Amplify & Ignite: Creative Practice in and With Communities

Over the past three years, the Student Voice and Engagement (SVE) program has undergone significant transformations to better serve the needs of students, teaching artists, and school communities. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) grant, SVE integrates theater arts and social-emotional learning (SEL) to enhance English Language Arts (ELA) skills and foster sustainable student engagement. As the only New York City-based program to receive the 2021 AAE Award, SVE has made a lasting impact in four schools in Brownsville, Brooklyn.This workshop will explore the evolution of SVE, highlighting the program's structural and creative adaptations over the past three years. We will examine how teaching artists and program leaders have responded to the unique needs of individual schools and communities, refining approaches to collaboration and engagement. Additionally, we will focus on the pivotal role of transformation in supporting students as they transition from 5th to 6th grade, using theater and SEL as powerful tools for growth and self-expression. Participants will gain insights into the challenges and successes of adapting arts-based education programs and explore interactive games and activities centered on the theme of transformation. This session invites educators, administrators, and teaching artists to reflect on the lessons learned from SVE's journey and consider how these practices can be applied to their own work to foster sustained student engagement and meaningful collaboration.