STEM plus Arts = Learning Full STEAM ahead!

The powerful GIFT of LITERACY

We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well!  As usual here at Story Tapestries, we are working hard this holiday season to end illiteracy through arts integration.

Did you know, according to a study conducted in late April by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can't read? That's 14% of the population and the next 29% exhibited only a "basic" reading level (4th grade).

Arts integration has the ability to unlock a multitude of learning abilities. More of the brain is at work when the arts are part of the learning process, strengthening attentiveness, reaction time and comprehension and long-term retention. Many of the schools we have held art-literacy programs at, showed nearly 90% improvement on test scores.  So as you prepare to bless your friends and family this season, we ask that you would consider partnering with Story Tapestries by becoming one of our champions, SPREAD THE WORD!!

We have had an incredible year and we plan on not only finishing 2015 strong, but getting a great start on 2016. Check out what teachers, professionals and parents are saying after having experienced the difference that just one program can make in lives.

Student Engagement

“Seeing the student engagement was amazing.  We have a lot of compliant students but I was able to see engagement not just compliance.” Literacy Coach, Rosewood ES, Vero Beach, FL

Overcoming Linguistic and Social Struggles

“In the last several years we’ve been able to offer programs that use the talents of Story Tapestries teaching artists to use arts integration techniques to help our students and teachers grow. We’ve seen that with the specific linguistic and social struggles our children face, these methods are incredibly effective in helping students learn.” Principal, Gaithersburg ES, Gaithersburg, MD

Family Literacy Nights

“This was one of the best, if not the best, program we have heard in the past ten years’ offerings for Reading night. We highly recommend Arianna with her Story Tapestries programs for any age.” Media Specialist, Quantico Base, VA

Accessing Hidden Talents and Abilities

“You enabled our students to think beyond what they read about in our VA Studies textbook. Students tapped into talents and abilities in ways they are not always able to display in a traditional classroom setting.” 4th Gr. Teacher, Carlin Springs ES, Arlington, VA

We love sharing the impact we are having in our communities.  Please take a moment to check out a video about our mission HERE, then check out our blog HERE to see updates from our

We frequently share stories about how students and families have been impacted by a Story Tapestries event, workshop or residency.  Another beautiful facet we love is working directly with teachers, community leaders and other professionals by supplying the tools and skills to build on the work we do with students.  Adults, like students, are often hesitant to engage initially but after a few warm up activities they are transformed as the sessions move forward.

Bomani Armah, a hip-hop songwriter and one of our collaborators, recently taught a Professional Development Workshop training all staff connected the YMCA Youth and Family Services (YFS), a community-based, comprehensive social services branch of the YMCA Metropolitan Washington. YMCA – YFS provides school and community-based prevention and early intervention services to at-risk and under-served children and families from across Montgomery County, MD. Most of the services they provide are free to the community.

This workshop with Bomani focused on creative writing through hip-hop and was an INCREDIBLE SUCCESS! The counselors were visibly eager to learn how to bring the tips and lessons from the class to their students. The workshop attendees wrote rhyming raps of their own lives and performed to music in front of each other. It was amazing to see everyone smiling and laughing as they succeeded with a new skill, you can see the beauty HERE.

We have additional workshops scheduled at this location and next time the students will be brought in to join the fun. We are really looking forward to observing teachers incorporate lessons from our workshops into their classrooms. The raps they wrote in the class were just the tip of the iceberg.

Like many other community centers or schools, wanted a continuous program that would build a solid foundation with their staff and students. Their Benchmarks Program, focused on Middle School age, goal is to catch the students at the point where they are starting to show they are not sure about education, as they are starting to lose their desire to learn and to reignite their love of learning. We were thrilled to be invited to provide an artist-in-residency in this program. An artist-in-residency program creates the opportunity for a child to participate in a 5-day program that provides a literacy boost that lasts a lifetime. Providing this opportunity costs only $40 (on average) to make a real and lasting difference in a student’s life.