Living Arts

Programs: Detroit wolf trap early learning residencies serve early head start, head start, pre-k, and kindergarten classrooms with performing arts-based artist residency models developed by the national wolf trap institute for early learning through the arts. Detroit wolf trap teaching artists engage young children from 3 months to 5 years old and their teachers and caregivers with dance, music, and drama lessons that support students' language-learning and kindergarten readiness (high scope cor) benchmarks. Rigorous evaluation over several years has found that detroit wolf trap classroom residencies have a statistically significant impact on students' high scope cor scores. In 2016-17 detroit wolf trap residencies served 998 young children and 141 educators in 60 head start and kindergarten classrooms in detroit and hamtramck. In addition, living arts leveraged its record of experience with early learners to launch family involvement classes at the ford resource and engagement center. Like classroom residencies, family programs used a trained teaching artist to deliver performing arts-based experiences that coached caregivers in helping infants and young children to acquire the skills they need to succeed in kindergarten. Living arts' bilingual spanish/english family involvement programs reached 100 caregivers and children in 2016-17.

osa program deliver high quality arts experiences during the after school and summer hours to help youth develop skills that boost their leadership capacities and help them become more successful in school, work and their communities. In 2016-17, osa programs served 387 students with an 8-week summer session and 32-week academic session at the ford resource and engagement center. Participants were able to choose from over 60 classes that explored seven dance forms, video animation, digital photography, songwriting and recording, many visual arts media, and more. A multidisciplinnary "open studio" program gave teens the opportunity to create their own collaborative works with guidance and mentorship from practicing artists. More than 90% of osa students received full or partial tuition scholarships to facilitate their enrollment. Osa evaluation has shown year-over-year than 90% of students are increasing their artistic skills as a result of instruction. Additional youth development evaluation has found that 100% of students surveyed believed they were more likely to graduate high school after their osa involvement.

isa provides 1st - 12th grade public and charter school classrooms with multi-session artist residencies in dance, drama, visual arts, media arts and literary arts. Isa programs deliver standards-based sequential arts lessions and many integrate english language arts (ela), math, social studies, and science concepts and content. Professional teaching artists work with youth to support their social-emotional development and increase their academic achievement while facilitating students' original art-making and skill development and building their visual, digital and performing arts abilities. 2016-17 isa residencies reached 1,208 students in 49 classrooms. Evaluation found that 76% of students achieved a gain in arts learning, with an average gain in skill of 27%. Teachers indivcated that they saw academic improvements of at least a 10% increase in core curriculum topics targeted by the residencies.