Participating classroom teachers learn to enhance their core curicula and engage their students through the integration of various art forms.
valuing and creating – in the arts,” said Engen-Wedin, who also works with UNL’s Lied Center for Performing Arts. “It’s all active learning. The arts bring these unique instructional tools for teachers, encouraging them to move beyond forms and worksheets.” Community school partners are located in Crete, Gering, Macy and Madison, Nebraska. Each is a rural community, and all house “minority-majority” schools – schools in which minority populations constitute the majority of the student body. Consequently, the project has also sought to foster a sense of cultural identity and reduce dropout rates among students at risk of struggling in school. Dr. Gina Kunz, CYFS, has helped Engen-Wedin develop methods to evaluate the program’s impact
on teachers, teaching artists and students. Classroom observations, teacher comments and student focus groups have all confirmed the program’s effectiveness. The best indicators, however, may be the “culminating events” held at the end of each academic semester. These events showcase students’ work and give everyone involved the chance to reflect on their accomplishments – accomplishments that inspire Engen-Wedin. “The students are producing amazing work,” she observed. “You can really see their progression. Their learning in the arts and other core subjects is obvious, and their active involvement in the learning process is contagious.”