The Kennedy Center Partnership
“The Count Basie Theatre and the Red Bank Borough School District are members of the Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Selected because of their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of education in and through the arts, the Partnership Team participates in collaborative efforts to provide professional development opportunities in the arts for educators.”
The main focus of the Center’s program is to guide the participants in the process of arts integration as an “approach” to teaching. We have already made plans to begin a series of three workshops offered to the Pre-K and K teachers during the 2012-2013 academic school year. The goals of the partnership are to build a classroom environment where students are encouraged and supported to take risks, explore possibilities and create community, (the optimal learning experience) while developing an appreciation for the arts. While we have offered multiple arts based classes (both during and after school) to the students in the Red Bank Primary and Middle Schools, up until now we’ve not offered workshops in Professional Development. I am extremely proud of our acceptance into this program and am eager to implement these concepts and continue to strengthen our relationship with educators and teaching artists.
While I have personally always been aware of the magical transformations that children undergo with consistent
interactive exposure to the arts, it wasn’t until I tapped into all of the fabulous resources this partnership has presented that I began to truly understand just how valuable arts integration is in creating the higher levels of brain functioning, reasoning and creativity that educators strive for. Needless to say, my perspective has undergone some major changes.
