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Arts for Learning Maryland Receives $1.7 Million Grant to Expand Early Childhood Programming
Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation funding will support evidence for arts integration
Arts for Learning Maryland (A4L) announced today that it has received a three-year, $1.7 million grant from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation to significantly expand its arts-integrated early childhood programming for children ages 0-6, educators and families, and caregivers.
Through the grant, Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) will advance the field of early childhood education by providing high-quality opportunities to learn in and through the arts in classroom residencies, professional development educator workshops, and family events. As a result, Arts for Learning will reach over 84,000 young children (a 380% increase over its current reach) and 23,000 teachers and caregivers over the next three years through its joyful, arts-integrated programs, supporting school readiness in early learners and strengthening educator and caregiver practice. Arts for Learning will double the number of Maryland counties in which it delivers these programs–from seven to fourteen–providing historically disinvested communities with critical access to its programs.
The Saul Zaentz Foundation grant is the largest private grant in Arts for Learning Maryland’s history and the third grant made to the organization by the Foundation.
“Through its investments in Maryland, the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation seeks to support the arts community, create opportunities for historically disinvested populations, and advance programs for early childhood education and the families of young children. Arts for Learning Maryland’s programming for the young child checks all the boxes,” said Marvin J. Garbis, Director of the Foundation. “We are very proud of its innovative work with artists and young children throughout the area, and we join it in celebrating Month of the Young Child in Maryland.”
The grant comes at the right time for Maryland: early childhood education is identified as one of the four top priorities in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2021. With recent studies showing Maryland kindergarten readiness on the decline, with just 40% of children demonstrating readiness in 2021-2022, the need is clear. The new Arts for Learning Maryland initiatives will prioritize areas that have the lowest school readiness scores.
Arts for Learning Maryland’s work supported by the Foundation grant will:
- Strengthen the skills and knowledge of Maryland’s early learning educators and care providers through expanded professional development experiences. Arts for Learning will provide educators with best-practice-based arts strategies that support early childhood development through workshops, a new Early Learning Professional Development Center with a robust schedule of artful learning opportunities, and the creation of a Childcare Provider Fellowship program of in-depth study and mentor collaborations.
- Deliver more programs for children and their parents that incorporate arts-integrated exploratory play, thus encouraging parents to better understand and meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of their children.
Baby ArtsPlay!™, A4L’s embedded professional development artist-in-residency program, will expand to more counties in Maryland. Arts for Learning will engage 1,600 parents and caregivers a year by 2025. In addition, the organization’s Early Learning Video Portal, an online resource of pre-recorded arts activities, will expand with more videos while becoming more easily accessible via a new phone app. Arts for Learning programs will be offered in more Judy Centers and, for the first time, in Head Start programs across Maryland.
- Build evidence that reinforces the value the arts play in early childhood development. Arts for Learning will conduct research on the impact of the arts on early childhood development, adding to studies from the Arts Education Partnership and others that show that the arts play a crucial role in supporting the cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional growth of young children.
Said Stacie Sanders Evans, Arts for Learning Maryland President & CEO, “This grant from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation affirms the value and success of our art-based approach to development, and enhances our work in providing transformative experiences for early childhood growth and learning. On behalf of the tens of thousands of students and families, and the communities around Maryland that this grant will impact, we’re grateful to the Saul Zaentz Foundation for recognizing our role in expanding these opportunities.”
A4L kicks off today celebrating Month of the Young Child, a collaboration between leading early childhood organizations in the state that elevates the importance of early childhood education and features a wide range of activities for children, childcare providers, and families.
To learn more about Arts for Learning Maryland’s early childhood programs, visit artsforlearningmd.org/programs/early-learning.
Introducing: Month of the Young Child
Join Arts for Learning Maryland in partnership with Maryland Association for the Education of Young Children for Month of the Young Child–a fun-filled month (April 10 – May 5) of arts-integrated workshops, lessons, and activities for ages 3-6.
With interactive, artist-led workshops designed for our youngest learners, participants will explore through dance, movement, and song! Educators, families, and caregivers will build skills and confidence in using arts strategies that support childhood development while students creatively explore topics like language, science, math, and social-emotional learning.
These engaging, impactful experiences are tailored to work for educators AND families, at home or in the classroom!
Access a NEW On-Demand, Virtual Arts Workshop with a different artist every Monday during the event:
- Plant an imaginary seed in Singin’ Sunshine with Alden Phelps
- Empower individual self-expression in Bye Bye Blues with Vesper Osborne
- Learn a traditional Irish Song and Dance in A Céilí: An Irish Music and Dance Party with Marsha Searle
- Have fun learning how to write letters in the ABCs of Rap with Baba Bomani
Weekly Lesson Extensions: Practice skills and engage students in each new art form.
