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Arts for Learning Maryland Receives $3.9 Million Grant from the U.S. Department of Education
(BALTIMORE, MD) February 09, 2022 – Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) announced that it has been awarded a nearly $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to demonstrate arts-integrated school programs that improve academic performance and emotional well-being of students in low-wealth schools.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) informed Arts for Learning Maryland of the five-year $3,970,442 grant award to work with Prince George’s County Public Schools for Start with the Art: Arts Integration + Co-Teaching — A Transformative Approach to Increasing Academic Achievement and Fostering Socioemotional Development in Elementary Students. Arts for Learning Maryland, a nonprofit organization that enriches the lives and education of 180,000 Maryland children each year through arts integration experiences, is the only organization in Maryland to have been awarded one of the 30 EIR grants in FY2021.
The DOE Education Innovation and Research grant – the largest in Arts for Learning Maryland’s 70-year history – will allow the organization to research, demonstrate and model the effectiveness of using arts and artists in Kindergarten through third-grade classrooms in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The project will establish and sustain collaboration between Prince George’s County Public School classroom teachers and Arts for Learning Maryland teaching artists as they plan and deliver lessons, including re-engaging students in the classroom following educational disruption precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Start with the Art will incorporate four arts-integrated instructional strategies that have been demonstrated to foster the academic achievement and socioemotional development of students, particularly students placed at risk by poverty: using the arts to foster students’ engagement in the classroom; using arts experiences to allow students to experience a wider range of emotional experience than is often possible in regular classroom activities; using students’ experiences of setbacks and failure in their artistic work as a way to develop students’ perseverance; and capitalizing on students’ collaborative work to foster students’ positive peer relationships.
As part of Start with the Art, classroom teachers will participate in a Training Institute offered as an extension of the Prince George’s Artist Teaching Institute (PGATI), a long running, highly respected summer professional development experience.
Start with the Art will begin in early 2022 with recruiting the initial cohort of schools, classroom teachers, teaching artists, and instructional coaches who will participate in the pilot. The first program for students will be offered in Fall 2023, with a goal to engage 2,500 students in kindergarten through third grade who are living in or near poverty and are attending school in PGCPS.
Start with the Art will be developed in collaboration with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), WolfBrown, and West Chester University (WCU). The program’s principal investigators from Wolf Brown and WCU will co-lead all aspects of the evaluation, including recruitment, assignment, data collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination to research audiences. They have collaborated extensively on other projects at the intersection of arts education and the early development placed at risk by poverty.
The EIR grant accounts for 75% of the total cost ($4.962,000) of the project through 2026.
The U.S. Department of Education Innovation and Research Program provides funding to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students; and rigorously evaluate such innovations. The program is designed to generate and validate solutions to persistent educational challenges and to support the expansion of effective solutions to serve substantially larger numbers of students.
Said Stacie Sanders Evans, president and CEO of Arts for Learning Maryland, “This grant is a testament to our artists, staff, and board, as well as the powerful work happening within our community. It recognizes the two strategies that have been at the heart of our Summer Arts for Learning Academy – collaborative lesson planning and co-teaching – and that has resulted in academic and personal growth for nearly 9,000 students at Title I schools. Start with the Art will build additional evidence of the transformational impact that our work has on children so that even more children will have access to this kind of learning in the future.“
In informing Arts for Learning Maryland of their grant award, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said “The quality of our students’ education should not be determined by their zip code. As we continue working to invest in public education, I’m proud to support the work of organizations like Arts for Learning Maryland that take an innovative approach to helping all our students succeed. Arts for Learning Maryland’s critical work enriches students’ lives, sets them up for future success, and helps them achieve academically through hands-on engagement in the arts and their community. I will continue working to support Maryland students and to bring educational opportunities to our communities.”
“The PGCPS Department of Creative and Performing Arts has enjoyed a wonderful partnership with Arts for Learning Maryland for many years,” said Chief Executive Officer Dr. Monica Goldson. “This collaboration will support both our educators and youngest learners through arts integration experiences providing alternative, creative, and engaging instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.”
