Teach Literacy through the Arts in DC, MD, and VA

Happy 2015!

We hit the ground running this year and are already deep into building our programs and services bigger and better for the New Year. According to the National Council on Teachers of English Standards for the English Language Arts, “To participate fully in society and the workplace in 2020, citizens will need powerful literacy abilities that until now have been achieved by only a small percentage of the population.” The time is now for students master these skills!

While the nation’s overall dropout rate is declining, Secretary Arne Duncan has stated that the dropout rate is still “unsustainably high for a knowledge-based economy and still unacceptably high in our African-American, Latino, and Native-American communities.” This means it is more important than ever for us to continue moving forward in our work of  teaching literacy through the arts, especially for these communities who have limited access to such educational resources.

Truthfully, some days our work is a challenge....students are distracted, teachers over-burdened with testing, administrators taxed over managing the every-changing moving parts of the school system...BUT...every time we hear a positive response from a teacher about how our work has helped motivate them to think about old lessons in a new way, or every time a student gleefully proclaims the correct answer to a once daunting question..we remember, THIS is why we must go on! THIS is why we LOVE our work. 

But you don't have to just take my word for it, check out these quotes about Arianna and Story Tapestries.......

“She creates an environment where the children feel safe to take risks and grow from their mistakes. It is with her soft yet strong voice that guides the children.”

            -Franklin Wassmer, Principal, Washington DC

“Thank you for inspiring me to remember how I used to teach.”

            -Jen Flores, 1^st Grade Teacher, Barrett Elementary School, VA

 “They sat in awe! She exceeded our expectations. We want her back next year!!”

            -Adrian Blount, Administrator, Ideal Academy, Washington DC