Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School

Jul 1

Written By Ben Houghton

FAST FACTS

School Name: Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School

Location: Washinton Heights, New York City

Programs: after school theater club, junior producers internship, musical production

Participants: 20 (direct) 964 (indirect)

Duration: ~8 hrs/week for the entire school year

Teaching Artists: Luis Mora, Brett Tubbs, Ben Houghton

STUDENT FEEDBACK

[insert embedded links of WHEELS program participants]

REVENUE & EXPENSE

EMBEDDED REELS/INSTAGRAM/PHOTO COLLAGES

IMPACT REFLECTION

BAE’s 23-24 school year at the Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS) was a true example of “Living in the Orange.” It was one of the most challenging yet successful years for the BAE/WHEELS partnership, with a robust after school theater club, multiple field trips to Broadway shows, the return of the school’s Spring musical after 5 years, and a brand new Junior producer internship program.

Program Coordinator, Luis Mora, reflects back on this year of tremendous growth and achievement:

“[After dedicating the previous school year to reviving the school’s theater program from the ashes and building trust with students], my focus this year was to give young people PRIDE; following the trajectory of safety, pride, and purpose. This was achieved by giving young people clear and attainable goals where they could succeed based on their own merits and commitment. The goal they picked? Bringing the tradition of a Spring musical back to WHEELS. It was a huge undertaking that would involve a lot of extra rehearsals, fundraising, and coordination with the school, but they were determined!

We were fortunate enough to have a group of young interns (Junior Producers) who managed a lot of the logistics involved with managing the program. One of our first tasks as a group was to collaborate to create social media assets for fundraising. These included videos with their testimony and lived experience. Due to their hard work, we were able to secure our first grant with Ham4Progress for $2,500 and individual donations of roughly $500, bringing their fundraising total to $3,000. Then, young people were ignited to put on their first Art Share in their school, the first official student performance since the COVID 19 shutdown. In this show, young people were able to express themselves through song, dance, monologue, spoken word, and playing instruments. It was with this experience that young people realized that there is a community of people who are excited to see them perform and actually come to the theater. At this time, BAE partnered up with Broadway Rave to raise the remaining funds to put on a musical, and in one night, with a little help from the Broadway cast of Hamilton, we raised the remaining funds for the musical at WHEELS! A huge debt of gratitude also goes out to Josh Groban’s Find Your Light Foundation for their support of the year-round arts instruction that made this production possible.

After a packed rehearsal schedule, WHEELS presented XANADU to the community for two public performances with roughly 200 people in attendance. The musical was so well received by audiences that the school’s principal requested an additional two performances for the show to be performed to the entire school, with over a thousand peer attendees. Those additional performances were packed with students, teachers, and staff members supporting the program. Without a doubt, PRIDE was the feeling that was shared by the cast and crew.

While we put in a lot of work and effort into this, we also managed to have a lot of fun along the way. Through BAE, we were able to experience several shows such as The Play That Goes Wrong, Moulin Rouge, The Notebook, El Niño, Six; as well as guest artists, a visit to the MET museum, participation in an Aston Martin networking event, Karaoke days, and participation in the 2024 Art Share at the LGBT Center. Program participant Hayes won the Joseph L. Dionne scholarship, making it the second year in a row that a WHEELS student received a BAE college scholarship.

The Junior producers closed out the year by individually producing their own projects which included original music, live performances, talent reels, and a short film. They presented a student-led Impact Report to school staff, to members of the board at BAE, and to their principal. Perhaps one of the most palpable achievements of this year is the improved relationship that young people have with their principal. They started out the year having doubts and reservations about their leadership, but ended up feeling mutually supported and seen.

We are excited to return to WHEELS next year, with a more robust scope of work and programming that is responsive to the needs and wants of young people in Washington Heights.”