Artology 2013 Final Report

Artology 2013

FINAL REPORT

Artologists learn in the field at Wissahickon Creek Park

Table of Contents: Summary - Who We Served - How & What We Learned - Where We Traveled - Special Moments

2-7 2 3-4 5 6

Final Celebration Attendance Demographics Staff Structure Outcome Goals Pre-Post Test

- Growth Highlights

7

Funders and Partners

8 9 10 11 12 13-14 15

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Summary 2013 Marked the seventh year of Artology. We focused on the growth of program content in order to make Artology a more comprehensive learning experience for our students.

• The team was led by Jamaine Smith, who returned to Artology in his new role as Program Director. Our Lead Art Teacher also returned from the 2012 staff. Veteran staff worked alongside a new Art Teacher, Lead Science Teacher, Culinary Artist, Artology Administrative Coordinator, and Four group leaders to form this year’s team.

• In addition to our leadership and teaching team, we had on staff 2 Junior Leaders - high school students who are Alumni of Artology, a driver, and several volunteers • Artology continued its partnership with the Violette de Mazia Foundation, whose mission is to promote, teach, study and advance the aesthetic philosophy, theories and experiential educational methods of art appreciation developed by John Dewey, Albert C. Barnes and Violette de Mazia. The Foundation supplied our team of two Art Teachers.

• Returning to the former model, Artology ran two separate sessions of programming. This year we had the opportunity to bring back a number of students from Session I to participate in our second session, either as Student Leaders, or to attend additional arts classes! In total, 14 out of 26 students from the first session returned during Session II.

Who We Served Artology 2013 Served 32 students in 4th-8th grade. This community was: • 56.25% female, 43.75% male • 93.75% African American • 6.25% Hispanic • 81.25% of students qualified for federally funded meals based on income • 68.75% of students came from low-income families (families with an income less than 150% of the Federal Poverty Level) • 12.5% of students were coping with homelessness.

• 59% of participants were returning students from previous years.

BuildaBridge is committed to providing the opportunity to attend Artology regardless of financial circumstances. In 2013, Artology provided $31,640 dollars in scholarships to cover tuition expenses.

• 97% of students received some scholarship assistance.

• 31.25% of students received a full tuition scholarship. Of these students, 90% come from families living below the Federal Poverty Level.

• All families coping with homelessness were given full tuition assistance.

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What & How We Learned 2013 was the year of Ecology @ Artology. Students learned about the interconnection between living and non-living things in water, cities, and forests, and how these ecosystems interact. Interwoven with these explorations were active inquiries into principles of design, philosophical discourse, and culinary creation. These experiences lead to holistic skill development in the all of BuildaBridge’s focus areas: academic, art, spiritual, character, and social.

Session 1 Week 1: Water Our introductory week focused on the water shed in Philadelphia with Vivian Williams, community educator from the Local water district. The Artologists traveled to Cliveden Park, the Wissahickon, and Carpenter’s Woods to learn about the importance of plants and trees in the water cycle of the urban and forest ecosystems. They conducted an assessment of the water runoff from impervious surfaces and the collection of water to replenish the water table through the permeable surfaces of our urban camp location.

Week 2: City Artologists traveled to the Liberty Science center and sailed around the bay on a schooner. They traveled to the Rodin Museum and the Barnes for scavenger hunts to learn the formal qualities of sculpture and art. They learned about the Water Cycle and started a mural based on the Shel Silverstein poem, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. The week finished off with a walk in the city where students looked for the impact that humans have on the ecology of the neighborhood, culminating in a cool swim at the swimming pool before heading back to camp.

Week 3: Forest Artologists traveled to Carpenter’s Woods to learn about the living and non living components of an ecosystem through investigations and experiments. They practiced the 5 steps of the scientific method and made conclusions about the interactions of the living and non-living things. The Artologists learned about animal adaptations through an art project making plaster casts of their hands and morphing them in a variety of ways for a public installation at Clivden Park titled “Hands across time”. The Artologists made plaster casts of animal tracks, played Predator/Prey and Food Chain Gang games to learn about the nutrient cycle. The Artologists created a worm farm where they learned about the importance of decomposers in the ecosystem. The Artologists traveled to the Morris Arboretum and the Wagner Free Institute and finished the week off with another refreshing swim at the local pool.