About Arts for Learning Maryland
Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) is a nonprofit organization devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Arts for Learning, professional teaching artists from all disciplines partner with educators, schools, and school districts to provide, on average, over 300,000 hours of learning in, through, and about the arts to more than 185,000 Maryland students annually.
Arts for Learning Maryland Receives $40,000 Grant from National Endowment for the Arts
BALTIMORE— Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) has been approved for a $40,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment from the Arts to support its Principal Fellowship Program, a year-long initiative supporting Baltimore City Public School principals in integrating the arts into learning.
Now in its third year, the Principal Fellowship will create a cohort of school leaders to explore the arts’ power to transform school culture, enhance learning and spur social emotional growth. In 12 sessions over the 2022 summer, they will engage in collaborative planning, one-on-one coaching by teaching artists, and observations of the Summer Arts for Learning Academy and cultural institutions. The 10 principals in the cohort will each create an action plan to leverage the arts as a tool for positive change and academic improvement at their school.
The Principal Fellowship supports Baltimore City Public Schools’ Blueprint For Success priorities of whole child development, literacy, and leadership.
This grant, which marks the fifth consecutive year that Arts For Learning Maryland has received NEA funding, is part of the NEA’s nearly $29 million in funding of 1,248 projects across America that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category.
“Year after year, our work reiterates that true commitment to the arts in ways that help students thrive requires strong school leadership,” said Stacie Sanders Evans, President and CEO of Arts for Learning Maryland. “We’re so thankful for the NEA’s support in ensuring Baltimore’s principals understand the impact of the arts and have the tools necessary to leverage creativity and enhance student learning.”
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from Arts for Learning Maryland that helps support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “Arts for Learning Maryland in Baltimore is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”
For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
Artists! Join the Summer Artists Corps to Become a Teaching Artist this Summer
Alert! Alert! We’re hiring practicing artists to transform student learning by using their art form in the classroom!
Beginning in February, our paid Summer Artists Corps training program will guide artists through workshops, mentorships, shared experiences and personal reflection to discover the processes and dynamics of co-teaching arts integrated lessons with an educator. Artists will join a community of like-minded peers to explore how to emotionally support students, create a productive classroom climate, and use arts integration as anti-racist pedagogy – all while building marketable teaching artist skills.
A series of Race Equity Trainings will allow artists to examine existing biases and better understand the history and current impact of institutional and structural racism on policies and practices in public education.
The 60+ hour training program runs from late February through early June 2022.
Artists who successfully complete the training will receive a $500 stipend and will be hired to work at our Summer Arts for Learning Academy (SALA), with earnings up to $11,500 ($50/hour)!
SALA is a six-week program where practicing artists collaborate with classroom teachers, using art to make morning math and literacy lessons more joyful and understandable. And in the afternoon, artists engage with students directly in their art form.
Spread the word to artists you know! For more information about Summer Artist Corps and to find the application – due January 26 – click here.
This News Rocks!
Is there a better feeling than sharing news so exciting you want to shout it from the rooftop? Maybe you heard us all making some noise when the 64th annual GRAMMY award nominations were announced—because our chief program officer, Jessica Smith Hebron a.k.a Culture Queen, has been nominated in the Children’s Music category!
Jessica is one of the artists featured on the album All One Tribe by the One Tribe Collective. Released on Juneteenth of this year, the album features 24 Black children’s music artists making it the first children’s music album of its kind! Check out her video for the song “I am the Future of Black History” and the full album at 1tribecollective.com!
Not only that, WolfTrap/Early Learning artist 123 Andrés was nominated in the same category for their new album Actívate. The album brings together over 40 musicians celebrating sounds, rhythms, and flavor from across Latin America and features Arts for Learning roster artist Jamaal “Mr. Root” Collier!
