Masterpieces with Music and Poetry!, Nudging the Imagination, The Observant Eye
The Artists Collective (an organization that teaches the African Diaspora culture through dance, music, martial arts, etc.), for example, provided teachers with insight on how to give math and English an artistic twist through music and a Swahili/English ABC book called “Jambo Means Hello.”
I was thrilled to see over 200 hundred teachers from our six new schools (Burns, Global, Clark, Pre-K Magnet, Betances, and MGA at West Middle) participate in the 13 workshops that were available! And with the opportunity to join two workshops, I hope every teacher was able to leave the conference with numerous techniques to engage students and spark creativity.

The Arts Integration workshops were followed by what I can only describe as an Arts Provider Fair that made my visit to the carnival the week before less appealing. During this segment of the conference teachers were able to meet many of the artists that offer Arts Integration programs through Hartford Performs.

The days leading up to the event, I saw the XL Center’s lobby strictly as a place we had to somehow manage to fit 42 tables in. I must mention, previous to the Art Fair I visited the center only a few times for concerts, sports and the circus. So it was hard for me to imagine the hall as anything more than a place to purchase tickets.


Top: Bob Bloom & Doll E Daze
Bottom: Carol Glynn & Tom Hanford
Needless to say, I was completely in awe that Wednesday at the scene of teachers in search of the perfect program and beautiful displays from passionate artists. This festive meet-and-greet created for me the vision of a hopeful future for the 2013-2014 school year.

Speaking of the XL Center, I can’t forget to mention the complete layout of this year’s Arts Integration Conference Unlike in the past, the event took place in several well-known locations in Downtown Hartford. Attendees and Hartford Performs’ staff paraded anywhere from the Society Room to Sea Tea Improv Studios, the Old State House to the Hartford Stage Rehearsal Studios, or the Christ Church Cathedral Annex to Downtown Yoga. And by “paraded” I mean Hartford Performs’ staff frantically ran from building to building to guarantee that teachers were able to find the right site of their workshops.

At the end of the day, we had several teachers comment on how well organized the event was. I just remembering feeling grateful for their excitement and openness to this new structure. In addition to the teachers’ understanding, we were also able to maneuver so smoothly between buildings due to the staffs’ involvement and cooperation at each of the locations. Without them, I am not sure if we would have managed the day’s event without major complications.

Our appreciation also goes out to the 11 individuals who joined the Hartford Performs as temporary staff for the day. Thanks to them, we were able to have someone available every step of the way.

I must say, after several months of organizing the 4th Annual Arts Integration Conference and counting down the days until it happened, it is hard for me not to get excited recalling the event. But like I said, autumn is a time for change and I am proud to continue interning with Hartford Performs as we shift our attention to the 26 Hartford Performs schools!

At the beginning of September, we began the process of helping teachers choose programs for the school year. With a database filled with endless information to digest, we find it easier to meet face-to-face with teachers. I attended one of the meetings at E. B. Kennelly School and was amazed to see teachers, principals, and faculty members eager to book programs suitable to the needs and interests of their students. Many teachers came prepared with their top three choices. The school’s staff also worked together to discuss busing options and ideas for those programs that take place off of school grounds.

With only a few more schools to visit we are hoping that all 26 schools will have their programs within the next few weeks. We must express our gratitude for the Hartford Public Schools for their active participation in this process. It is a joy working with enthusiastic teachers and faculty members as we continue to expose Hartford Public Schools students to arts and engage them in a learning practice they will never forget!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

2013 Summer Arts Literacy: Bringing Drama to Early Start


 
 

Contact

Robert Warren

Telephone

(860) 249-8674

Fax

(860) 856-6600

Email

info@hartfordperforms.org

Website

www.harfordperforms.org

 

 

 

Bringing drama to Early Start
Summer Arts Literacy, a performance based program, is in full swing at 18 Hartford Public Schools
 
