Session B2. Lessons Learned Through Dance: The Impact of Our RAISE Program Grant

Presenters:
Tara Bach, Art Educator, Washington Avenue School, Pleasantville Public Schools
Liz Winter, Education Operations Director, Young Audiences Arts for Learning of New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania 

This session offers an inside look at Washington Avenue Elementary School’s multi-year RAISE Program Grant, implemented as a dance residency for third, fourth, and fifth grade students in a school without an existing dance program. While students learned technique, style, and discipline, the heart of the project was the intentional space created for them to share their perspectives and craft their own narratives through choreography. We will explore the project’s approach, the stories that emerged from both students and the teaching artist, and the impact these narratives had on our school community. Central to the discussion is how storytelling through movement and reflection helped build trust, strengthen relationships, and establish alliances essential for sustaining arts-based learning. As the grant period concludes, we will focus on how to carry this work forward: How can the narratives generated through this residency guide our next steps? How can they help us forge and sustain the partnerships needed to expand arts opportunities for our school, district, and community? Participants will leave with insights on leveraging narrative as a tool for collaboration, continuity, and meaningful program growth.