Let’s get up, get moving, and cheering! Hooray and congratulations, Jessica, Andrés and Christina, and Mr. Root!! You ROCK!
Young Audiences of Maryland Changes Name to Arts for Learning Maryland
New Name Reflects 71 Year Evolution and Impact on Students
Young Audiences of Maryland, the Baltimore-based nonprofit transforming student learning through arts integration, has changed its name to Arts for Learning Maryland.
The name change reflects Arts for Learning Maryland’s evolution over the past 71 years, its impact on students, and its plans for the future. What started as a classical music series in 1950 in Baltimore schools has evolved into a statewide organization where educators partner with musicians, actors, poets, visual artists, and dancers to co-create dynamic, arts-integrated, curriculum-based learning experiences. Today, Arts for Learning Maryland reaches more than 180,000 Maryland students a year in every Maryland school district with arts-integrated artist residencies, performances, and professional development experiences for educators.
“As we expanded our reach and developed new initiatives, we realized that our name wasn’t relevant for our collaborative, hands-on experiences for students, educators, and school leaders,” said Stacie Sanders Evans, Arts for Learning President and CEO. “We wanted our name to describe the meaningful “what,” the creative “how,” and the important “why” of our work.”
The selection of Arts for Learning Maryland is the result of a two year process in which board members, staff, artists, educators, students, donors, community, and education leaders explored the organization’s mission, values, and programs in order to guide the name selection. The process affirmed the nonprofit’s universal truths: The arts transform lives. Integrating the arts with academic learning produces powerful results.
“We believe that the arts are for learning,” continued Stacie Sanders Evans. “The words “Arts for Learning” are the right words and the right message for who we are and the exciting journey we’re on. And by adopting Arts for Learning Maryland, which was part of our previous name, we’re honoring our history and affiliation with National Young Audiences/Arts for Learning, the nation’s oldest and largest arts-in-education learning network.”
The new name is represented in a bold new logo. Young Audiences’ sun symbol has evolved into a radiating and joyful kaleidoscope reflecting the diversity of the community and the spark that Arts for Learning Maryland creates for learning and personal growth.
Coinciding with the adoption of its new name, the Arts for Learning Maryland office is moving this week into the historic, renovated Odell’s building in the Station North Arts District in downtown Baltimore. In addition to nearly 12,000 feet of offices, training space for artists and teachers, and classroom space for students and families, the office will feature a tribute to the iconic Odell’s nightclub.The Brock family, which founded Odell’s nightclub, has donated historical artifacts, clothing, memorabilia, and stories that will be incorporated as a permanent display in the new offices.
Says Stacie Sanders Evans, “Arts for Learning was drawn to make Odells its home, in part, because Odells was a gathering place that was so beloved by so many people in the community and so many creative people gathered there.”
To read more about Arts for Learning’s process for selecting its new name, click here. For more information about Arts for Learning Maryland, click here.
Inaugural Arts Career Day, A Recap
“Arts Career Day! Every single art form’s got something to say. If your art is your career, you deserve to be paid!”
Those lyrics to the Arts Career Day theme song, written by the amazing teaching artist and hip-hop artist Jamaal “Mr. Root” Collier, encapsulate the power of the arts and the importance of ensuring our young, creative students understand how to build careers in the field.
Last month, Young Audiences’ first-ever Arts Career Day did just that through helpful tips and guidance directly from artists for K-12 students on building arts-based careers! Hundreds of students and educators tuned in to the free, fun, virtual event.
No matter your goals or your roles, the insights were inspiring. See for yourself! Check out some artist tips heard in Arts Career Day:
“Love all the things you do. There are no mistakes.” – Christina Delgado
“Find your WHY.” – Brother David, Wombwork Productions
“Dance to the music playing in movies. Try to understand what it makes you feel.” – Emily Brennan
“Always believe in yourself. And believe in your gift: it is yours. … Don’t compare your journey.” – Zori Patrick
“My best advice is follow your passion. Be yourself. And practice, practice, practice.” – Amanda Pellerin
“Always keep your mind open for opportunities. Be willing to go outside of your comfort zone. … I am a strong believer that, if you get started, the world will meet you halfway.” – Ahmad Abdullah
“As artists, we all get ideas from each other. … It’s ok to borrow (as long as you credit). And then make it your own!” – Lisa Mathews
To learn more, check out a full recording of the event here.