- Revisit and reinforce what students learned in weekly workshops while incorporating arts into your day with carefully crafted lesson plans that integrate learning with music, dance, visual arts, and theatre!
BONUS Friday Meet-and-Greets: End each week of Month of the Young Child by meeting that week’s workshop artist LIVE on Zoom. Ask questions, share and celebrate what you learned, and try something new!
A new, on-demand workshop will be released to stream each Monday and available to rewatch for four weeks after its premiere.
Learn more and register today at artsforlearningmd.org/moyc
Blacktastic Was Fantastic!
What a day! Thank you to everyone for joining us for Blacktastic, the Children’s Festival of Maryland Black History & Culture! For the third year in a row, attendees enjoyed six engaging, arts-infused workshops that celebrated and educated viewers about historic Black Marylanders–and each workshop was supplemented with in-class lessons from an activity book containing hands-on activities to expand on the experience. We reached 43,975 students and 1,746 teachers this year–and with the help of generous sponsors, were able to cover the registration costs for over 12,000 of those students!
We got to see the magic and excitement of Blacktastic first-hand. Teachers and students at Creative City Public Charter School loved spending the day tapping out beats and measures; connecting to poetry, history, and activism; learning the values of musical notes; visiting historical sites around Maryland; and dancing to the music of marching bands and Eubie Blake alike! One teacher rolled up the carpet in his classroom to allow students to tap along with Quynn Johnson while learning about drummer Chick Webb. Across the room, students’ faces reflected joy and concentration as each child challenged themselves to get the steps just right.
In another class, students huddled together in focused groups. After watching The Roots & Rhythm of Chick Webb, they learned to identify musical notes and the value (time) notes represent as parts of a whole (fractions). Using their knowledge of the value of musical notes, these students were working together to decode and solve math problems!
Peeking into another classroom, we saw young students twirling, swaying, and moving to the music of legendary jazz pianist Eubie Blake. On the screen, artist Renée Georges and her band led the children through song and even toured the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center. In the classroom, children were given the space to not only hear a sound from another era, but feel it through their bodies, dancing as the soft light from the projection filtered into the room.
And we can’t forget trivia time! There is nothing like the excitement of Blacktastic Trivia in a classroom. Everyone was bursting with excitement to share what they learned–and indeed, they did learn! Over the three-hour program, students learned that Lillie Carroll Jackson was known as the “Mother of Freedom.” They learned that Matthew Henson was the first person to reach the geographic North Pole; that Chick Webb was prescribed drumming by his doctor; that Mother Mary Lange opened the first school for Black children in Baltimore; that Eubie Blake wrote a Broadway musical called Shuffle Along; and that Lucille Clifton was Maryland’s Poet Laureate. We can only imagine what an awesome journey through history we’ll take next year.
Did you know that the teaching artists who brought this history to life can be brought into your classroom? Learn about our Blacktastic artists and the historical figures we celebrated on our website at artsforlearningmd.org/blacktastic.
Blacktastic: Children’s Festival of Maryland Black History & Culture returns this February
This Black History Month, tens of thousands of Maryland students will celebrate the joy of Black history and culture through the arts at Blacktastic: A Children’s Festival of Maryland Black History & Culture—a day-long, arts-integrated, performance-packed virtual experience produced by the nonprofit Arts for Learning Maryland.
On Thursday, February 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Blacktastic will deliver seven inspiring performances and educational workshops by teaching artists that celebrate renowned Black Marylanders—building pride of place among students in the process.
Led by dancers, storytellers, Hip Hop artists, and marching bands from Morgan State University and Milford Mill Academy, students will find engaging lessons on renowned Black Marylanders such as Chick Webb, Mathew Henson, Lucille Clifton, Lillie Carroll Jackson, Mother Mary Lange, and Eubie Blake. Teaching artists will be presenting from historic sites associated with each Marylander—making Blacktastic a virtual field trip for students.
By infusing traditional learning with artistic expression, Blacktastic transforms traditional learning experiences while reinforcing classroom lessons in english, history, science, and math with curriculum-aligned content.
Last year, more than 30,000 students attended Blacktastic from every county in Maryland. Educators are invited to register today to bring their classes or entire schools to this virtual experience for all ages.
Said Jessica Hebron, Arts for Learning Maryland’s Chief Program Officer, “students will celebrate the joyful, beautiful, inspiring history of Black culture in Maryland by learning the stories of Marylanders who have broken barriers, made change, and inspired millions!”
