Community Conversation: Creating & Collaborating in the Time of Covid
Dec 09, 2020 4:00PM—5:00PM
Cost FREE FOR MEMBER SCHOOLS
Categories Community Conversation, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Members Only, Online Offerings, Social & Emotional Learning
ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
The arts hold precious space in our schools for creation, connection, community and conversation. Here, students can nurture tools of self-expression and give voice to rich inner lives. Through the arts, they can also engage creatively with wider themes and issues, or, in the words of Emily Dickinson, “tell all the truth but tell it slant.”
In 2020, arts teachers have been called on to hold that space and nurture student-artists in the midst of a global pandemic, a racial reckoning and a divisive election. We’ve been called on to hold the mirror up to these tumultuous times, and take on myriad logistical challenges in the process. How have we fared? And what is next?
This Community Conversation offers a framework for arts teachers to check-in and take stock, to learn and look forward. We’ll reflect on challenges in the time of Covid-19, but also share discoveries, strategies and innovations. What platforms, tools and technology have been most useful? What themes, ideas and voices have come to the fore? What capacities have grown or collaborations developed?
Our time together will also provide a platform for forward-looking reflection. Has this period made you re-evaluate the role of the arts in our students' lives and in our communities? As we come back together, is there the potential for the arts to serve our communities with even greater clarity or purposefulness?
This is a free program for CATDC member Schools only, and is ideal for teachers of the arts (film, theater, fine arts, music, dance), extracurricular program leaders, and administrators. We invite CATDC Member Schools to send up to 3 people to our free member-only workshops. Spots fill quickly and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Tony Asaro has been a choral music and musical theatre professional for more than 20 years. He currently is the Vocal Music teacher at Lick-Wilmerding High School where he teaches chorus, musical theatre, songwriting, and digital audio.
Michelle Haner teaches theater at the French-American International School in San Francisco and serves as artistic director of the high school's after-school theater company, Back à Dos. She also serves as the school's Urban Engagement Coordinator, overseeing an internship program, a community salon series and various partnerships.
Cameron Harris holds degrees in both history and literature, as well as a MFA in Film and Television from New York University, and has teaching experience at Hampton University and the French International School in San Francisco.
Josephine Hill teaches Middle and High School Visual Art at the French American International School in San Francisco. She also teaches in the Humanities department and enjoys incorporating interdisciplinary learning into her classes.
Miguel Zavala has taught theatre in many educational settings, including public schools, community theatre, higher education, and various theatre arts programs in New York City, Atlanta, Austin, and Napa Valley. Miguel teaches theatre at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco and has directed over twenty productions.