November 2015 Newsletter: Update on Early Childhood Education

We are so excited to launch our focus on early childhood education (ECE), thanks to new support from the U.S. Department of Education and a partnership with Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts. We started our work at the Summer Leadership Retreat with a cohort of ECE coaches from each region selected to serve as leaders and peer coaches. The cohort, which includes early childhood teachers and instructional coaches, came together for five days of learning and community building at our conference. ECE coaches attended outstanding sessions, including several led by our partners Crayola and Wolf Trap. The ECE coaches learned the basics of early childhood arts integration, created tableaus, explored teaching math through motion, and explored how to use music in their classrooms with Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artists. Coaches also practiced advocating for the arts in early childhood and learned how to engage families with Crayola. At our final circle-up, coaches shared their enthusiasm for taking many of the new tools they learned at the conference back to their classrooms and schools.

The structures of this program are pretty simple and flexible, but already they’re being implemented across the country in lots of exciting ways. ECE coaches are thinking about how to share strategies and lend support to their peers. Many coaches, like Brenda, Ana and Maria Elena in California are working on perfecting a few arts-based strategies in their classrooms so they can become model classrooms; places for other teachers from their school and from across their region to come observe and learn. Other coaches, like Jodi-Ann and Tiffany in Bridgeport, are supporting teachers throughout their region by offering professional development and peer coaching.

Part of the strength of this program comes from partners old and new. We were excited to launch our partnership the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, a national leader in early childhood arts integration. Our partnership will bring artist residencies into each of our D.C. schools, as well as week-long residencies to one school each in California, Minnesota, Des Moines, and Chicago. Additionally, Wolf Trap will be providing training and support through webinars and other resource development. Our ECE coaches and teachers will undoubtedly learn a lot through this partnership. Crayola is also supporting this focus through the development of family engagement resources. These workshops empower ECE coaches to facilitate conversations with students’ families on how to talk about creativity with their children. Schools from Broward County to Hawai`i and California have already begun sharing these sessions with families with great success.

Our Turnaround Artists are jumping right in to early childhood classrooms as well. Recently, during our Hawai`i launch, Turnaround Artist Jack Johnson used music at Waianae Elementary to teach young learners about the rain forest and preserving the environment. Kindergarten students also shared with Artists Jack Johnson and Alfre Woodard their new morning routine of signing the actor’s contract – a tool their teachers and leaders learned at the Summer Leadership Retreat. The din of hundreds of students’ chatter turned to silence as they went through their morning ritual of reminding themselves that they are in control of their body, voice, imagination, concentration, and collaboration.

These kindergarteners in Waianae represent students and teachers in the early grades across our regions and schools who are prepared to have a wonderful, arts-rich year.