Hartford, CT - July 31, 2013- Hartford Performs, following its successful 2012 Summer Arts Literacy Program, continues to bring drama and performance into Hartford’s Early Start classrooms. Early Start is a five-week Hartford Public Schools summer school program that can engage students in creative educational activities, to provide underperforming students with additional tools to succeed in literacy. During the five weeks of Summer Arts Literacy, middle school classes meet for 90-minute blocks with a certified literacy teacher and a Hartford Performs teaching artist. This year’s anchor text is Sophocles’ Antigone, featuring struggles of loyalty, sibling rivalry and power, themes that are familiar in the daily lives of these students. After five weeks of study, following a curriculum, modeled on the Brown University’s Performance Cycle, and through preparation, the students put on a public performance inspired by the classic text, written by the students.
Hartford Performs believes that the arts can play a vital role in learning, while enhancing student growth. This Summer Arts Literacy Program – the theater component in particular - provides open pathways for students with different learning styles to succeed. In 2012, 318 students participated and in 2013, that number has increased in a total of 18 schools and 21 classrooms. Through self-assessments, teamwork, and developing acting skills, Hartford’s students are able to build a strong sense of community, while demonstrating an understanding of a challenging text.
“I learned that if we work together and set our mind to anything, we can accomplish anything” –A 2012 Summer Arts Literacy Middle School participant reflecting on the program.
Through the partnership between teachers, as well as the generous grant awarded by the Travelers Foundation, the charitable arm of Travelers, the Summer Arts Literacy Program is able to intrigue and excite Hartford Public School students about reading.
Hartford Performs is a collaborative network of schools, arts providers, community organizations, funders and other supporters working together to ensure that all Hartford Public School students have access to quality arts education delivered through in-school teaching staff in partnership with the city’s vibrant arts community.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Meet Robert Warren, Hartford Performs' new Executive Director!


Inspire the “Arts Fire” within!
Thank you for taking a look at our website and at all of the exciting opportunities that Hartford Performs offers to the students, teachers and administrators of Hartford Public Schools.  Before beginning my journey as the first ever Executive Director for Hartford Performs I was asked by friends, family, and peers the following question: Do you honestly believe that Arts Education really can make a difference in a student’s life?
For me, the answer is an emphatic yes!  I am certain that Arts Education works because I would not be who I am or where I am today had it not been for an extremely dedicated group of educators who believed, as emphatically as I do now, that one of the best ways to reach students was to totally immerse the entire school with music, art, drama, and dance.  Every classroom was alive and every student was engaged and inspired!
After arriving in Hartford, I reflected back on how it was that I got here.  Much like the 1300 mile drive from Florida, that journey is too long to go into but, suffice it to say, I was truly fortunate in my childhood.  Fortunate to have a group of dedicated teachers and administrators that understood – despite the limitations of our community, and with very few financial resources – that their students could learn more and have a richer life by integrating art into the classrooms.
A spark was ignited in me and an unquenchable passion for the arts has led me to the bright lights of Broadway and onto a successful producing career, including eight years at The John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  Along the way I was constantly learning new things and made certain that I gave something back through teaching, mentoring, and a myriad of live performances.  I wanted to ignite that same spark in the next generation of arts enthusiasts and educators.
So now I invite you to join me on the next leg of my journey and feel the heat and excitement that I will bring to Hartford Performs.  I guarantee you will be glad that you did.
Robert Warren, Executive Director 

Robert Warren with Hartford Performs staff and interns

Thursday, January 3, 2013

A Semester in Review

Happy 2013!  For those of you I have not yet met, I am Larisa and I began working with Hartford Performs as a graduate-level intern (or as Jackie and Jaclynn fondly call me, their "Professional in Residence") from UConn's MPA program in August just in time for the 3rd annual Professional Development conference - but more on that in a bit!  

We at Hartford Performs have just finished up 2012 with a whirlwind of activities.  To keep everyone up-to-date, we are beginning 2013 with a recap of these past few months.  In this review we are excited to share details about our summer Arts Literacy program, our annual professional development conference, our third year of implementation for our Arts Integration program, and a sneak peek of what you can be looking forward to in the coming months!

Students rehearsing their own dramatic piece
This past summer Harford Performs took its own spin on Early Start Education. Our Arts Literacy Program took students from 17 different school sites on a journey, making literacy more hands-on and building a sense of community within the summer program. Using Sophocles’ Antigone, students explored key themes such as “loyalty and betrayal,” “sibling rivalry,” and “power and control.” It allowed students to culminate in a devised performance of their own work which was inspired by the play. With the guidance of a teaching artist and a literacy specialist, students built an ensemble, read the play, played drama games, wrote journal entries to connect the text, and then created and rehearsed their own piece to present to another school. They kept a journal throughout the 5 weeks to write down their thoughts and connections, they completed classwork that correlated with comprehension, and worked together to not only create a performance but to truly understand and connect to the text.