Week 4: Interconnection Students took to the sidewalks of the area around camp to study the urban ecosystem ‘s living and non-living components through scientific inquiry. They investigated how the components were the same and different from that of the forest ecosystem. They traveled to the SHAREfood Farm and the Reading Terminal to learn about healthy eating habits.

The Artologists also traveled to the LaSalle Art Museum for a scavenger hunt using clues created by their fellow Artologists to study the formal qualities of art. The week finished off with their skit performances and a ceremony of speaking blessings to each Artologist.

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Session 2: New Students Week 5: City Artologists learned about the water cycle by playing the water molecule game and making paper to reinforce the three “R’s”, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse. They traveled to the Rodin Museum and the Barnes where they learned to see the formal qualities of art. In the Art Lab they began an installation project paying homage to the work of Ellsworth Kelly that they studied at the Barnes. The Artologists traveled to Reading Terminal and finished off the week with a hike to the swimming pool where they discovered the impact of human interaction in the urban ecosystem that included massive amounts of trash on the streets and sidewalks and had a refreshing swim before hiking back.

Week 6: Forest Artologists ventured out into the Carpenter’s Woods to explore the forest. The Artologists learned and used the scientific method to investigate the living and no- living components, created inspired by Andy Goldsworthy, and made sun prints to understand how sunlight impacts the forest plants. Artologists learned about adaptations through games and making face plaster casts that they morphed to mimic the process of adaptation in animals. The Artologists traveled to the Morris Arboretum and learned about insects by viewing the “Big Bugs” exhibit.

Week 7: Interconnection Artologists traveled to the Franklin where they watched “The Flight of the Butterfly” documentary in the Imax theatre and the Wagner Free Institute to learn about insects through lecture, hands on manipulation of real but not living insects, and a scavenger hunt. They took to the sidewalks of the city to explore the living and non-living components of the urban ecosystem and made comparisons and contrasts to that of the forest ecosystem. The Artologists traveled to the LaSalle Museum to explore the formal qualities of art through a scavenger hunt with clues provided by their fellow Artologists. They ended the week with celebrations, icecream, skit performances, and a blessing ceremony.

Session 2: Returning Students Week 6 and 7: Cardiovascular and Oral Health, Rivers of Words & Culinary Arts Through a trip to our local library branch, our returning Artologists engaged in learning about practical ways to practice good cardiovascular and oral health with the help of our interns from Drexel University’s School of Medicine. Artologists then created posters used to highlight new students and Artology staff on what they learned. They also engaged in Culinary Art projects with Mrs. Danielle Boyer-Graves, our on site caterer for the Artology program.

Returning Artologists were also priveleged to engaged in a two day “River of Words” workshop with Maryann Helferty and Anita Provenzano from Environmental Protection Agency. The workshop merged creative writing with environmental awareness themes.

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Where We Traveled • Wissahickon Creek Park & Carpenter’s Woods: Students in both first and second session hiked the trails of Wissahickon Creek Park. In first session, Vivian Williams led lessons about water ecology here and students practiced observational drawing techniques. For some students, these hikes were their first venture to the Creek.

• AJ Meerwald: This tall ship schooner took our first session Artologists on an educational ride around the New York Harbor. Everyone was put to work raising the sails and once we were moving the knowledgeable crew taught students about Bivalves and other local ecology. Our captain led us in historical sailing songs as we passed spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty and New York City skyline.

• Liberty Science Center: This museum’s interactive exhibits captured the attention of students and touched on a diverse range of topics that tied in to various part of our curriculum.

• Rodin Museum: One of Philadelphia’s cultural treasures, the Rodin Museum trip taught many students the difference between a “nude” and “naked”.

• Barnes Foundation: Students had the opportunity to see the Barnes permanent collection & special Ellsworth Kelly exhibition with tour guidance by our Art Teacher Gaby Aruta who is also a docent there.

• Swimming at Pleasant Playground Pool: A much-anticipated addition to Artology, swimming was a fun way to cool off during this exceptionally hot summer.

• Morris Arboretum: Blending art and science, the Big Bugs exhibition on view this summer connected well to our Artology lessons!

• Wagner Free Institute: A scavenger hunt at Wagner encouraged exploration of Wagner’s huge specimen collection & reinforced the gallery educator’s lesson on adaptations.

• SHAREfood Program: Artologists helped tend a greenhouse growing food that will feed local community members and in the process learned about urban farming.

• La Salle Art Museum: Students made their own clues to send their classmates searching for specific works of art in this museum. Artworks from the Museum inspired some student art!

