Studio in a School NYC has launched a major initiative to serve English Language Learners (ELL) in New York City public schools this school year. Building on previous work that was seeded by the Department of Education’s Arts Partnership grant program, Studio will serve over 40 schools in all five boroughs with large populations of students who are not native English speakers. With major support from the City Council, Department of Education, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, City Council Deputy Leader Jimmy van Bramer, and the Department of Cultural Affairs, participating schools will receive free arts programming in a variety of media.
After special training with Jen Mohr, Teacher Educator and ELL Specialist at Queens College, Studio’s Artist Instructors will develop specific curricula in collaboration with partner schools to support the learning needs of ELL students as well as general education students in each classroom. Studio’s work in this area has helped New York City schools support their students in new ways, and has also helped us to develop best practices to be shared in this vital field.
These rich images of ELL students at work convey their dedication and joy in the art studio, the wonderful artwork they produce, and the newfound freedom they find to express themselves with confidence.