Here's what some students said about their experience with the Arts Literacy program:

"Can we have this during the school year?"

"Drama helps me understand by listening and participating"

"It was a great summer and I didn't want to go to summer school but now every time I wake up, I'm happy and it's fun.  I love the Antigone play!"


Wake up Your Kinesthetic Mind workshop

On August 22nd, Hartford Performs held its 3rd annual Professional Development conference, this year at the Connecticut Convention Center.  What an amazing day!  The event reached 350 teachers and administrators from the 7 new schools that have aligned with our Arts Integration program this year.  The focus of the day was to introduce all teachers to Hartford Performs – our five guiding principles, our mission, and how our Arts Integration program will add value to and improve their schools. 

Christopher Eaves' keynote presentation

Teachers and administrators attended both morning and afternoon workshops to experience arts integration themselves.  We had musicians, dancers, visual artists and actors all present workshops that are similar to the ones we provide to students through our Arts Integration program.  In the morning, Christopher Eaves inspired us all with his keynote presentation “Multiple Intelligences – Multiple Solutions: Multiple Intelligences Theory and its relation to arts integration” where he encouraged teachers to explore effective teaching practices that celebrate their own teaching styles and engage students in higher order thinking.

In the middle of the day, teachers and administrators were able to meet our amazing arts providers to learn more about the programs available to their students this year.  Throughout the day we had musicians perform and the grand finale was a show-stopping theatre/dance mash-up student performance about domestic violence.  The students brought the audience to its feet and ended the conference on an incredibly high note.  

The response from conference attendees was overwhelmingly positive!

What attendees got from the conference:

"Inspiration to work on integrating the arts into my classroom"

"New interactions with peers - sharing our 'insecurities' together.  Techniques for livening literature"

What teachers valued about the conference:

"The way art can be used to aide in comprehension" 

"Everything!" 

For those schools who have been involved in Hartford Performs’ Arts Integration program for one or more years, we brought professional development right to their doorstep, holding 11 half-day sessions (one at each school) featuring both workshops and performances.

Teachers at McDonough Expeditionary Learning School, in the Carribean Island workshop


After a hugely successful professional development conference, we spent the early part of the semester visiting each of our 19 Arts Integration Program schools to get them signed up for programs this year.  We were excited to be able to include unified arts and physical education teachers in the program this year, in addition to the core curriculum teachers as we have done in the past.  This year we have an extraordinary 19 schools and 85 arts providers (with a total of 140 different program offerings) who have combined to provide the 540 selected Arts Integration programs to approximately 10,000 Hartford students!  We are thrilled to provide such a diverse array of programming that incorporate dance, music, theatre, and visual art to help teach concepts in math, English, social studies, and science.
Students creating their own scientific journals with the Lutz Children's Museum

While the Arts Integration program will continue throughout the spring semester, many schools have already scheduled and participated in some of their 2012-2013 programs.  So far, things are off to a great start!  We will soon be submitting a brand new RFQ for arts providers so that we can continue to grow our database of Arts Integration programs.  We hope to have an added new batch of amazing programs available for the 2013-2014 year!



A Sneak Peek…

This spring we have a number of exciting events and opportunities that we want everyone to know about. 

  • Hartford Performs is now officially a legal entity and is in the process of becoming a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit! 

  • We are also opening our new office space in room 126 of McDonough Expeditionary Learning School (MELS) at 111 Hillside Ave.  Jaclynn and I will be stationed there full-time while Jackie remains in the Office of Academics in the Hartford Public School’s Central Office at 960 Main Street. 

  • We are excited to support Hartford Public Schools and the Wadsworth Atheneum this May for the 40th annual Hartford Youth Art Renaissance (HYAR).  To celebrate 40 years, we invite everyone to attend an event on Saturday, May 4th from 2:30pm-4:30pm at the Wadsworth where this year’s student artists will be recognized, as well as the amazing history of HYAR.

  • Arts providers should stay tuned as the new Arts Integration RFQ will be available soon and we look forward to new programming submissions for the 2013-2014 academic year.

We hope that everyone had a happy and safe holiday season and that you will be a part of the many exciting opportunities that 2013 has in store for Hartford Performs!