Virtual Classroom: Multi-literacy tools for all!

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.

We've witnessed the power of the arts through the many sucesses we've achieved through our work. We are confident that this website will serve as a powerful tool for sharing educational tools and resources with a nation-wide audience. But you don't have to just take my word for it, check out these quotes about Story Tapestries.......

"I believe that a quality education unleashes opportunities for an individual's future.  I participate with the Boardof Story Tapestries with the goal of providing improved educational opportunities to more students so they have an opportunity for a brighter future!" Katie Mongelli, Board Member

“Thank you for working so closely with our teachers, being so creative, and inspiring our children to think above and beyond.” Shelly Cefalu, PTA representative at North Forest Pines Elementary School

For Story Tapestries, arts integration goes much deeper than just being a tool for learning; it creates a way to weave our stories together to create community. It helps us belong. However, the bleak reality is that too many people have never had the opportunity to be enriched by the arts. While there are many reasons why this happens, most often the reason people don’t get to experience arts integration is painfully simple yet seemingly unavoidable: funding was unavailable. And almost always, the people who suffer the most from the absence of art tend to lack access and privilege. They’re essentially left behind, and possibly miss out on learning something that could dramatically shape their lives.

Thank you for your generosity and thank you for being a part of helping to improve the lives of individuals throughout the country.

Happy Holidays!

Links:

• Story Tapestries