How the outreach program developed

The educational outreach program was envisioned by Linden McPherson, a former professional                  ballet dancer, ballet teacher for over 40 years with a BA and Masters degree in Dance from the                  University of CA, Irvine, and Jack Virga-Hall, a professional dancer, dance teacher for over 30 years who attended California Institute of the ARTS. Together with curriculum by Dr. Corina Williams McGovern, a former professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and instructor at                      University of California, Los Angeles with over 25 year of experience working in educational settings,

the SMArts Educational Outreach Curriculum was created.

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These experts and specialists from various fields, including education and early childhood development created SMArts, an interactive arts integration educational program for 2nd and 3rd graders. The unique curriculum uses dance and movement to teach common core concepts in math, science, language arts and world culture. The program also incorporates a live or recorded performance of the The Nutcracker ballet.

 

Our reach so far:

SMArts was piloted to a handful of public and Title 1 parochial schools in underserved areas of Los Angeles in the Fall of 2018. The response was overwhelming. SMArts has seen consistent growth over its years of operation, notwithstanding the disruption to classroom learning caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, when all lessons were converted to video. This continued growth, and strong community support testifies to the positive impact and reach of SMArts.

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SMArts is made possible through the generous support of sponsors,

donors and partner organizations,

who believe in the power of integrated learning through the arts.

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