About
The Arts Education program provides enrichment and engagement for students and teachers throughout the school year. Grounded in the National Core Arts Standards, we work with artist partners who provide both immersive programs and schoolwide assembly performances in music, art, theater, media arts, poetry, and dance. From engaging students in the elementary grade levels by cultivating an interest in the various art forms, to supporting career pathways for students in high school, we partner with the school community. Our commitment is to provide live arts experiences for every child at least six times while attending pre-K through 12th grade in the schools we serve.
Broadening our engagement with the educational community, we recently formed a 16-member Arts Education Advisory Group. Thanks to these educators and community members, the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation is providing teacher enrichment through professional development opportunities. As our arts education program grows, we look forward to partnering with arts educators to provide innovative and immersive programs in their schools and beyond.
Program Mission Statement
To partner with schools on Delmarva to deliver impactful arts education programs that support the rich, genre-diverse curricula that students experience, through a supplemental and layered approach both in schools and at Freeman Arts Pavilion.
- Our reach into both public and private schools offers over 52,000 students in Sussex, Wicomico and Worcester counties meaningful arts experiences.
- The Arts Education Program is designed to reach more than 25,000 students each year. Our rich programming supports the curricula work of arts educators in all arts disciplines including fine art, visual art, music, dance, theater and poetry.
- We typically provide assembly programs that offer exposure to the various arts disciplines. Some programs we support are taught in classrooms and are immersive in one or more art forms.
- Our programs accommodate ability, individual, cultural, and linguistic differences among students through audience participation and thoughtful consideration of individual needs.
- Our programs often include content for multilingual learners.
- Our programs often align with Delaware House Bill 198, legislation that requires each school district and charter school serving K-12 students to provide instruction on Black history as part of educational programming.
- We offer programs that incorporate technological innovation where possible.
- We elicit student feedback with a short Student Assessment Survey with questions designed to measure student learning outcomes based on the learning standards our programs address.
- We elicit staff feedback through an Educator Evaluation Survey which allows us to gather measurable data about our Arts Education programming.
- Our artist partners work with us to provide live in-school character and/or cultural education programs.
- Our artist partners work with us to present programs that align with K-12 Social Emotional Learning Competencies.
In-School Arts Education Programming for the 2024-2025 School Year
Hip Hop Fundamentals
Hip Hop Fundamentals is an award-winning team of diverse professional Breakdancers out of Philadelphia dedicated to Hip Hop education. They utilize arts integration to blend academic and social justice content while honoring the Black cultural roots of Hip Hop culture. Civil Rights Movements: The Power of Youth Engagement Through the Eyes of Dr. Martin Luther King is a 50-minute assembly program focused on student involvement in the American Civil Rights Movement. The assembly utilizes dance, audience participation, and a variety of activities to explore the social conditions that gave rise to the movement, the heroic work necessary to address segregation, and the critical role that young people played in winning equal rights for millions of Americans.
The Uncle Devin Show
The Uncle Devin Show® is presented by Devin Walker, a Grammy® nominated musician who offers an interactive magical journey through the history of percussion instruments. Driven by the desire to use his gifts to inspire children, Uncle Devin engages students with his 3 percussion superheroes — shake, scrape, and strike. Uncle Devin presents a one-man, 50-minute assembly program.
Visual artist John Donato
Visual artist John Donato has developed a therapeutic program called “Doodley Brain” that addresses mental health, depression and anxiety. This work is based on an emerging art form called neurographic art which alleviates anxiety and depression. Starting with doodling, students focus on the sensory experience John calls “delights” and create individual works of art. The medium is pastels and this work aligns with Delaware DOE Social Emotional Learning competency areas. This is a whole-school initiative and every student’s work is featured in a digital gallery playlist.
The Twin Poets
The State of Delaware Poets Laureate Al Mills & Nnamdi Chukwuocha, The Twin Poets, are champions of the spoken word presenting recitations for high school students. The program includes grade-level assembly recitations along with classroom workshops supporting the national Poetry Out Loud competition. The Twin Poets are the first African Americans to hold the post of Poets Laureate for the State of Delaware.
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company presents a diverse genre of Mexican folkloric dance explored through a varied selection of dances from Calpulli’s rich repertoire and interactive narration. Dancers from various states and ethnic regions in Mexico perform distinct choreographies, each with unique costumes and music. The flowing feathers and drum beats of the Azteca, and the bright skirts of the women in Jalisco are just a few examples of memorable Mexican culture that audiences will enjoy in this Spanish language-infused, 50-minute assembly.
Saz Ross
Saz Ross is an award-winning artist and educator in the field of art education who uses illustrative storytelling as a vehicle for unlocking and elevating the creative mindset. Students will engage in a project called Creative Risks. Pre-program activities include writing and/or drawing about a time in the student’s life when they had to take risks or be brave. This is a whole-school initiative and every student’s work will be included in a larger composition centered on bravery, Social Emotional Learning, and risk-taking.
Sonia De Los Santos
Sonia De Los Santos is a Latin Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter. Sonia presents a bilingual music performance highlighting her life in America as an immigrant from Mexico. In addition to singing and playing guitars indigenous to her native country, Sonia explores the wonderful dance traditions of her Mexican culture. This 50-minute assembly complements district dual language or Spanish immersion programs.
Charlotte's Web The Musical
TheaterWorksUSA will present Charlotte’s Web the Musical for students who travel on a field trip to Freeman Arts Pavilion. This is a creative spin on a classic tale! This reimagined production features bluegrass music and a clever set design, telling the treasured story of selfless love and the true meaning of friendship. Join Charlotte, Wilbur, and their farm animal friends in this terrific tale of bravery and hopefulness for this 1-hour live arts program.