Registration for Blacktastic includes a digital activity book that reinforces what students learned during the festival through hands-on experiences. A variety of affordable pricing options are available to individual classrooms or entire schools. And all registrants will have access to the festival recording through June.
To learn more about Blacktastic, visit artsforlearningmd.org/blacktastic.
Meet a few Early Learning Teaching Artists!
Dance… puppetry… music… theater… no matter the art form, our early learning teaching artists are absolutely incredible–bringing their creativity to the education and development of our youngest learners!
In the process, they’re finding inspiration to support their own work and building skills and perspectives that change them for the better. But don’t take our word for it, meet a few of our early learning teaching artists–tap dancer Quynn Johnson, musician Lisa Mathews, and dancer Laura Schandelmeier–and hear their thoughts on the role, below! Learn more about our Early Learning programs, on our website.
Interested in becoming an early learning teaching artist? We’re recruiting now until February 3! Learn more at artsforlearningmd.org/programs/early-learning/become-an-early-learning-artist.
Student Artwork on Display at the BMA: Visual Metaphors of the COVID-19 Pandemic
What do you imagine it would be like to be a child in a global pandemic? Would your memories be linear, or would they come to you in no particular order? Would they be made of things you saw with your eyes, or things you felt in your chest? What are the images that would stay with you?
Children were asked to imagine how they would explain what it’s like to grow up in a pandemic when they met artist Katherine Dilworth for the first time in their elementary school art rooms this year. The fiber artist worked with students in two Maryland elementary schools–Bannockburn Elementary in Montgomery County and Bryant Woods Elementary in Howard County–over a series of weeks as part of an Arts for Learning residency to design and create quilts composed of visual metaphors reflecting on life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sections from the quilts reflecting on life during the COVID-19 pandemic will be on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art on December 4 from 1-5 pm as part of their Community Day Celebration.
In this video, artist Katherine Dilworth explains the process of working with elementary school students on the creation of a needle-felted pandemic quilt.
Dilworth taught the students how to illustrate their ideas onto squares using a technique called needle felting. With tufts of dyed sheep wool and barred needles in hand, students reflected on and recreated their fresh memories and ongoing realities. They built up layers of fiber to illustrate hopefulness and isolation, new ways of communicating and connecting, sadness, fearfulness, and quiet. Some of the metaphors that emerged were of starry nights and the vast universe, there was a caged chicken, a dove delivering a vaccine-filled syringe to the world, and a rainbow spectrum of virus molecules. Once their individual metaphors were complete, teachers, parents, and even grandparents came together to assemble the students’ work into giant quilts.
And now the greater community has the chance to experience the artwork that resulted from these residencies. Sections from the quilts reflecting on life during the COVID-19 pandemic will be on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art on December 4 from 1-5 pm as part of their Community Day Celebration. In addition, Katherine Dilworth will be leading needle-felting workshops at the museum for the general public on that day.
Learn about the event at the BMA on their website.
Dear Brown Skin Boy, Dear Brown Skin Girl
Middle school students had the opportunity to work with spoken word poet and teaching artist Femi the Drifish at this year’s Summer Arts for Learning at Goodnow. During the six-week-long program at the recently re-opened community center managed by Arts for Learning, the class imagined and discussed how children with brown skin experience the world. The girls in the class composed poems saying, “Dear brown skin boy,” and the boys, “Dear brown skin girl.” The class read their poems aloud for parents, staff, and the entire Goodnow community at the program’s culminating performance.
What the audience experienced was honest, powerful, and emotional. Some of the students’ words celebrate beauty, while others express deep pain, and all beautifully and poignantly illustrate the perspectives, fears, and dreams of some of the most valuable members of our community–our children. Let their voices and messages be heard.
Dear brown skin boy,
I’m confused and afraid.
I wonder what path I would take.
I hear that there’s only two ways out.
I see mothers burying their sons.
I want my mom to never feel that pain.
I’m confused and afraid.
I pretend all is fine.
I feel like I’m suffocating.
I touch nothing.
So I believe all is fine.
I worry that it isn’t.
I cry no more.
I’m confused and afraid.
I understand people believe
I am just a statistic.
I say to them I’m different.
I dream of life getting easier.
I try my best to make my dream come true.
I hope that it does.
I’m confused and afraid.
Dear brown skin boy.
Arts for Learning at Goodnow brings meaningful and joyful experiences to the community year-round. Our free, in-person, arts-integrated afterschool program for K-8th grade students is currently open for enrollment. Learn more about the program and how to register for Arts for Learning at Goodnow Afterschool at artsforlearningmd.org/goodnow.