• Reading Terminal Market: A favorite trip of many Artologists, our Culinary Artist Danielle Boyer-Graves brought students to Reading terminal to learn about the history of food in Philadelphia.

• Franklin Institute: In second session, we ventured to the Franklin Institute to learn about Butterflies and reinforce cardiovascular health lessons in the Institute’s huge heart exhibit.

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Special Moments

• For the first time in Artology history, our Artologists sailed on the AJ Meerwald, an educational Tall Ship. For many of our students, this was their first time on a sailboat, and for some it was their first in-person glimpse of the New York skyline and the Statute of Liberty. Not only was this a great learning experience about the river ecosystem, but students and staff bonded as we braved the rainy weather singing energizing sailing songs. Through teamwork Artology lifted the Meerwald’s sails to propel us on a ride we are all sure to remember.

• Artologists learned stress-relieving and strength-building yoga in sessions with experienced yoga instructor Mimi Scalia.

Students thoroughly enjoyed Mimi’s light-hearted approach to this traditional practice that has been shown to have great physical and mental health benefits.

• The Environmental Protection Agency generously provided Artology students with lessons from educators Maryann Helferty and Anita Provenzano. Maryann and Anita taught water-inspired lessons that challenged students to create art in another medium – language.

• Students who returned from Session I of Artology in Session II benefitted from caterer Danielle Boyer-Graves’ years of experience teaching culinary arts to children. Students learned some healthy recipes and practiced their baking skills in the Second Baptist kitchen, and all had the chance to experience the lively culinary history of Reading Terminal Market.

• Each week, one of our Bridging the Gaps interns gave a presentation about their chosen career path or educational field.

Students learned about different opportunities in the fields of medicine and creative arts therapy and did research projects on oral hygiene, cardiovascular health and nutrition.

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Growth Highlights New Connections

Family Contributions Junior Leadership 2013 brought increased family contributions for the second year in a row! We maintained an income-based sliding scale, meeting the financial needs of every student who registered, and received $4,240 in tuition payments and registration fees.

97% of students received a scholarship to help cover the cost of tuition.

Culinary Arts & Nutrition This year meals expanded to be a significant part of the curriculum.

Danielle Boyer Graves, Culinary Artist and Caterer for Artology, taught students about nutrition, Philadelphia food history, and cooking. Students recorded their eating and exercise habits, visited Reading Terminal Market, and 6th-8th grade students learned to cook several classic dishes.

Junior Leader’s roles were expanded, as they learned food preparation under the guidance of our Caterer. Danielle also included the Junior Leaders in supply planning and purchasing. Through this experience, they developed transferrable skills that make them viable candidates for future jobs.

Philosophical Dialogue Journaling has always been a significant part of the Artology experience, and in 2013 journal time utilized Art Teacher Gabrielle Aruta’s training in exploring philosophy with children. Students pondered questions such as, “What is hope?” and “Can imagination be or become real?” Journal time was both a moment to reflect on each day and a challenging exercise in critical thinking.

2013 was a year of new collaborations for Artology!

For the first time, we held our final exhibition at La Salle University. We went sailing with the crew of the AJ Meerwald and swimming at Pleasant Playground Pool.

Artologists were, for the first time, able to visit the Barnes Foundation. We also connected with the Philadelphia Water Department, who supplied us with a week of spectacular lessons from Vivian Williams, and worked wih the EPA to bring in two educators. These new experiences enriched the program and we hope to continue these relationships in 2014.

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Final Exhibition

Artologists’ work was recognized at our final exhibition, Ecosystems and Active Eyes at the La Salle University Art Museum Community Gallery. More than 60 students, parents, and partners came to our Opening Celebration on August 24th! The show was extended from it’s original closing date of September 12th until September 18th.

Students and parents saw Artologists’ work in a gallery space connected with a professional museum that Artologists visited on a field trip during the program.

Artologists & Staff at the Final Celebration

Family of Artologists at Final Celebration

Artologists Admire Their Artwork

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Attendance Artology 2013 presented unique challenges in hitting targets for registration. Almost all students who were registered from shelters dropped out less than a week before the program began, leaving large gaps in the number of attendees. One of the reasons for this disparity was the decision not to provide pick-up and drop-off service for students in the first session due to cost. Another was that many shelter residents who had registered either moved out of the shelters before the program began and were unreachable or registered their children for other programs without notifying BuildaBridge.

