New Wolf Trap Affiliate Will Work with Local School Districts to Introduce
Arts-Based Learning to Early Childhood Classrooms Throughout the State
Honolulu, HI (February 25, 2021) –
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announced today that it will bring its award-winning arts-based teaching and learning programs to early childhood classrooms in Hawaii through a new partnership with the Honolulu-based
Hawai῾i Arts Alliance.
The partnership creates
Hawai῾i Wolf Trap, Wolf Trap’s newest addition to a growing network of 23 affiliates across the United States and Singapore that served nearly 58,000 children, parents and educators in the 2019-2020 academic year through a combination of virtual and in-person classroom residencies, professional development workshops for teachers, and family workshops. Wolf Trap’s affiliate program is operated under Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, a program of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts based in Vienna, VA.
Hawai῾i Arts Alliance, a leading provider of arts education programs and services in the state, will operate Hawai’i Wolf Trap through its headquarters on Oahu, and will work to deliver services statewide, beginning with the island of Oʻahu.
Select workshops will be previewed online for teaching artists, school administrators, and educators this spring. Each workshop will feature professional development for early childhood educators and teaching artists across a variety of disciplines, including music, drama, and dance. The first workshop will take place on Saturday, March 27. Those interested in attending, please contact Lei Ahsing at Hawai῾i Wolf Trap at (808) 533-2787 or
lei@hawaiiartsalliance.
“At Hawai῾i Arts Alliance, we look for ways we can serve the community by providing families, children, and educators with meaningful arts experiences. Wolf Trap has a long history of success with its proven arts-based early childhood professional development program and we have witnessed Wolf Trap’s effectiveness with teachers and children in schools in our state of Hawaii,” said
Teri Skillman, Executive Director of Hawai῾i Arts Alliance. “Partnering with Wolf Trap allows us to adapt and customize the Wolf Trap model for our schools; establish Wolf Trap Teaching Artists in Hawaii to serve our communities; and join a network of arts education organizations sharing Wolf Trap resources and strategies.”
Hawai῾i Wolf Trap programs are designed for children in preschool and kindergarten and educators in the early childhood classroom. Programs will introduce arts-based lessons that illustrate key curricular concepts such as literacy, incorporating song, movement, imaginative play, and musical instruments, to equip teachers with skills to infuse active learning through the arts in their instruction with every classroom of children they teach.
“This past year has presented many challenges for the education community. In particular, it became evident just how important it is to provide a strong support structure for educators, families and young children,”
said Akua Kouyate-Tate, Vice President of Education at Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
“Since its inception, Hawai῾i Arts Alliance has played an important role as a community partner and arts advocate in Hawaii,” continued Kouyate-Tate. “We’re so excited to formalize this partnership with the Arts Alliance. Hawai῾i Wolf Trap will continue to expand the robust foundation for arts-based learning within the state by providing tools and resources teachers need to support Hawai’i’s youngest students develop the academic and social/emotional skills required to set children on a pathway for success in education.”
Through professional teaching artists trained in the Wolf Trap model, Wolf Trap Institute delivers customized, in-class professional development to early childhood educators using proven, arts-based strategies that reach across curricula and support development in key areas like language, literacy, math, science, and social-emotional development. Teaching Artists engage in multi-day residencies, during which they meet one-on-one with teachers to create custom lesson plans that align with their curriculum objectives. During these residencies Teaching Artists work in the classroom alongside the teacher to engage students in arts-based learning experiences, slowly allowing the teacher to lead the lesson using these strategies. Examples of Wolf Trap effective arts-based lesson plans, tutorials, and research are available via Wolf Trap’s website at education.wolftrap.org.
For more information about Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, visit
www.wolftrap.org/education.
For more information about Hawai῾i Wolf Trap and Hawai῾i Arts Alliance, visit
https://www.hawaiiartsalliance.org/.
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Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year-round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America’s outstanding resident ensemble programs for early career opera singers. Wolf Trap’s education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program.
Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts is operated through Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. The Institute helps create a future with more successful learners and more effective educators by integrating art forms such as music, dance, and drama to engage children in active, multisensory learning. Wolf Trap Institute served nearly served nearly 58,000 children, teachers, and parents/caregivers through residencies, workshops, and special programs through its network of affiliate organizations and partners during the 2019-2020 academic year. These organizations provide unique learning experiences for young children, as well as customized, hands-on professional development for early childhood educators.
Hawai‘i Arts Alliance’s mission is to engage and transform communities by supporting and cultivating creativity through the Arts. As the State Captain for Americans for the Arts and a member of the State Arts Advocacy Network, we advocate for all the Arts disciplines and genres. To date, the Arts Alliance has five areas of programming—arts education, arts service provider, community programs, creative artists network, and fiscal sponsorships. For more information, visit
https://www.hawaiiartsalliance.org/.
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Media Information
(Please do not publish contact information)
Liz Nickless, Assistant Director, Education Communications & Strategy
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
(703) 255-1980,
lizn@wolftrap.org
Teri Skillman, Executive Director
Hawaiʻi Arts Alliance
(808) 533-2787,
teri@hawaiiartsalliance.org