Buildabridge international artology 2014 report

BuildaBridge International 205 W Tulpehocken Street, Philadelphia PA 19144 www.buildabridge.org 215-842-0428

Summary: 2014 Marked the eighth year of Artology and a year of new and continued partnerships: • The team was led by Jamaine Smith, who returned to Artology for his second year as Program Director. Our Culinary Artist returned from the 2013 staff. This year’s new staff consisted of three Lead Art Teachers, Lead Science Teacher, Community Programs Administrative Coordinator and four Group Leaders • In addition to our leadership and teaching team, we had 3 Junior Leaders- high school students who are Alumni of Artology and several volunteers. Two returning Junior Leaders, Josh and Autumn and a new Junior Leader, Sade.

• We continued our relationship with the Bridging the Gaps program with three interns from Drexel University who served as Group Leaders • We developed a new relationship with the JEVS Human Services branch of the Philadelphia Youth Network’s WorkReady program when we became a work site for a WorkReady Intern • Artology developed new partnerships this year with the Historic Wyck House, Garden and Farm and the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership • Artology returned to the 2012 program model of offering one five week program session which lasted for five weeks, from July 7th to August 8th.

• Artology designed curriculum inspired by the book, “Water Stories From Around The World” edited by 2

Radhika Menon and Sandhya Rao, illustrated by Nirupama Sekhar

Who We Served: Artology 2014 served 33 students in the 4th to 8th grade. This community was: ● 52% Female, 48% Male ● 91% African American, 6% Bi-Racial, 3% White, 3% Hispanic or Latino, 96% Non-Hispanic or Latino ● 73% of students qualified for federally funded meals based on income ● 79% of students came from low-income families (families with an income less than 150% of the federal poverty line) ● 52% of students come from families living at or below the federal poverty line ● 6% of students were coping with homelessness ● 55% of participants were returning students and 45% of participants were new students BuildaBridge is committed to providing the opportunity to attend Artology regardless of financial circumstances. In 2014, Artology provided $45,025 dollars in scholarships to cover tuition expenses.

• 100% of students received some scholarship assistance.

• 42% of students received a full tuition scholarship. Of Artology students, 52% come from families living at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level.

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

3

How & What We Learned: The theme of Artology 2014 was “Water”.

This theme was supported by stories from, “Water Stories From Around The World”. Five stories were selected to prompt discussion and learning about the water related underlying themes which included topics such as environmental stewardship, cooperation, the movement of water, the water cycle and the human impact on water.

Week 1: “Who Owns the Water?” A story from India retold by Deepa Balsava.

• Stacy Levy, an environmental artist and sculptor, served as a guest speaker via Skype. Ms. Levy’s work focuses on art and science. She uses her art as “a vehicle for translating the patterns and processes of the natural world into the language of human understanding”.

• Students created water color landscapes, learned about the water cycle and how to read maps. Students received a lesson in accountability and planetary stewardship.

Week 2: “The Dragon’s Pearl” A story from China retold by Niveditha Subramaniam • Artologists learned about Andy Goldsworthy, an environmental artist that collaborates with nature to make transient creations using natural objects found in his environment. Students created their own temporary nature collages in Cliveden Park.

• Students created colorful “pearls” inspired by the story and learned about the cycles and movement of water and the scientific principles behind water systems 4

Week 3: “Selekana and the River Goddess” A story from Botswana retold by Zai Whitaker • Students created African jewelry and made Japanese Gyotaku, fish prints using real fish which allowed for the study of fish anatomy and physiology • Students learned about the scientific concepts behind drought, flooding, pollution and the role humans play in impacting the environment Week 4: “House of Sun and Moon” A story from Nigeria retold by Amruta Patil • The Artologists watched part of the Disney documentary “Oceans” to learn about aquatic life. Students then went on to create Ceramic Water Biomes which included lessons on the Arctic, River, Estuary and Intertidal systems in addition to the Photic, Aphotic Twilight and Aphotic Lightless Zones of the ocean. Artologists also learned about the flora and fauna of these systems and represented them in their work.

Week 5: “Tiddalik the Frog” An Aboriginal story from Australia retold by Suniti Namjoshi

5

Where We Traveled: Week 1: • Cliveden Park: Students learned about their cardiovascular system and how their pulse will change based on their activities. They created covers for their journals in this outdoor setting to become inspired by their surroundings.

• Historic Wyck House, Garden, and Farm: Educators at Wyck provided an overview of this historic landmark’s history, and taught lessons about bees, beekeeping and honey making, their maple trees and maple syrup harvesting, the uses of the farm and garden as well as a lesson about the chickens that are kept at the farm. Artologists experienced feeding the Farm’s chickens, tasting fresh honey produced from their bee boxes and tasting real maple syrup.

• Tacony Creek Park- Rorer Street and Roosevelt Boulevard Gateway: Students experienced what it is like to be a field scientist during this trip.

