FY23 Bronx Academy of Letters

Jun 22

Written By Ben Houghton

FAST FACTS

School Name: Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters

Location: Bronx, NY

Programs: Vocal Music, Dance, Poetry

Participants: 114

Duration: 36 hrs/week, in school & after school, year-long

Teaching Artists: Tracia Banuelos, Tiffany Rae, Megan Lomax

Partnered with BAE since: 2018

REVENUE & EXPENSES

Programming was made possible thanks to support from the Bronx Letters Foundation (BLF), Anna and Stephen T. Kellen Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Department of Education, Sing for Hope, Tiger Baron Foundation, Music Man Foundation, LesPaul Foundation, and Surdna Foundation

IMPACT REFLECTION

The Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters continues to be BAE’s most robust and largest NYC partner. This year, building on our history of dance education programming since 2018, we also offered

two sections of high school poetry

two sections of high school dance
a high school dance team
three sections of middle school dance
vocal music club for high schoolers
vocal music club for middle schoolers
vocal music coaching for High School Musical participants

Upon reviewing surveys given at the beginning of the year, many students expressed that they found it difficult to set goals and think about their future as something that they can actively take responsibility for now. Teaching Artists learned quickly through warms-ups, activities, journaling, and 1:1 check-ins, that many students desired to eschew embarrassment and vulnerability by not participating during class. Across all programs, teaching artists observed that students who did engage had trouble getting out of their comfort zones, and felt embarrassment and shame when they made mistakes. Group projects were difficult, with students feeling distrustful of each other. All students shared a strong yearning for field trips.

In response, our teaching artists set the following goals for the year:

Offer field trips during the day and weekends for students to connect with each other and their community
Create process-rich performance and arts showcase opportunities through project-based learning.

After months of consistent trust-building, social and emotional skill-building, and technical skills-building in critical thinking and creative communication, the Spring semester was marked by exciting performances and activities.

Poetry students explored writing about themselves and their personal histories for the first time, building on class discussions about real-life issues such as racism, colorism, and xenophobia. Students were moved by a joint field-trip with Dance students to the African Burial Grounds in Lower Manhattan, questioning their family origins and how this affects their identities today. Turning their reflections into art, students engaged in publishing their works through public performances at BAL well as contributing to another edition of One Pen, the Bronx Academy of Letters literary journal.
Teaching Artist, Tiffany Brown, organized a winter arts showcase, featuring performances from all of the Dance students as well as poets, singers, visual artists, and musicians not in BAE programs.
Returning and committed Dance students created the first BAE dance team, taking home 1st place and 3rd place titles in a little under 90 days. Competing together, students had to learn how to work together, solve petty disagreements, and to “go all out!” during performances. Through the Dance team, students collaborated better with each other and encouraged each other.
Vocal music students put into practice career readiness skills such as budget management, event planning, and technical vocal skill development in their first year as a club. Team building field trips to the Museum of Ice Cream and Six Flags helped the vocal students bond and perform stronger as an ensemble.

In FY24, BAE hopes to continue to offer more opportunities for participants to perform, engage in leadership opportunities, and communicate creatively and effectively with each other. BAE hopes to continue to develop real performance opportunities for students families and the BAL community to witness their brilliance and passion.