In order to make use of the resources available during the program, we gave students from the first session the opportunity to return during second session in one of two capacities: for exceptional students, as a Student Leader to act as a role model for younger students, and for all others, as students to partake in culinary and language arts classes in addition to attending all field trips and other regular Artology programming. In all, 14 Students from the first session returned - three as Student Leaders for the whole session, and 11 as students for the final two weeks of the session.

Please note: The percentage of students with 2 or fewer absences below represents the attendance for each session based on the full number of days students could have attended the program. For returning students, this may have been 21 or 14 days depending on whether the child returned as a Student Leader or a student.

Registered Students & Attendees

Session 1

Session 2

Target

30 (all 6th-8th grade)

30 (all 4th-5th grade)

Grades 4th-5th

0 registered, 0 attended

19 registered, 6 attended

Grades 6th-8th

35 registered, 26 attended

16 registered, 14 attended

Total Attended

26

20

% of Students With 2 or Fewer Absences

50%

33.3% of 4th-5th graders 35.7% of 6th-8th graders

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Demographics Demographic information was collected through participant applications and attendance records. Students who returned for second session were only counted once in totals for each category, except where noted.

Female

Gender

Male

Session 1 # of students

13

13

Session 2 # of students (includes returned students)

11

11

Percentage per Session

50%

50%

Total Overall (session 2 return students counted only once)

18

14

Total Percentage of Students

56.25%

43.75%

Age

9

10

11

13+

12

Total #

3

3

8

10

8

Percentage

9%

9%

25%

32%

25%

Ethnicity

African American

Asian/ Pacific Islander

Hispanic

Other

Caucasian

Session 1

25

0

1

0

0

Session 2

21

0

1

0

0

Total

30

0

2

0

0

Total Percentage

93.75%

0%

6.25%

0%

0%

Income from Fed. Poverty Line

<100 % (low income)

100-150% (low income)

300% or >300%

<300%

Total # Students

13

9

3

7

Percentage

40.6%

28.1%

9.4%

21.9%

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Staff Structure

Administration: • Jamaine Smith, Program Director • Joanna Ginsberg, Administrative Coordinator Teaching: • 3 Full-time Teachers • Patsy Babcock, Lead Science Teacher • Elizabeth Latham, Lead Art Teacher Session 1 & Art Teacher Session 2 • Gabrielle Aruta, Art Teacher Session 1 & Lead Art Teacher Session 2 • 2 Full-time Volunteer Teaching Assistants: • Henry Ortmeyer, Science Teaching Assistant • Alex Marothy, Art Teaching Assistant • 1 Part-time Culinary Teaching Artist, Danielle Boyer-Graves • 4 Full-time Group Leaders provided by Bridging the Gaps • Druv Das, School of Medicine • Seth Laucks, School of Creative Arts Therapy - Music • Julianne Siracusa, School of Creative Arts Therapy - Visual Arts • Jinna Deslandes, School of Medicine • 3 Visiting Teachers • Vivian Williams, Water Specialist from Philadelphia Water Department (first week) • Maryann Helferty and Anita Provenzano from Environmental Protection Agency (two lessons for second session returning students) Operational Support: • 1 Part-time caterer, Danielle Boyer Graves of Palate Pleasers • 2 Full-time Junior Leaders responsible for culinary preparation • Josh Legree, returning Junior Leader • Autumn Lewis, returning Junior Leader • 1 Part-time Van Driver during session 2, Anthony Payne • 1 Bus Driver supplied by Durham Bus Services for all field trips • 7 Part-time or Occasional Volunteers • Quinia Evans, regular administrative assistance & Group Leader assistance • Meagan McGinty, Fill-in Group Leader on Wednesdays • Rasha Younes, Fill-in Group Leader on Wednesdays • Mikah Smith, one full week administrative assistance • Ji Su Yun, occasional administrative assistance & Group Leader assistance • Amy Gardener, occasional Group Leader assistance • Cameron Morris, occasional administrative assistance

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Staff Structure (Continued) Staff by Year

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Full-time paid BaB staff

2

4

4

6

6

5

5

Part-time paid BaB staff

3

6

5

6

4

2

1

Full-time BTG Interns

5

5

5

6

4

4

4

Full-time staff from de Mazia Foundation

0

0

0

0

0

1

2

Intern Volunteers

0

2

3

3

1

1

2

Other Volunteers

3

10

8

5

7

2

7

Total Staff

13

27

25

26

22

14

21

Outcome Goals 1. 95% of students will demonstrate increased knowledge (15%) in both the environmental sciences and arts according to the above selected PA state standards as indicated by pre-post test (pre and post test, authentic assessment).