Thomas M. Brown Elected to Arts for Learning Maryland Board of Directors
Thomas M. Brown has been elected to the Board of Directors of Arts for Learning Maryland, the nonprofit delivering arts-integrated learning experiences through engaging teaching artist workshops and performances. Mr. Brown is a partner at Finance Forward, a strategic wealth management firm. He specializes in estate, financial, and charitable planning; insurance; and medical underwriting. In addition to his leadership role at Arts for Learning, Mr. Brown is emeritus trustee of the Institute of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies and a member of the development committee at the Walters Art Museum.
Arts for Learning Maryland reaches thousands of students in every Maryland county. By connecting students and educators with teaching artists, Arts for Learning Maryland transforms learning and encourages exploration, expression, and creativity through compelling and engaging arts-integrated educational experiences in and out of the classroom.
Arts for Learning Teaching Artists Engage Educators at UMBC Arts Integration Conference
Earlier this month, two teaching artists went back to school—but they weren’t guiding students through their creative, arts-integrated approach; this time, they were guiding educators!
On October 1, the UMBC Arts Integration Conference brought together teachers, principals, district leaders, and organizations to explore new ideas and best practices for using arts integration to enhance student learning and classroom instruction. Featuring a range of workshops, presentations, and collaborative discussions, the conference was an inspiring look at what arts integration can be for students.
Arts for Learning teaching artists Quynn Johnson and Katherine Lyons delivered workshops that inspired and educated participants!
In Quynn Johnson’s workshop, Once Upon a Rhythm, the dancer and choreographer guided attendees on how tap dance and its elements—like beat, improvisation, and choreography—can be used to strengthen literacy and math skills for young learners. The workshop featured demonstrations, discussions, and suggestions for delivering tap dance arts integration in the classroom! Learn more about Quynn and her programs here.
In Math Detectives – Where’s the Math? Using Drama to Discover the Math Hidden in Books, storyteller and theater artist Katherine Lyons helped attendees look at books in a different way to uncover instructional math concepts embedded in stories that students read and love. Attendees explored fun, arts-based classroom experiences that support the curriculum such as numbers and number sense, geometry, algebra, measurement, and more! Learn more about Katherine’s programs here.
These compelling workshops and other impactful arts-integrated programs are available to educators across Maryland! Click here to explore all of the Progressional Development workshops our artists offer.
New Chief of People, Equity, and Culture Joins Arts for Learning Maryland
Arts for Learning Maryland, the Baltimore-based nonprofit that transforms student learning in Maryland through arts integration, announced the hiring of DJ Brooks as its new Chief of People, Equity, and Culture — a new position for the 72-year-old organization.
As Chief of People, Equity, and Culture, Brooks will lead the organization’s work around diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as the strategic development and implementation of Arts for Learning’s talent management, recruitment, retention, onboarding and offboarding.
Brooks is a highly trained leader with 10 years of experience in public education and nonprofit sectors. He brings strong expertise in business operations, organizational development, talent management, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
He was most recently the Director of Strategy and Logistics at Cardozo Education Campus for the DC Public School System.
Arts for Learning Maryland reaches thousands of students in every Maryland county with engaging, arts-integrated learning experiences, connecting students and educators with teaching artists. The unique approach transforms learning and encourages exploration, expression, and engagement in traditional academic content as well as creative fields.
“At Arts for Learning we are on a mission to intentionally create office and classroom learning environments of belonging. Where every person in and served by this organization, especially Black, brown, indigenous people and people of color, feel loved, valued, affirmed, and included,” said Stacie Sanders Evans, President and CEO of Arts for Learning Maryland. “To ensure greater accountability, and to create a deeper and more sustainable capacity for our equity work, we created a senior level position, Chief of People, Equity, and Culture. We’re thrilled to welcome DJ to the team.”
About Arts for Learning Maryland
Arts for Learning Maryland (formerly Young Audiences of Maryland) is a nonprofit organization devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. Through Arts for Learning, professional teaching artists from all disciplines partner with educators, schools, and school districts to provide, on average, over 300,000 hours of learning in, through, and about the arts to more than 185,000 Maryland students annually.
Summer with Arts for Learning Maryland – A Recap
Another A4L amazing summer is in the books… and on easels, and on stage, and in lyrics…!
Over the last three months, 2,265 students engaged in Arts for Learning Maryland summer programs. They got creative, explored new art forms, enhanced their learning of traditional subjects through the arts, and prepared for their future academic and personal successes!
Students used music and rhythm to practice counting, theatre to better understand the stories they were reading, photography to capture the science around them, and much, much (much!) more!
