Our Arts Education program offers in-school arts instruction in various disciplines to 1600 students on an annual basis in grades K-12. Each year we partner with up to ten schools to provide ongoing arts experience to students throughout Brooklyn, in weekly sessions.

Through the program, young people have opportunities for sequential in-school arts exposure and training, schools benefit from in-depth partnerships to integrate the arts throughout their curriculum, teachers build skills in the arts, and parents engage in hands-on programs that enable them to contribute to their children’s arts experiences.

In addition to teaching skills in the arts, the program enhances the basic school curriculum, involves parents and teachers in the creative learning process and develops the students' interest in, and appreciation of, learning.

Ifetayo offers scholarships to participate in the Cultural Arts and Ifetayo Youth Ensemble Programs to Arts in Education students.

Program Goals
Project goals are to:

1. teach students fundamental arts skills;
2. enhance schools’ curriculum with an arts-focused component that meets/exceeds national and NY teaching standards;
3. heighten students’ basic communication skills by adhering to the NY State Learning Standards for English Language Arts;
4. improve students’ classroom behavior by utilizing multiple learning styles and encouraging creativity; 5) increase student attendance by generating greater interest in school and the learning process;
5. involve parents in their children’s educations;
6. train teachers in arts education methods;
7. encourage children to develop lifelong relationships with the arts;
8. develop opportunities for school-to-school mentorship and exchange, focused around AE.

Poetry/Creative Writing with Teaching Artist Faybiene Miranda	New York City Elementary School Regional Learning And Leadership Network click here for more info PS 249 18 Marlborough Road Brooklyn, NY 11226 Phone: 718-282-8828 Fax: 718-284-5146 Email: sho@schools.nyc.gov click here for more info P.S. 361 3109 Newkirk Ave Brooklyn, NY 11203 Phone: 718 856-0600 Fax: 718 856-0300 click here for more info
The MetLife Partners in Arts Education Program is funded by MetLife Foundation and administered by the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.

How the Program Works:

In-Classroom Residencies take place once weekly throughout the entire school year or can be purchased by schools as 8, 10, 12 or 16 week intensives which can include:

Theater/Creative Writing/Poetry
Workshops in theater/creative writing/poetry are designed to excite students about the power and magic of the written and spoken word. The workshops teach students to find their voice, express themselves, and relate to each other through written text and dramatic expression.

Visual Arts
Workshops in visual arts are designed to have students in create collages, murals, and picture books relating to the English Language Arts curriculum. Current workshops use James Weldon Johnson’s The Creation as a jumping off point to enable children to create their own worlds in images and words. These workshops exhibit complex understanding of material and create context for interpreting and analyzing through visual arts.

Dance
Workshops in dance can encompass the following disciplines African Dance, Afro-Brazilian Dance, Hip Hop, Stepping and Modern Dance designed to invigorate the spirit of children through movement. Students and teachers participate in weekly sessions some with live music taught by internationally renowned artist in a specific movement disciplines. The students have the opportunity to explore other countries throughout the world through their arts education experience.

Professional Development for Teachers
Ifetayo teaching artists provide training to all classroom teachers in the program on techniques for integrating the arts throughout the curriculum. Our teaching artists give demonstrations of their own teaching methods and strategies and work with classroom teachers in developing ways in which they might use those strategies to enrich and support their own teaching.

Parent Workshops
The involvement of parents and families is an important component of all programs offered by Ifetayo. Within the Arts Education Program we encourage this involvement by offering engaging workshops on disciplines that are taught in the school for parents and grandparents throughout the school year so that they can gain a fuller understanding of our program's goals and learn ways in which they can participate in and support their children's progress.

Current funders for the Arts Education Program are:

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)

New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)

Bay and Paul Foundation