Fellowship Program
The Turnaround Arts Fellowship Program is a professional development opportunity for educators and artists seeking to further their teaching practice by engaging arts-full strategies, collaboration, and research.
Join a vibrant community of educators dedicated to transforming learning through the arts. This fellowship provides the support and resources needed to develop culturally responsive, joyful, and arts-integrated teaching practices that foster belonging and student success.
Current Fellows
Meet the
During the school year, fellows meet monthly in virtual sessions to explore the science of belonging, arts-full teaching strategies and approaches, practice-based reflections, and other relevant topics. Fellows work in groups to explore the belonging outcomes that are the result of intentional planning for students and educators in the three domains of the learning framework: Experiencing the Arts, Making Art, and Connecting Through the Arts.
Together, fellows contribute to Turnaround Arts’ ongoing research and development of the framework centering on arts-full educational environments for belonging.
Chelsey (Barmore) Brunelle
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Program Manager at Turnaround Arts: California, Chelsey collaborates with schools to develop strategic arts plans and supports partnerships with community organizations and teaching artists statewide. In addition, she co-designs equity-centered workshops and serves as a thought partner for school leaders, exploring how the arts can be leveraged to provide access to learning for all students. As a Teach For America alumna and former educator, Chelsey has honed her skills in both the Bay and Greater Los Angeles areas. Notably, she established a nationally recognized student-run literary magazine to amplify youth voices through empowered artistic expression.
Abigail Dias
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Abigail is a science teacher at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, RI. She has been teaching for four years and working with Turnaround Arts for the last three years. She played a key role in reestablishing her school’s musical program after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic, and has now put on three shows. As a science teacher, she integrates arts-based teaching practices into her curriculum, and has led professional developments to help other teachers do the same. Most recently, she led a group of students to perform at the 2024 Turnaround Arts Student Showcase.
Mary Deputie
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Mary is currently a second grade teacher at Bethune Arts Elementary in Minneapolis, MN. This incoming school year will be her ninth year of teaching and working with Turnaround Arts. She is proud to work in an environment that promotes the importance of arts education, especially in an urban setting. She believes art integration is imperative to development and creating well-rounded, well-prepared learners and future creative leaders.
Andrew Jones
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Andrew is currently in his third year of teaching second grade at Woodville Elementary in Richmond, VA. In addition to that, he is also a working artist and works primarily with acrylic paint. He typically works within the realms of afrosurrealism with an aim to represent black people in more positive ways.
Lee Petruzzelli
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Lee is a teacher for the New York City Department of Education at J.H.S. 144. For the past 20 years, he has been teaching instrumental music/band at J.H.S 144 in the Bronx. He has degrees in music, music education, and composition from the State University of New York at Albany as well as Hunter College in New York City. At J.H.S. 144, Lee functions as the Arts Liaison to the Department of Education and has partnered with Lincoln Center’s Arts in the Middle, Exploring the Arts, Mr. Hollands Opus Foundation, and Turnaround Arts.
Brandite “Brandi” Reed
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Brandi grew up in the city of Milwaukee's arts and entertainment district of Bronzeville. Under the guidance of her mother Linda Reed, Brandi and her sisters were afforded the opportunity to be mentored by many teaching artists such as Melvin Rhyne and the late great Jazz legend, Dr. Betty Carter. Brandi is a proud alumni of Dr. Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program at Brooklyn Academy of Music and Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. These experiences have not only influenced Brandi’s artistry, but her love of music and her passion for quality arts education as well. She is currently a Teaching Artist in three of Milwaukee’s Turnaround Arts Schools through community partner First Stage Children’s Theater.
Demond Richardson
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Demond is the assistant principal at Roosevelt Middle School for the Arts in Milwaukee, WI. He has been in education for 26 years, specifically working in middle schools. He considers himself a middle school specialist. He enjoys outdoor activities that include golf, camping, and hiking. He looks forward to collaborating with like-minded individuals regarding art implementation into the classroom.
Ann Salvador
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Ann is a fifth grade teacher at Abbott Elementary in California, and has taught for 20 years as an upper grade teacher. Besides teaching, she loves to volunteer for Sierra Club ICO, which takes students and families hiking and camping. In her spare time, she loves to travel, especially to places known for their BBQs! Overall, she enjoys life and learning new things.
Crystal Tapia
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Crystal is the Community Schools Case Manager at Washington Elementary in Lynwood Unified School District in California. With a focus on the Community Schools initiative, Crystal spearheads efforts to foster community engagement and student success. Passionate about equity and holistic support, she champions inclusive environments where every student thrives.
Shalina Wallace
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Shalina currently teaches English to multilingual learners at Moulton Elementary School in Des Moines, IA. She also teaches an after-school program in Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that integrates music, dance, movement, language, and history. Prior to teaching English, she taught elementary music for 10 years. In her spare time, she enjoys camping and hiking with her family.
Ready to be a Fellow?
Join the 2025-2026 Arts-full Collaborative Teaching Cohort
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The Turnaround Arts Fellowship Program is a professional development experience for educators and artists seeking to further their teaching practice by engaging arts-full strategies, collaboration, and research. The purpose of the fellowship is to grow the capacity and network of the next generation of educators who are committed to joyful, culturally responsive, arts-full teaching that builds belonging and supports student thriving and learning. In this second year of the fellowship, pairs of educators from Kennedy Center affiliated schools will work to activate the Turnaround Arts Learning Framework: Arts-full Practices for Belonging.
