Rie Poirier-Campbell, Executive Director
With the school year at an end, I’ve been thinking about
some of the truly exciting, student-centered work that’s been happening this
year through Hartford Performs’ partnership with the Hartford Public Schools.
Hartford Performs has been working closely with the district
for the last six years to systematically provide arts experiences to students
throughout the city. We bring teaching
artists into classrooms to help students learn all manner of curriculum through
the arts ̶ because when kids learn to dance like molecules,
drum mathematical
progressions, or act
out a scene from history, they learn those lessons more deeply and
personally.
Just as important, we bring Hartford students out to
cultural venues across the region so that they feel connected to ̶ and
welcome in ̶ Greater Hartford’s museums, concert halls and
studios.
This school year alone, we provided exciting, engaging,
educational arts experiences to 13,600 Hartford Public School students – every
single student in each of 32 PreK-Grade 8 schools, neighborhood and magnet alike. More than 100 professional teaching artists delivered 800 student
programs this year. Every student in each of those 32 schools received at least
two Hartford Performs programs this year.
Many received three, four or even five programs.
I should note that every program we provide is aligned with
Common Core State Standards and specifically selected by teachers to complement
what his or her students are studying.
And those programs are powerful.
I saw one student suddenly grasp what one-eighth meant when
he had to color a
grid one-quarter purple and one-eighth yellow in a drawing.
I’ve read notes from second graders who were surprised to
discover that lighting
and costumes can influence how they feel about characters on a stage.
And I heard one very proud parent say that when his
sixth-grade daughter saw a performance about the
Amistad at the Old State House, it both gave her a new respect for her
city, and sparked in her an intense passion for civil rights.
That’s powerful.
The work that our students are doing with Hartford Performs
is so exciting that it even got the attention of The New York Times this year.
The Sunday, January 10, edition of
the Times featured a story called “Granting
Artistic License to Learn.” In it,
Hartford Public Schools were seen as an innovative example of how learning can
be joyful when the arts are integrated into classroom work.
Hartford Performs is pleased to provide some of that
innovation through our partnership with Hartford Public Schools. We look
forward to serving even more students next year, and can’t wait to see what
exciting developments the 2016/2017 school year has in store for us!