Meet the Arts Career Day Artists!
Next Thursday, 9/23, Young Audiences’ first Arts Career Day will give K-12 students the opportunity to engage with and learn from professional artists who have successfully built a career in creative fields.
This free, virtual program is broken into four one-hour workshops with practical, child-friendly advice on creating a career in the arts; engaging and informative Q&As; and fun, arts-infused panel discussions. Students, educators, and caregivers can register for free here. The artists offering insight at Arts Career Day are seasoned, successful, and inspiring. See for yourself:
Dancers
– Ballet Theatre of Maryland: BTM is Maryland’s only professional classical and contemporary ballet company!
– Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble: Internationally renowned for their theatre and festival productions, Footworks has been committed to arts education for more than 35 years.
– Laura Schandelmeier: Laura is a choreographer, performer, teacher, and co-artistic director of Dance Box Theater … and a Wolf Trap master teaching artist!
– Tiffanie Horner: Tiffanie is a trained dancer and teaching artist at dance schools and in classrooms for the last 15 years.
Musicians
Ball in the House: This high-energy R&B/Soul/Pop a cappella group keeps audiences singing, dancing, and beatboxing along in hundreds of shows a year.
Baltimore Brass: This group of six world-class musicians specializes in the performance of classical and contemporary music that appeals to audiences both young and young at heart!
Drew Anderson: Entertainer and educator Drew Anderson has spent his entire adult life engaging audiences as a science teacher and performer of hip hop, spoken word, and comedy.
Lisa Mathews: Lisa is a Wolf-Trap trained teaching artist and fronts the amazing Milkshake, an award-winning Grammy-nominated rock band for kids!
Storytellers, Actors, & Literary Artists
Happy Theater: Founder Natasha Mirny is stage director, choreographer, and teaching artist with a background in pantomime, puppetry, and physical theater.
Schroeder Cherry: With a passion for puppets since childhood, Dr. Schroeder Cherry now performs original puppet shows in museums, libraries, and cultural centers for adults and children across the US.
Synetic Theater: Synetic Theater emerged from the creative vision of founders Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili, who use movement, music, technology, and visual arts to transcend the limits of language.
Wombwork Productions: Founded in 1997 by three visionary artists, Wombwork utilizes dance, music, and theatre as traditional sources of healing and empowerment for the community.
Visual and Digital Media Artists
Ahmad Abdullah: A Baltimore-born graphic designer and digital arts educator, Ahmad is an advocate for using art and design as vehicles for interpreting social issues and prompting restorative justice.
Amanda Pellerin: Amanda specializes in handmade tile murals and clay sculptures and has 20 years of experience in teaching, including at the Walters Art Gallery and Baltimore Clayworks.
Christina Delgado: First just a hobby, Christina’s work as a photographer and artist grew into a profession later in life. She now has a decade of experience as an educator, photographer, and community advocate.
Find details and FREE registration for Arts Career Day, here!
Young Audiences Summer Programs By the Numbers
What. A. Summer!
Through Young Audiences’ programs, 2,149 students in Baltimore City and throughout Maryland spent their summer infusing learning with joyful, hands-on arts experiences led by teaching artists. Their days were filled with inspiring moments as they danced to Ugandan drums, wrote songs about fractions, beatboxed to practice counting, illustrated plot points in stories, and explored how creativity enhances learning and helps reach goals.
