By Lorienne Beals | Development Director
The US is in the midst of a national dropout crisis, with a new student dropping out of school every 26 seconds. Our nation's capitol ranked in the lowest position in the country with a graduation rate of only 52% in 2009. The good news? Organizations across the country are stepping up and taking action - and it's working! Story Tapestries is proud to be an America's Promise Alliance Partner. America's Promise, founded by General Colin Powell, has made an important commitment to build a GradNation and improve graduation rates to 90% in every state nationwide by 2020. The arts have been proven to be a key element of battling reasons for dropping out by instilling and interest and love for learning and inspiring young people to attend school. See some key highlights of this year's Summit by clicking on the photo or link below:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/americaspromise/sets/72157632526715657/show/
Story Tapestries (ST) Program Director and Teaching Artist, Debbi Arseneaux, attended this year's Summit and came back reinvigorated and reconnected to why ST exists.
"If you can do one thing to make a huge difference and help all children succeed, READ! Read to your children, read with them and encourage them to read to you. Even if you can't read, or struggle with a language barrier, hold the book and turn the pages. Tell them stories, engage them in acting out the stories. Exposure to books and stories in the first few years of life is crucial to prepping young minds for learning. Kindergarten readiness is one of the first and most important markers for future success in learning. If a child can't read by 3rd grade, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to catch up moving forward. By that point, they shouldn't just be learning to read, they need to be reading to learn. I am so proud that the work we do supports this crucial step in student success." -Debbi
NEW PROJECT LAUNCHED!
As a fantastic follow-up to the America's Promise Grad Nation Summit, we have launched a Global Giving microproject to support an arts-based afterschool program at Tyler Elementary School in DC. Math and reading scores at Tyler are well below grade level and we know that arts integration programming can help improve student achievement. Through Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art form combining dance, music & martial arts, Tyler students will be exposed to another culture while exploring math skills, story structure and developing self-control. Professional teaching artists will be working with students in an after school setting to engage and inspire, giving them a much needed physical outlet as well.
Click here to learn more about this exciting project:
http://www.globalgiving.org/microprojects/dance-and-math-arts-integration-afterschool-tyler/
Global Giving's March 13th Bonus Day will help us get a great leap ahead in reaching our $1400 goal with this microproject to bring programs to Tyler Elementary.
Thank you for your ongoing support and interest in connecting with our latest activities! We are committed to working with our Alliance Partners to reach our goals of keeping children in school and helping them succeed and achieve! With your help, we can get there!
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