Cultural identity, community development, and public policy through the lens of creative practice. Addresses arts advocacy strategies and integrates interdisciplinary connections across social and professional sectors.
A sequence of introductory activities for new Digital Design students to build community and assess skill levels.
A 2-week comprehensive unit on podcast production, focusing on the intersection of journalistic research, interviewing, and technical audio mixing using Soundtrap. Students learn to craft compelling stories through sound while mastering professional digital audio workstation (DAW) workflows.
A 4-day project sequence where high school students explore their digital identity through personal branding in Canva and short-form video production in CapCut. Students choose a personal 'niche'—such as gaming, fashion, or social advocacy—to build a cohesive visual presence.
A K-12 collaborative music video project where students across all grade levels work together to produce a 'Playing for Change' style cover of a protest song centered on equality and cultural identity. High school students lead production, while K-8 students provide the musical and visual heart of the performance.
A multi-day unit exploring Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, focusing on the transition from spectator to 'spect-actor' through Image and Forum Theatre to address contemporary social issues.
A comprehensive four-week unit and independent study guide for contemporary drama. Students analyze scripts, research playwrights, design technical elements, and stage scenes for a final production portfolio.
A hands-on career exploration unit focusing on the dynamic world of retail. Students will master customer service excellence, learn retail operations like inventory and POS systems, and design their own retail floor plan and brand strategy.
A high school art history and studio unit exploring the life, technique, and socio-political impact of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Students will trace his journey from SAMO graffiti to global art icon while analyzing his unique neo-expressionist style.
A high school art unit focused on creating massive, 'larger than life' sculptures using recycled cardboard, paper clay, and found objects. Students analyze contemporary environmental artists and master structural engineering and surface texture in 3D design.
A comprehensive 3D art unit that guides students from transforming recycled materials to mastering monumental scale, combining fine arts history with engineering and technical skill.
An exploration of music written for and inspired by dance across cultures and eras. From the modern concert band work 'Spirit Dance' to global traditions like Samba and Indigenous Hoop dancing, students analyze the relationship between rhythmic pulse and movement.
This project-based sequence takes students on a global tour as ethnomusicologists, examining how geography and culture influence musical instruments and sounds. Students classify instruments using the Hornbostel-Sachs system and explore rhythms and scales from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
This sequence traces the evolution of contemporary music from 19th-century African American spirituals through the development of the Blues, Jazz, and Rock & Roll. Students investigate how cultural exchange, technology, and social struggles shaped the sounds we listen to today, culminating in a musical genealogy project.
A project-based sequence where 7th-grade students act as community organizers to launch an arts advocacy campaign, moving from needs assessment to a final pitch.
This sequence moves students beyond subjective appreciation of art to objective analysis of its economic and social value. Through inquiry and case studies, students investigate how arts districts revitalize neighborhoods, attract tourism, and improve academic outcomes.
This 9th-grade sequence moves beyond art appreciation to explore the economic and policy frameworks of the arts sector. Students analyze funding models, historical controversies, grant writing, and urban policy, culminating in a mock legislative session on arts advocacy.
An advanced printmaking sequence focusing on the reduction lino-cut method. Students explore historical context, strategic planning, technical carving, and the precise mechanics of registration and editioning to create multi-colored prints from a single, evolving block.
A high school sequence exploring the intersection of digital design and traditional printmaking. Students learn to bridge vector precision with analog texture through zine production and professional practice.
A comprehensive introduction to the art and industry of screen printing, covering stencil logic, tool mechanics, registration, and production workflows for 9th-grade students.
This sequence explores the evolution of urban and popular dance, tracing its journey from the 1970s Bronx to the global digital landscape. Students analyze the socio-economic roots, cultural spread, and ethical implications of dance styles like Hip Hop, K-Pop, and TikTok trends.