Speaking of counting, summer with Arts for Learning Maryland by-the-numbers included:
2,265 students in PreK through 11th grade
103 teaching artists who used their amazing talents to inspire students, introducing them to music, theater, dance, writing, storytelling, painting, illustration, spoken word poetry, photography, sculpture, and embroidery
307 educators and supporting staff who integrated the arts into their teaching to create dynamic, interactive learning experiences
30,000+ pieces of art created by students
These numbers exceed last summer, with more students, more impact, and more creative arts-integrated learning! Here’s how it all happened:
Summer Arts for Learning Academy: In this free six-week program, thousands of PreK through 6th-grade students at nine sites across Baltimore City worked with educators and teaching artists to build literacy and math skills through the arts while diving deep into art forms of their choosing. This was the largest iteration of SALA in its eight-year history! Find photos from this summer here.
Summer Arts for Learning at Goodnow: Dozens of students loved this free program at Arts for Learning at Goodnow, the newly reopened community center managed by Arts for Learning in East Baltimore’s Frankford neighborhood. Students worked with artists to dance, write poetry, learn to DJ, and even practice yoga and mindfulness. Find photos here.
Bloomberg Arts Internship Program: 40 rising City Schools seniors – the most interns in the history of the Baltimore program – gained meaningful work experience through paid internships at 18 local arts institutions, supplemented by mentorship and guidance on writing, college applications, and career readiness. Check out a photo gallery from the program, here.
Northeast Baltimore Community Center to Reopen as Arts for Learning at Goodnow
Community hub will offer programs in Arts for Learning’s first community-based location
BALTIMORE – For 27 years, the Goodnow Community Center has been the heart of Northeast Baltimore’s Frankford neighborhood, a popular gathering place for community events, youth programs, and adult recreation leagues. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Center suspended operations.
But in July, the Center, at 5311 Goodnow Road, will be reborn as Arts for Learning at Goodnow, a hub of joyful, enriching, and creative experiences for area students and the entire community.
The Baltimore-based nonprofit Arts for Learning Maryland’s first step when assuming management of the center will be to bring free summer programming back to the community this July. Arts for Learning’s signature approach is artist-led creative experiences and year-round educational programming that integrate the arts to make the learning more engaging for Maryland students. Arts for Learning at Goodnow will also offer free arts-based afterschool programs during the school year to children in the neighborhood and who attend the neighborhood schools of Furley Elementary, Moravia Park Elementary, Sinclair Lane Elementary, Vanguard Collegiate Middle, and City Neighbors Charter School as well as partner with the community to produce other events.
The building owner, The Morton and Sophia Macht Foundation, Inc., enlisted Arts for Learning Maryland to operate the Center due to its familiarity with the nonprofit’s experience delivering engaging, transformational arts and educational programming.
Said Amy Macht from the Foundation, “Arts for Learning’s growth into the provision of full-day summer learning with its integrated arts curriculum, and its after-school programs has been phenomenal and inspiring. The Center wishes to bring that programming to youth in the community.”
Assuming the role of managing partner organization is a significant milestone for Arts for Learning, whose work, over the past seventy-two years, has primarily taken place in schools. The Center is the nonprofit’s first community-based site. Until now, Arts for Learning reached 180,000 Maryland students a year by bringing artists into schools and classrooms to creatively enhance learning.
“We know the arts have the power to transform lives and transform learning,” said Stacie Sanders Evans, President and CEO of Arts for Learning Maryland. “We are excited to expand our reach beyond the classroom and into neighborhoods. At Arts for Learning at Goodnow, we can show how the arts are universal and connect everything in life, be it academics, athletics, or gardening. With this new location, we’ll lift up how artists and art can create and foster community.”
Evans also sees this as a hub for innovation and a place to elevate what happens when work is rooted in cultural inclusion and equity. Students and families will be at the center of programmatic planning, giving voice to the community and curating their interest while giving artists an opportunity to develop new ideas and ways to positively impact the development of young people.
“Providing young people with a safe space to learn, grow, and play profoundly impacts their development. Having spent much time at the Goodnow Community Center, I know what reopening it means for our young people in Northeast Baltimore,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “I want to thank Arts for Learning Maryland for stepping forward and bringing arts and education programming into this long-valued community space.”
The Center’s official re-opening is marked by the beginning of Summer Arts for Learning at Goodnow, a free, six-week program for City Schools K-8 students to collaborate and engage with peers in art-making, athletics, and STEM-based learning. The program is modeled after Arts for Learning’s Summer Arts for Learning Academy, which operates out of nine Baltimore City Schools, and serves 3,000 students across the City.
To learn more about Arts for Learning at Goodnow, visit artsforlearningmd.org/goodnow.