6

The Artologists participated in Water Quality Testing experiments with TTF Watershed staff. They learned about the variety of organisms that can be found in a creek, how to conduct water velocity experiments in the creek, and how to gather specimens from the creek bed to measure the health of the creek.

Week 2: • Historic Wyck House, Garden, and Farm: Artologists learned about the Farm’s different breeds of chickens and the work involved in chicken keeping. They also learned about types of eggs and cooked a healthy egg recipe with eggs gathered from the Farm.

• Mutter Museum: The Artologists learned about the mysteries and the beauty of the human body while also learning about the history of medicine and disease.

• Germantown Fire House: Students received a lesson about fire safety and prevention, escape plans, and were given a demonstration about a fire truck and its equipment. Students had fun trying their hand at using the fire hose!

Week 3: • Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm: Artologists received a lesson from Wyck’s farmer about growing and harvesting lettuces and fruit from the Farm. Artologists were allowed to pick fruit from the farm and prepared a fresh and healthy salad to enjoy.

• Tacony Creek Park- Whitaker and Loudon Street Gateway: Artologists spent the morning learning about the importance of environmental stewardship, the ways that TTF Watershed keeps the park clean and the purpose and importance of storm drains in contributing to the quality of water in the creek. Students participated in the effort to keep the park 7

clean and exemplified environmental stewardship by picking up litter in the park.

• John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum: Students explored the natural wonders of this beautiful wildlife refuge. They walked a nature trail and observed wildlife such as turtles and birds.

Week 4: • La Salle University Art Museum: Students received a guided tour from the Curator of Education and Public Programs and were given a lesson about the featured exhibit from local artist Barbara Bullock, “Straight Water Blues” which included abstract three dimensional sculptures made from heavy watercolor paper and acrylic paint to evoke ancestral spirits and stories. Artologists created artwork inspired by Barbara Bullock’s pieces.

• Fairmount Water Works: The mission of FWW is to foster stewardship of shared water resources by encouraging informed decisions about the use of land and water. Artologists learned about the history of the Fairmount Water Works and received a lesson about water filtration “what it takes to make clean, reliable and refreshing water flow from your tap everyday”.

• Tacony Creek Park: Rorer Street and Roosevelt Boulevard: Ms. Mimi Scalia taught yoga in the park and lead team building exercises that reminded the Artologists that they are each an essential component of the Artology community.

Week 5: • Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm: Artologists learned about seasonal produce and fruit on the Farm. They received a cooking lesson where they created delicious smoothies.

• Tacony Creek Park: I Street and Ramona Ave Gateway: Under the guidance of staff, Artologists created an Art Installation project using recycled materials to be displayed in the Ramona and I Street Gateway of Tacony Creek Park. This installation required collaboration and teamwork to properly place the pieces to form a functioning rain garden structure.

8

Special Moments • Artologists learned stress-relieving and strength-building yoga in sessions with experienced yoga instructor Mimi Scalia. Mimi returned to Artology this year as a special guest instructor. Students thoroughly enjoyed Mimi’s light-hearted approach to this traditional practice that has been shown to have great physical and mental health benefits.

• 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.

• Our caterer, Danielle Boyer-Graves, gave lessons about nutrition, healthy eating and culinary art this year. Students created their own recipe book keepsakes which featured the healthy and delicious foods that were served during the program session.

• “Family Night” was a new and fun program idea lead by Mrs. BoyerGraves. The program was designed for students and their families to have fun creating a healthy and delicious meal together. Mrs. BoyerGraves also lead a small group of students on an outing to Reading Terminal Market to discover the culinary history of a historic Philadelphia institution.

Growth Highlights Two new collaborations developed this year with Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm and the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership. These two partner organizations served as weekly trip sites for our Artologists.

Wyck Historic House, Garden and Farm: Wyck is a National Historic Landmark house, garden, and farm in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia that served as the ancestral home to one Philadelphia family for nine generations (1690-1973). Here, traditional Quaker culture blended with a passion for innovation. The people who lived 9

and worked at Wyck expressed these values through their commitment to education, horticulture, natural history, and preservation. Today, the Wyck Association connects this family and its rich history to our community through programs that focus on history, horticulture, and urban agriculture, using the past as inspiration for the present. (From website) • Wyck provides educational programming stemming from the values of innovation, social responsibility and environmental sustainability • Wyck’s House Farm provided an interactive classroom for students to participate in hands-on learning about history, farming, nutrition and environmental science Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership: TTF’s mission is to improve the health and vitality of the Tookany/TaconyFrankford Creek and watershed–which includes neighborhoods in North, Northeast, and Northwest Philadelphia and Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, Rockledge, and Springfield in Montgomery County– by engaging their communities in education, stewardship, restoration, and advocacy.