Students investigate how visual arts served as a vehicle for political power, religious messaging, and scientific observation during the Renaissance. This sequence moves beyond simple art appreciation to the analysis of 'visual rhetoric'—how perspective, anatomical realism, and classical allusions were used to convey meaning.
This sequence guides 8th-grade students through the world of public art, from analyzing its functions and cultural symbolism to designing their own scale mural proposals that address community social issues. Students will transition from art critics to civic-minded designers, learning how visual narratives can transform urban spaces.
Students explore the ethical and creative possibilities of photo manipulation, learning professional workflows in raster editing to create a surrealist composite. The sequence covers digital citizenship, non-destructive editing, perspective matching, and color grading.
This sequence investigates how the technological explosion of the 20th and 21st centuries, from the electric guitar to AI, redefined music genres and creation. Students analyze production techniques, listen for layers, and explore the concept of technology as a musical instrument.
A chronological journey through the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras of Western Art Music, focusing on critical listening and historical context.
A comprehensive 7th-grade unit that integrates graphic design principles with the physical craft of screen printing. Students learn about typography, visual hierarchy, and composition while navigating the technical challenges of stencil-making and screen printing to create a persuasive poster series.
An 8-session sports broadcasting course for grades 4–12, covering play-by-play, color analysis, interviewing, and technical production. Students move from foundational commentary to producing a full capstone broadcast segment.
A comprehensive exploration of the African Diaspora's influence on global vernacular dance, tracing movement traditions from West Africa through the plantation era to the birth of Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. Students analyze how rhythmic innovation served as a tool for cultural preservation and resistance.
A comprehensive 10th-grade dance history unit tracing ballet from its origins in Renaissance courts to its 20th-century neoclassical evolution. Students analyze how political power, social structures, and technological innovations shaped technique and aesthetics.
This sequence explores the radical shift from classical ballet to modern dance in the early 20th century. Students will analyze the philosophical, psychological, and sociopolitical drivers behind the movement theories of pioneers like Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Doris Humphrey.
A comprehensive investigation into how political power and statecraft shaped the technique, hierarchy, and aesthetics of classical ballet from the French court to the Russian Imperial stage. Students analyze the evolution of the 'ideal body' as a reflection of political absolutism, gender dynamics, and modernist rupture.
This sequence explores how the African Diaspora shaped American vernacular and theatrical dance, from West African polyrhythms to Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. Students analyze the impact of minstrelsy, the Harlem Renaissance, and the codification of jazz while tracing the lineage of modern pop culture moves back to their historical roots.
A comprehensive exploration of ballet's evolution from the 17th-century French court to 20th-century American neoclassicism, focusing on the intersection of political power, social values, and aesthetic form.
A high school sequence exploring the shift from traditional ballet to modern dance through five key movements: Duncan's naturalism, Graham's psychological depth, Cunningham's chance operations, Judson Dance Theater's pedestrianism, and Bausch's Tanztheater. Students engage in both physical workshops and intellectual analysis to understand art as a reaction to its time.
A deep dive into the intersection of dance and political authority, examining how court traditions from Baroque France to Imperial Russia and beyond have used the human body to enforce social hierarchy. Students analyze movement as a tool of statecraft, tracing the evolution of ballet and comparing it with global court dances.
A 9th-grade dance sequence exploring globalization, cross-cultural fusion, and the evolution of post-modern choreography in the 21st century. Students investigate how technology and media reshape dance and create their own site-specific performances.
A 5-lesson sequence for 9th-grade students exploring the birth and evolution of modern dance, from Isadora Duncan's natural movement to Alvin Ailey's social commentary. Students will analyze key figures, practice foundational techniques, and create their own choreographic manifestos.
Students trace the lineage of ballet from the royal courts of France to the grand stages of Russia and beyond, exploring how political power shaped dance technique.
A journey through the evolution of ballet from the 17th-century French royal courts to the modern proscenium stage, exploring how a social pastime for nobility became a professional athletic art form.