2. 95% of students will demonstrate increased respect (30%) for the environment and engagement in issues of environmental justice as indicated by environmental, community, family, and peer group projects (final choreographic project).

3. 90% of students will demonstrate internal locus of control as indicated by an increased ability to regulate their behavior within a classroom context (observation & pre-test).

4. 85 % of students will demonstrate increased knowledge of and interest in 21st century green careers as indicated by participation in assignments and activities surrounding the topic (pre and post test).

5. 80% of students will demonstrate an increased clarity (15%) of Purpose as indicated by written authentic assessment.

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Pre & Post-Tests  

The average increase of knowledge and skills of all students tested in Science was 73.5% The average increase of knowledge and skills of all students tested in Art was 16%



A current Drexel University PH.D Candidate served as a Program Evaluation Intern for this year’s program. BuildaBridge has created new assessment protocol and tools designed to effectively pre and post assess attributes of Hope, Healing, and Resilience (which includes social/emotional/behavioral characteristics) within the children we serve. The following chart represents the qualitative data received from this new assessment approach.

Characteristics of Resilience I HAVE

Description of Resilience One or more persons outside my family I can trust without reservation

Artology Experiences that Support Hope, Healing, and Resilience The experience of students opening up to counselors to express feelings about engaging in particular activities

Limits to my behavior People who encourage me to be independent Good role models Access to health, education, and the social and security services I need A stable family and community

I AM

The experience of shy student being encouraged to share his thoughts and ideas The recognition from a parent of the importance of college students as role models for her child The continual evaluation of the students by staff with referrals made when necessary

Generally calm and good-natured

The consistent presence of staff and counselors and consistent routine/structure to the day Students were afforded the opportunity to try on different identities, as long as they remained respectful of others

An achiever who plans for the future

Students were offered blessings for the future

A person who respects myself and others

Students were empowered to discuss their feelings and make choices about how they would re-engage in the activity

A person most people like

Empathetic and caring of others Responsible for my own behavior and accepting of the consequences

I CAN

A confident, optimistic, hopeful person, with faith Generate new ideas of ways to do things Stay with a task until it is finished See the humor in life and use it to reduce tensions Express thoughts and feelings in communication with others Solve problems in various settings – academic, job-related, personal and social

Students were encouraged by staff and counselors to use a variety of methods for communication (artistic, musical, writing, etc.)

Staff and counselors created a safe environment that cultivated the students’ innate talents while remediating weaker areas Staff and counselors made themselves available for students throughout the day for the duration of the camp experience

Manage my behavior – feelings, impulses, actingout Reach out for help when I need it 13

Pre & Post-Tests (continued)  Increased respect for and engagement in environmental issues: o 100% of pre-tested students who answered “No” or “I do not know” to the question “Do my actions effect the environment?” changed their answer to “Yes” with specific examples (e.g. “I used to throw my gum on the ground and I didn’t know birds eat them and that it gets stuck in their stomach and they can’t eat and eventually they die.”). o 100% of students were able to list one way they can help their environment (e.g.

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, use rain barrels, worm composting, start a campaign in their schools/communities). o 100% of students stated that they would change their actions to help their environment with specific examples (e.g. use less electricity, stop littering, shorten shower taking time).

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Funders & Partners

A special thank you goes out to all of the funders and partners who helped support Artology this summer!

Artology was made possible through the generosity of the following funders and partners: The Violette de Mazia Foundation

• Bridging the Gaps and the Violette de Mazia Foundation provided our four group leaders and two art teachers, respectively.

• The Second Baptist Church of Germantown donated the use of their facilities for the Seventh year in a row. Bessie Jordan-Byrd, a member of the Church, volunteered her time as a liaison and a helping hand in upkeep of the facility.

• Much to the delight of the Artologists & Staff, Continental Bank delivered free ice cream on the last day of the program.

Second Baptist Church of Germantown The Support Community Outreach Program Lincoln Financial Foundation The Allen Hilles Fund American Honda Foundation Wayne Presbyterian Church American Baptist Churches USA

Henrietta Tower Wurts

Continental Bank Delivers Ice Cream to Artology

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