Our Summer Arts & Learning Academy engaged nearly 1,700 students across Baltimore City in a full-day, six-week arts-integrated experience. Summer LIT! welcomed nearly 500 Baltimore City K-5 students to work with teaching artists to expand literacy skills using creativity. The Bloomberg Arts Internship Program matched 22 rising City Schools seniors with local arts organizations for meaningful work experiences in creative fields, supplemented by mentorship and guidance toward college and career readiness. And in Howard County, our incredible teaching artists delivered daily, arts-integrated programming to 600 students.
The many art forms explored across our programs included design, embroidery, hip-hop, improv, Japanese Taiko drumming, miming, music, dance, beatboxing, painting, photography, poetry, sculpture, theatre, and more!
We are proud to have helped City Schools support more students than ever before with meaningful summer programming. Take a look at our summer – by the numbers.
Young Audiences Summer Programs By The Numbers
To learn more about Young Audiences summer programs, visit www.yamd.org.
Young Audiences shares the joy of SALA!
For the first time in our history, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, visited a Young Audiences program to experience arts-integrated learning! Secretary Cardona came to our Summer Arts & Learning Academy (SALA) site at Graceland Park Elementary/Middle School to unveil his national plan to reopen schools.
After visiting our classrooms, he shared that “SALA in Spanish means living room. Living rooms are where families come and they grow together. That’s what I saw here today.” In addition to Secretary Cardona, the Executive Director of the National Summer Learning Association Aaron Dworkin, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and most of City Schools’ leadership experienced SALA, too. Each person was so enthusiastic about what the program provides to children. Creativity, collaboration, student expression, engagement, and care are infused throughout the Academy, and so are our students’ voices—about their identities, their communities, and how they want to change their communities and the world for the better. Our visitors saw that.
For all of us, this pandemic has taken away so much—whether it be the lives of people we love, our economic security, or the ability to simply live our lives in the ways that keep us healthy. We know that for our teachers, teaching artists, and staff, showing up for SALA was a daily act of love. Anyone who visited the program felt that love through the masks, through the separation that comes with dividing classes into pods, and through the social distancing.
The words of Bettina Love have been guiding the team at Young Audiences this summer: “To love all children we must struggle to create the schools we are taught to believe are impossible, schools built on justice, love, joy, and antiracism.”
We are on a mission to make this a reality for our children and are so grateful for everyone who is on this mission with us — including YOU.
Learn more about Summer Arts & Learning Academy here: yamd.org/programs/summer-arts-academy/.
PS. Could these SALA students have created the next famous TikTok dance? Watch the video and see why Secretary Cardona and Mayor Scott think so!
It could be a famous TikTok dance!
Students couldn’t wait to share this dance they created with special guests @MayorBMScott & @SecCardona this morning at Graceland Park Elementary Middle! Thank you for visiting & taking in the joyful learning at Summer Arts & Learning Academy! pic.twitter.com/BbMAGPiexJ
— Young Audiences MD (@arts4learning) August 4, 2021
Honoring and Celebrating Juneteenth
Young Audiences’ mission is to transform the lives and education of young people through the arts. To do this, we must understand, appreciate, and celebrate our students – and each other.
Last month, our staff and board came together to recognize the cultural heritage of our Black and brown staff and community. Our inaugural Juneteenth celebration began with a dive into the history of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the Black people who were enslaved were now free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official January 1, 1863.
The YA Juneteenth celebration continued with meaningful performances from teaching artists, presentations on African American cultural heritage, a festival dance party, and some cool ice cream on a hot summer day. Also onsite was a gorgeous ancestral garden designed by Early Learning School & Relationship Coordinator Shana Teel, and flashcards honoring the names of Kings and Queens who made Black History in the marvelous state of Maryland. Participants were invited to call out the names of those people and other Africans throughout the diaspora who have passed on. The scene was decked out in colors of the Pan-African flag to honor Juneteenth: red, black, and green to represent the blood, soil, and prosperity of Africa and its people.
Young Audiences of Maryland honors the diverse cultures, contributions, and achievements of Black and brown staff, children, artists, board members, and partners. This joyful event, coordinated by the Young Audiences Black Caucus and Party Planning Committee, reminded us of the power of infusing our lives with cultural appreciation, understanding, our individual histories, and shared experiences.
