Arts Learning

The community served and its diversity were exactly as planned. The residency was free and all students in that grade participated, including students with special needs. The community celebrations were free as well, and were attended by all students in the schools as well as any family and friends in the broader community who wished to attend. In the planning meetings, I asked the teachers to identify any students with disabilities or other special needs. Then for each, we determined what could be done to make sure that student could participate successfully. For students with the most severe disabilities, they had an assistant with them at all times to help them, which helped a lot. This approach was successful, in that all students participated to the best of their abilities. The actual number of participants was approximately 596 students, which was slightly less than what was projected (615). There is no way to determine the actual number of participants in the community celebrations, but I estimate about 842 PK-8 students and 458 adults (across 5 schools). This is close to what was projected. At Adams and Riverview, they did a separate celebration for each class, to which parents and one or two other classrooms were invited. All-school assemblies were held at Linwood and Wellstone. At Linwood, the celebrations were really packed with parents, with standing room only. It is great to see the excitement of both the parents and the students in these events. Capitol Hill invited the entire first grade, the middle school Theater class, and parents. 596 K-8 students gained new understanding and skill in flamenco, created work that was artistically inspiring to them, and presented it to their communities (1,438 students, parents, and others). 98% of students indicated they had a positive arts experience as defined by a sense of enjoyment, accomplishment, and success. 86% said they would like to learn other new dances and cultures in the future.