| Member of the Western New York RLLN | |
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Cultural Organization Contact
Dale Davis , Executive Director The New York State Literary Center 155 South Main Street Fairport, NY 14450 Phone: 585-223-0784 Fax: 585-425-9766 Email: ddavis@nyslc.org Website: www.nyslc.org
School Partner Contact
Margaret Porter, Program Administrator Youth Justice Programs, Rochester CSD 107 North Clinton Avenue Rochester, NY 14604 Phone: 585-262-8939 ext. 2050 Email: margaret.porter@rcsdk12.org Website: www.rcsdk12.org Rochester City School District Superintendent: Manuel J. Rivera, Ed. D. Phone: 585 262-8378 |
Project
Description: The focus of the NYSLC’s ESP School-wide Arts Partnership with the Rochester City School District’s Youth and Justice Programs at the Monroe County Jail is teaching and learning through the arts for incarcerated adolescents, a population that research has demonstrated is at the highest risk for educational failure. The partnership serves incarcerated adolescents, 15 to 18, who have been tried and convicted as adults and are serving sentences of one year or under; and adolescents, 16 to 18, who have been arrested and are awaiting trial. Literacy and motivation for reluctant learners are at the foundation of the partnership now moving into its first year of implemenation after a successful planning project. The goals, refined through the planning project, are: 1. To reinforce basic literacy and the NYS ELA Standards; 2. To develop strategies to engage the reluctant learner; 3. To develop a culturally relevant curriculum for a transient population; 4. To create opportunities for lifelong learning; 4. To expand horizons; 5. To develop a sense of self, well-being, and community belonging. The Planning Project’s focus was the creation of a classroom community in which incarcerated adolescents could develop the skills and habits of mind to convey meaning through, and recover meaning from, a range of symbol systems, most explicitly, print text. There were three components to the planning project: a pilot program; professional development, including Teaching Artist training; and the establishment of a research base. The pilot pogram consisted of three self-contained modular units, each with a curriculum designed to meet the academic needs of the transient population. The units also built sequentially for those inmates who were incarcerated for up to a period of one school year. The 1st unit, with artist educator Dale Davis, focused on reading, writing, and and the revision of poetry, spoken word, and non-fiction for a CD and publication. The 2nd unit, with musicians and studio engineers Jeremy DeGroat and Jeffrey Lewis, built upon the writing by the students through the computer as a tool for self-expression with the introduction of music software and technology to digitally mix the writing with beats for the CD; The 3rd unit, with Director Louis Moreno, also built upon the writing through the creation of a performance based upon the writing. The planning project included professional development sessions for participating teachers, counselors, and artists; training sessions for artists; history and overview of the project for deputies in the Monroe County Sheriff's Department involved with the inmates in the program. In addition to the NYSLC and the RCSD, the Monroe County Sheriff's Department was also an integral collaborating partner in the planning project. Four classes, six teachers, and two counselors participated in the pilot, in addition to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department deputies. The research base from planning project is available at www.nyslc.org. Achievements:
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New York State Literary Center and Rochester CSD Last Updated
5/22/2009