As Jessica Hebron, our Chief Program Officer, put it: “We are immensely excited about the celebration and look forward to our continued work honoring Race Equity through social justice initiatives for our current staff and those to come.”
As we all move forward – both as individuals and as an organization – race equity will help guide our work in having an honest and lasting impact on students, artists, and our community. And coming together will help us focus on this priority in the months and years ahead.
The Bloomberg Arts Internship: A Perfect Match
“Do you know what a stage manager is? You might be a stage manager.” CJ Philip would know. The award-winning choreographer and artistic director of Dance and Bmore has spent more than enough time on, in front of, and behind the stage to identify the qualities necessary for the role. “The stage manager is air traffic control,” she tells a group of rising high school seniors over Zoom. “If you’re stage manager, you’re communicating with lighting, dance directors, sound—if you wanna know something, ask the stage manager.”
The students are rapt. Not only is CJ an expert in her field, she knows how to cultivate relationships with young people. How lucky we are that Dance & Bmore has returned for a 5th year as a worksite for the Bloomberg Arts Internship.
Since 2017, the Bloomberg Arts Internship has matched rising high school seniors in Baltimore City Public Schools with the city’s premiere arts and cultural institutions to explore careers in the arts first-hand. The students learn that it takes talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds and with skills across many disciplines to create a final product—what the public experiences. The seven-week program, now in its 5th year in Baltimore, runs this summer from July 6 to August 20, with 25 interns working with 18 organizations.
Kristina Berdan, YA’s education director of Baltimore City initiatives, organized the virtual matching session for new interns and worksites. She and team member Joanna Thursby, her executive assistant, have created a loving, energetic, and comfortable space for participants to gather and get to know each other. “You should not consider this a formal interview, but a question and answer period,” she said.
The session begins with small groups completing an introductory task: design the vending machines of their dreams. In no time at all, participants imagine wild combinations of comfort and happiness nestled in springs and levers and housed behind glass. One is stocked with guinea pigs, band aids, and lots of peace. The contents are a delicious blend of fantastic and practical, abstract and essential: sushi, hope, and hair ties; puppies, kittens, and a good night’s sleep.
This icebreaker is anything but awkward. There is laughter and collaboration as a student wonders out loud, “How often do these get changed out anyway?” One group is trying to make their vending machine bigger. They have no trouble envisioning their unlikely contraptions. And because this is Smalltimore, there are reunions of sorts. One student recognizes another from their TWIGS program at Baltimore School for the Arts from years back, while another immediately recognizes a worksite partner—a dear friend of her mother. It’s amazing how connected the worksite partners and interns feel after just a few minutes of brainstorming together. “I feel like I’ve known you forever,” said Chin-Yer from Dewmore Poetry. “Well, one of you I have known forever.”
The participants reunite after a while, a little bit smilier than they left, a little bit less nervous, and, some, wishing the vending machine of their dreams really did exist. It is at this point that the interns introduce themselves to the group, and worksite representatives learn that this talented cohort will bring everything from out-of-the-box thinking, communication skills, teamwork, and good vibes to photo-editing skills and visual art and musical talent to their internships. What’s more, they will bring an invaluable resource to the arts and cultural organizations: youth voice.
Single Carrot Theatre, another worksite returning to the program, is seeking their next community partnership intern. They’re looking for a student who enjoys research and connecting with people. Over the course of this internship, students will be in conversation with designers, and even get to sit in and observe auditions and experience the callback process.
Local nonprofit Art with a Heart is looking for a student interested in digital arts, 3D printing, and digital fabrication and design. This intern will assist in developing products for their online store, Heartwares, that was created in order to continue connecting with the community despite COVID restrictions.
The engaging process made it clear: worksites are as equally excited to share their work as they are to learn from and partner with these students. Together, they will engage and inspire younger audiences through the creation of new programs and activities. This, worksites understand, is an opportunity for them to harness the unique technical and social skills of this generation.