In addition to working and learning together at the Kennedy Center’s Arts Education Conference in June 2025, fellows will engage as a cohort in monthly virtual meetings throughout the 2025-2026 school year. These sessions will explore the science of belonging, arts-full teaching strategies and approaches, practice-based reflections, and other relevant topics. Together, fellows will contribute to Turnaround Arts’ ongoing research and development of supporting materials for the Turnaround Arts Learning Framework.
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For this year’s fellowship cohort, We are looking for five pairs of educators from Title 1 schools within the Kennedy Center Education network. This network includes Turnaround Arts, Any Given Child, Partners in Education, Changing Education Through the Arts, and DC School and community Initiatives. Educators should be committed to implementing arts-full practices for belonging in their classrooms. Fellowship pairs must include one arts teacher (either a certified arts teacher at the school or a partner teaching artist committed to supporting the school) of any art form (music, visual art, dance, media arts, drama, etc.) and one subject area/grade level/classroom teacher (all subjects and grades PK-8 are eligible). Both partners should have a desire to expand and enrich their artistic practices within their classroom, school, and community. Successful fellows will be eager to contribute their skills, reflect on their learning, and build belonging through their teaching practice. Fellowship pairs will collaborate to create arts-full activations (e.g. curriculum, projects, events, etc.) that bring the TA Learning Framework to their school. Fellows should be willing to work together outside of cohort meeting times to plan, implement and document the work that happens in their school.
While we recognize the importance of professional learning for principals, administrative, support or counseling staff, this year’s program is designed only for educators working within classrooms. We hope to be able to offer such opportunities for other education professionals in the near future!
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Application Timeline
January 21— Application released
March 14 — Application due
April 15 — Selected applicants notified
April 22 — Deadline for selected applicants to accept
June 22-25 — Fellowship begins at Arts in Education Conference (Arlington, VA)
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Who can apply to be a Turnaround Arts Fellow?
Applicants must apply in pairs. Both applicants must anticipate working at a Title I school within the Kennedy Center education network (Turnaround Arts, Any Given Child, Partners in Education, Changing Education Through the Arts, or DC School and Community Initiatives) for the 2025-2026 school year.
Each pair must include:
One Arts Teacher: A teacher who provides instruction in any artistic discipline for the school’s students. This person can be a certified arts teacher employed by the school or a teaching artist who works with students during the school day in an ongoing partnership. This person can teach any art form, such as music, visual arts, dance, media arts, drama, etc
One Academic Subject Area/Grade Level/Classroom (Non-Arts) Teacher: A teacher who provides classroom instruction in subject area(s) outside of the arts. This teacher could be a grade-level teacher or a subject-area teacher. (Ex. Grade 3 teacher, Middle School Science teacher).
*If you are affiliated with a Turnaround Arts school that has closed or exited the program, you can inquire about eligibility.
What is the commitment?
Fellows will gather with a welcome dinner for the cohort on June 22 in Arlington, VA, before attending the Kennedy Center’s annual Arts Education Conference (AEC) June 23-25, 2025. During AEC, Fellows will attend 2-3 suggested sessions, as well as any other sessions of their choosing. Fellows will also participate in a half-day Turnaround Arts Fellowship introductory workshop the afternoon of June 25. From September 2025 through May 2026, Fellows will attend monthly virtual cohort meetings (approximately 2 hours each). Between cohort meetings, Fellows will work with their partner to create, implement and document arts-full practices that align with the TA Learning Framework. Fellows will meet with their partners outside of full cohort meetings in order to plan and record their work. Fellows will also contribute to an Arts-full Practices for Belonging digital archive that will be published by Turnaround Arts in order to support other educators, artists, and administrators in building arts-full environments.
What do fellows receive for participating?
All fellows receive free registration and four nights at a hotel for the Arts Education Conference in Arlington, VA (June 22-25, 2025), as well as up to $500 for other conference travel expenses. Each fellow will also receive a $2,000 stipend for taking part in the year-long program .
Do I have to attend the Arts Education Conference in June 2025 to be part of this program?
Yes. Fellows will spend a half-day after the conference concludes engaging with the Turnaround Arts Learning Framework and preparing for their work together throughout the year. This session is mandatory for all fellows, who will receive free registration and hotel accommodations. Turnaround Arts will assist all accepted fellows with registration — you do not need to register for this conference prior to submitting your application. Before applying, please make sure you are available to be in Arlington, VA from the evening of June 22 until the late afternoon of June 25.
Do I have to attend all of the virtual monthly meetings?
Fellows are required to attend at least eight of the nine monthly cohort meetings. These 2-hour meetings will take place one Monday a month from September–May. Tentative 2025-2026 meeting schedule:
September 8 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
October 6 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
November 10 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
December 8 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
January 12 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
February 9 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
March 9 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
April 13 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
May 11 (7-9p ET / 6-8p CT / 5-7p MT / 4-6p PT)
What makes a good candidate for this fellowship?
We are looking for a diverse cohort of educators who:
Enjoy critical reflection and learning and actively seek out professional learning opportunities.
Experiment with different pedagogical approaches and resist “we’ve always done it that way” thinking.
Value both teaching and learning in conversation with other educators.
Demonstrate ongoing commitment to anti-racist, culturally responsive teaching.
Use play and prioritize joy in their teaching and enjoy playing with others in learning environments – even over Zoom!
Will be an active participant in an online professional learning community of educators from around the country.
Can commit to attending fellowship cohort meetings as well as additional planning time with their partner throughout the 2025-2026 school year (4+ hours per month).
How do I apply?
Review the Fellowship Application before you apply
How am I evaluated?
Review the Application Rubric to support your application
Should you have further questions or concerns, please contact Fellowship Program Co-leads:
Laura Epperson
Stephanie Lash Kilpatrick