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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.
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