The high school received grant funding to start a new program called "The Literacy Lab." This is where students who are brand new to the country and the English language come to learn. The room is staffed with a full time teacher and four tutors representing many of the students' nationalities. As the students progress they are slowly introduced to the regular high school schedule. This is an exceptional program lead by Kristen Colon.
The 95 kindergarten students I teach at the Rogers School is a new pilot program focused on giving a full-day experience for students who specifically have little or no pre-K education. Here we were trained on Teaching Strategies Gold Assessments, home visits, and WIDA.
The Lowell Project started with the high school students creating a book using Blurb.com. Here they told their stories of why they came from Lowell and any struggles they faced in their previous homeland. The book is now available as a free download on iTunes.
Next, the high school students traveled to UnchARTed Studios in Downtown Lowell where they created fake bones. The bones were then sent to Washington, D.C. to be part of the 1 Million Bones Project. Visit www.onemillionbones.com to learn more. UnchARTed also hosted a very successful art show for the students which featured the bones and their stories.
The last part of the project was the most magical. World percussionist Tony Vacca created a one-day musical adventure for the students. First he gave a full hour clinic to the high school students. They got to play authentic world percussion instruments and learn new rhythms. From there, the high school students mentored the Rogers kindergarten students through four one-hour clinics and ending with a final performance for the community. This was an epic day in particular as the high school students had an opportunity to mentor the kindergarten students through music which is powerful as their English was still new for a lot of them. As a result, the older students felt a sense of ownership and the younger students excelled musically due to the one-on-one process of teaching.
I must thank my supervisor Margaret Shepherd who helped me write the grant and with all aspects of the project. Also, Kristen Colon and the four tutors at Lowell High School put their hearts into making this project happen. Lindsey Parker of UnchARTed Studios was very gracious in giving her space to our students and teaching them how to make bones from plaster. She even took the students upstairs to see the artwork from the many artists occupying the studios.
Please visit www.lowellproject.com to learn more!
Read the Lowell Sun article here!
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