Between time at their worksites, in professional development workshops, and virtual field trips, the 2021 interns will receive college guidance, life skills, and build meaningful relationships and connections with Baltimore artists and people working in the arts. “This is deeper than an internship,” said Chin-Yer. “We stay in touch for years and years and become a family.”
To learn more about the Bloomberg Arts Internship Program, click here, and be sure to follow the program’s Instagram page to stay up to date on interns’ experiences this summer.
Registration Opens for Summer Arts & Learning Academy and Summer LIT!
These arts-integrated learning programs will engage thousands of City Schools students in person at no cost to families
BALTIMORE – Engaging, joyful, arts-integrated learning is back and in person this summer for thousands of Baltimore City Public School students, with Young Audiences of Maryland opening registration for its Summer Arts & Learning Academy and Summer LIT! programs.
The two dynamic six-week programs, which infuse traditional learning with artistic exploration, are entirely free for students. Summer LIT! and the Summer Arts & Learning Academy run Monday-Thursday from June 28 to August 5 at school locations throughout Baltimore. Each program will adhere to all safety protocols outlined by Baltimore City Public Schools.
Summer Arts & Learning Academy (SALA); Grades PreK-5
SALA is a full-day summer learning experience that introduces students to new art forms, new ways of learning math and literacy through the arts, and the joy of creative discovery. Students may create music videos for songs they wrote about math fractions, paint stories they are reading, photograph the world around them and write their own artist statements, or beatboxing to practice counting.
Each morning, students will build math and literacy skills with support from educators and teaching artists. Each afternoon, they will explore an art form with a master teaching artist and complete collaborative creative challenges. Art forms featured at SALA include music, photography, painting, poetry, dance, theatre, and more.
SALA takes place at eight sites across Baltimore: Bay Brook Elementary, Dorothy I. Height Elementary, Gardenville Elementary, Graceland Park-O’Donnell Heights Elementary, Henderson-Hopkins, Moravia Park Elementary, Pimlico Elementary/Middle, and Wildwood Elementary/Middle. Students and families can learn more and apply to this free program here.
Summer LIT!; Grades K-5
Summer LIT! is a full-day, arts-integrated literacy learning experience that provides students with opportunities for creative, hands-on learning while improving reading and writing skills – minimizing summer learning loss in the process. Students will read books centered on themes like identity, community, justice, and activism and engage in arts activities (theater, dance, visual arts) that support literacy connections.
Featuring artist residencies, small group tutoring, community partner visits, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects, Summer LIT! will keep kids reading, learning, and creating this summer. The program takes place at six sites in Baltimore: Beechfield Elementary/Middle, Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School, George Washington Elementary/Middle, James McHenry Elementary/Middle, Moravia Park Elementary, and Southwest Baltimore Charter. Details and registration can be found here.
“Now more than ever, it is crucial that our students make the most of this summer to build skills, reduce learning loss, and safely engage with their peers,” said Stacie Sanders Evans, Young Audiences President & CEO. “Research has shown that SALA uniquely reduces summer learning loss, and we look forward to building on that track record of success this year, welcoming children back to these joyful, engaging programs.”
To learn more about Young Audiences of Maryland, the Baltimore-based nonprofit that brings arts-integrated programming to students throughout Maryland year-round, visit yamd.org.
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About Young Audiences/Arts for Learning:
Started in Baltimore in 1950, Young Audiences is the nation’s largest arts-in-education provider. As the Maryland affiliate, Young Audiences/Arts for Learning (YA) is devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Young Audiences, professional artists from all disciplines partner with leaders and schools for over 7,000 hands-on arts learning experiences that reach more than 190,000 Maryland students annually. Young Audiences envisions a Maryland where the arts are valued for their capacity to transform lives, and where every student is immersed in opportunities to imagine, to create, and to realize their full potential.