STEM plus Arts = Learning Full STEAM ahead!

As we enter a new academic year, there are inevitably mixed emotions. Story Tapestries is excited to return to schools such as Neelsville Middle School and Montgomery Village Middle School where we are partnering with other local nonprofits to make a deep impact on the students who are struggling. We recognize that while many families have spent the summer participating in camps, traveling on vacation, reading books, playing outside and shopping for the new year's backpack, clothes and more - far too many families have not been able to enjoy these same activities. Some children are ashamed and embarassed to use the same backpack as last year. While we are not in the business of providing backpacks, the work that we are doing is ensuring that this cycle of disparity comes to an end, and that in the meantime that child with less than another still comes to the classroom with the same possibilities for learning and succeeding, without fear or shame. In arts integrated lessons, teachers engage their students by leading exercises that use their voices, their bodies and their creative minds and encourages them to share in multiple ways - verbally, in writing, in drawings, in song, multimedia and more. This allows the educator to cross barriers of language, for example, and creates avenues for every student to participate fully and learn to their greatest capacity. This is what arts integration is all about and it's the kind of work we are committed to providing at low to no cost thanks to the support of believers like you.

We are excited to share that one of our nation's most important arts institutions, The Kennedy Center, supports this principle in learning and has extended their vision as a performance and arts education organization even farther to embrace the concept of flexibility and providing artists in the DC community what they need. In the works since 2013, the Kennedy Center is opening its state-of-the-art all-purpose arts facility, the REACH, this September. Designed by renowned architect, Steven Holl, the new building, dubbed “the REACH,” doesn’t have a definition. It isn’t an opera house. It isn’t a nightclub, a performing arts school, a theater or concert hall—yet all the art forms traditionally housed in such places will likely find fresh vitality within its walls. The REACH is a blank slate. And that’s by design. Robert van Leer, Senior VP of Programming for the Kennedy Center, told writer Noel Morris, "The role of community is a big part of this.Creating studios, rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and free access for the public offers a different possibility of relevance fort he community at large."

To kick off the opening of this new multi-purpose space, the Kennedy Center is hosting a myriad of events as part of their Opening Festival from September 7-22. Story Tapestries' Founder and Executive Director, Arianna Ross, will be performing at opening day on September 7. You can participate in any of the more than 500 free events being hosted. Access the festival by getting your own free timed-entry pass here! Find out more about the REACH Opening Festival events from September 7-22 by clicking here. If you live in the area, we hope to see you there!

While this is an exciting event and we are very proud to be part of it, we also remember those children we mentioned that are headed to their first day of school without the basic tools that will support their learning. If you're doing back to school shopping, consider adding an item from our Amazon Wish List and by using AmazonSmile you'll not only provide materials that we'll utilize in artist-in-residency and after-school programs to make sure every student has what they need, you'll also be giving a percentage of your purchase back to Story Tapestries so we can provide more programs at low to no cost for the youth who need them the most.