Special Initiative Grant: Producing 21st Century Citizens & Artists
- School Year: 2016-2017
- Applicants: Ryan Cleary, Kelly Brouse, Dawn O'Connor, Erica Stinziani
- School: Morley
- Subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies, Technology, Visual Arts
This initiative is designed to establish a partnership with a sister school in Haiti, promoting communication and collaborative learning via new technological enhancements. Morley School was able to connect with this sister school through a group called The Crosby Fund, a non-profit out of Old Lyme, CT. The grant integrates the new 2016-17 Social Studies Framework with the new National Core Art Standards to authentically study diversity and culture in the world. Students will have the rare opportunity to learn about Haitian art from the Haitian students themselves through video and Skype. As former Curriculum Specialist Kelly Brouse articulates, “This experience allows our students to not only learn about a different group of people around the world, but to realize the beauty that can be found across all different cultures, despite challenges they may be facing as a community or country.” “The common language of art is something that all humans speak,” art teacher Erica Stinziani continued. Students in Haiti and at Morley School will create video “lessons” for one another around cultural art styles, and materials are provided through the grant for each school to practice the artistic skill presented from the sister school. Morley has committed to donating both an iPad and a GoPro camera to the school so that Haitian students can produce similar quality videos to share with Morley students.