Working with a variety of groups including residents, schools, community organizations, environmental advisory councils, businesses and policy makers, the TTF Watershed Partnership builds watershed awareness, participation, and stewardship through workshops, lessons, tours, field trips, volunteer activities, and restoration projects. All of their restoration projects serve as watershed classrooms, offering ongoing educational and stewardship opportunities. (from web)

Final Celebration Artology continued its partnership with La Salle University Community Art Museum. Artologists’ work was recognized at our final exhibition, Water at the La Salle University Art Museum Community Gallery. More than 60 students, parents, and partners came to our Opening Celebration on August 22nd! The show was extended from its original closing date of September 18th until September 26th. Students and parents saw Artologists’ work in a gallery space connected with a professional museum that Artologists visited on a field trip 10

during the program.

Attendance Registered Students & Attendees Target Grades 4 th -5th

35 Registered: 20 Attended: 17 Registered: 21 Attended: 16 33

Grades 6 th -8th Total % of students with 2 or fewer absences Demographics

Gender # of students 4 th -5 th

Female 8

Male 9 11

Grade # of students 6 th -8 th Grade Total (33) Percentage Age 9 Total # 7 Percentage 21%

9

7

17 52%

16 48%

10 2 6%

11 9 27%

12 6 18%

13+ 9 27%

Race/Ethnicity

Black or African Am erican

W hite

Am erican Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

Hispanic or Latino

NonHispanic or Latino

Two or M ore Races (W hite and Black)

Total # Percentage

30 91%

1 3%

0 0%

0 0%

0 0%

1 3%

32 97%

2 6%

<300%

300% or >300%

17

<100-150% (low income) 9

3

4

52%

27%

9%

12%

Income from Federal Poverty Line Total # Students Percentage

<100% (low income)

Staff Structure Administration: • Jamaine Smith, Director of Community Programs • Elizabeth Dawes, Community Programs Administrative Coordinator Teaching: 4 Full-time Teachers • Bruce Wilson, Lead Science Teacher • Katharine Loxley, Lead Art Teacher, Weeks 1-3 • Julie Rosen, Lead Art Teacher, Week 4 • Julianne Siracusa, Lead Art Teacher, Week 5 1 Part-time Culinary Teaching Artist 12

• Danielle Boyer-Graves 3 Full-time Group Leaders provided by Bridging the Gaps • Fahmida Akhter Fzhler, School of Medicine • Dylan Ottemiller, School of Creative Arts Therapy-Visual Art • Nathaniel McLaughlan, School of Creative Arts Therapy-Music 1 Full-time Group Leader • Jonah Rosen Operational Support: • 1 Part-time caterer, Danielle Boyer-Graves • 3 Full-time Junior Leaders responsible for culinary preparation o Josh Legree, returning Junior Leader o Autumn Lewis, returning Junior Leader o Sade Caldwell, new Junior Leader, assisted as Group Leader on Wednesdays Interns: • 1 Part-time Photography Intern, Leah Nissley, assisted as Group Leader on Wednesdays • 1 Part-time WorkReady Intern, Kaleah Mcilwain, regular administrative assistance & Group Leader assistance • 1 Artology Intern, Imani Palmer, administrative & classroom assistance Volunteers: • Quinia Evans, regular administrative assistance & Group Leader assistance • Mercedes Favor • Shaquilla Boxley Pre & Post Tests • 98% of students who took both the pre & post-test showed increased knowledge in both Science and Art. • 6.2 was the overall average point increase from pre to post-test.

• Students averaged a: o 2.3 point increase in Art Knowledge 13

o 1 point increase in Science knowledge Parent Survey Results Highlights o 100% of parents who completed the parent survey stated they would refer Artology to friends o 100% of parents who completed the parent survey stated they would like their child to participate in Artology for the 2015 program year. o 72.7% of parents rated Artology learning opportunities as “much more” or “more” than other summer programs o 72.7% of parents rated Artology as “better” or the “best” of other summer programs. o On a Likert Scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest) o The average rating for the overall Artology experience was 4.85/5 o The average rating for the importance of summer learning to parents was 4.85/5 Quotes from Parents On the Artology Staff: "I appreciate the energy, dedication, and professionalism of the staff. Jamaine [Smith, BuildaBridge’s Director of Community Programs} is an awesome, patient and dedicated leader. Thanks!!"

"I thought that the staff were all professional, friendly, engaging and informative. They knew Paloma and Lysander and would welcome them daily.

Very nice".

Noticed changes in child from participation in Artology: "Confidence in art and drawing. More knowledgeable about science topics" "My child is more knowledgeable and curious about science, her environment and being more responsible to sustain her environment. She wants to continue to visit the Wyck House".

14

"Paloma really formed some strong relationships this year and didn't want to miss any days. Paloma would share what she learned daily with the family".

"More expressive".

"Drawing, appreciation for crafts, nature".

Funders & Partners Artology was made possible through the generosity of the following funders and partners: • American Honda Foundation • Lincoln Financial Foundation • Subaru of America Foundation • Wayne Presbyterian Church • Bridging the Gaps Program (Drexel University) • The Second Baptist Church of Germantown donated the use of their facilities for the eighth year in a row!

15