Jill Beck

Artsbridge Awarded Jack B. Linquist Award

(September 14, 2000)
 

The UC Irvine ArtsBridge program was recognized at Disneylandís 43rd Annual Community Service Awards on September 14, 2000.  ArtsBridge was awarded the Jack B. Lindquist award for the most innovative program of service to the community.  The award carried with it a $30,000 gift to the program and was the second highest award presented.  ArtsBridge is extremely proud of this recognition.

(October 23, 2000)
 
 

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Artsbridge Links Arts to Public Schools

By Aggie Features Writer

While most college students spend their early weekday mornings in bed or pounding the snooze button, Brittany Torke does something a little different - she dances with fourth graders. 

Torke belongs to the prestigious University of California program Artsbridge which seeks to link the UC arts departments with local public schools that have limited or no formal art curriculum. The UC program grants $1,000 scholarships to arts majors in return for a minimum of 16 hours per quarter of teaching an art medium to kids. A dance and neurobiology double major, Torke brings her dance skills twice a week to a class at Prairie Elementary School in Elk Grove. Calif. 

Small and sprightly, Torke entered Prairie's dimly-lit cafeteria Friday morning and waited patiently while a group of 25 ethnically diverse fourth graders filed into the large room. Evidently excited and rambunctious, some immediately started rolling and dancing on the floor. Torke began by asking them to take off their shoes and then energetically led them in a series of movements and stretches. 

"We start by calling it movements," Torke said later with a creeping smile on her face. "The boys sometimes tend to act a little differently when they hear the word 'dance' class." 

The movements included imitating limp spaghetti noodles melting and softening in a boiling pot of water and marionettes being pulled by imaginary strings. 

Torke then asked the kids to wiggle and be completely chaotic for a minute. Towards the end of the prolonged minute even the active fourth graders began to get a little tired, but Torke kept on going. After this exercise the kids were ready for the more structured lesson. 

Torke said she was trying to teach them to focus more intensively and resist the temptation to talk to their neighbors. 

"I think that one of the biggest obstacles is getting them to be a little quieter and to focus on what their body is doing and what they're feeling," she said. 

Artsbridge began at UC Irvine five years ago and was so successful that the California State Legislature decided to expand the program and to give grants to all UC campuses in 1999. According to Artsbridge director Cornelia Schultz, the program is receiving more and more demands and is relatively competitive. She said what she looks most for in applicants, however, is enthusiasm and good organizational and thinking skills. 

Toward the end of her time at Prairie Elementary, Torke arranged the children in groups and had them quickly choreograph improvised dance routines to funk music. Torke said the first day they danced in front of one another the children were petrified, but now they really love performing. 

During his time in the spotlight, one boy threw himself about the room with cartwheels and somersaults. Then, he asked inquisitively whose dance was the best. Torke, consistent with her positive and affirming spirit, said all the dances were wonderful and she couldn't decide. 

Torke said she also wished to expose the kids to music that they don't usually hear on the radio. Although some of the children pestered her to play the BackStreet Boys and Brittany Spears, she used a wide range of genres throughout the class including salsa, West African and techno. 

Torke has participated in Artsbridge for four quarters and previously taught dance to kindergartners in Dixon, Calif. and to seventh and eighth graders in West Sacramento. 

When asked what she thought kids gained from dance, Torke answered with a decisive "everything" and then described the specific benefits of dance. 

"Dance is very spatial and I don't think a lot of people realize cognitively the things that end up happening." Torke said. "When you're dancing you have to be aware of what your body is doing and what the person next to you is doing - you also have the counting along with the emotional feelings." 

Torke's emphasis on spatial learning was evident when she taught the students a series of movements based on the concept of lines. 

With more than a decade of dance experience, Torke said she's given the kids a real hodgepodge of movements that reflect her own diverse training in all mediums of dance. 

"I want to expose them to as much as I can in the short time I'm teaching them." Torke said. 

Torke attributed the influences she incorporates in her program to a range of styles from ballet to West African. Some of the exercises included ballet steps where Torke compared the motions to moving pennies with one's toes. 

Torke said she plans her first lessons to be very flexible so she can get a feel for what the kids are like and where they want to go naturally. 

"The first class I let them lead me." Torke said. "I hope they don't know that." 

She said working with kids has helped her see things from a different perspective. 

"They're self-conscious about things that I'm not self-conscious about, but the things that I'm self-conscious about, they're not," Torke said. 

UC Davis only sends Artsbridge scholars to schools with lower test scores, none of which are located in Davis. To apply, teachers send in requests to the program and Schultz matches the requests with Artsbridge scholars. 

Overall the program has been an immense success, Schultz said. 

"For the last 30 years there has been gradual diminishing of the arts in the K-12 schools, but Artsbridge is beginning to help return the arts to everyday learning." 

Schultz especially stressed the value in using art as a teaching tool and integrating art into the curriculum. 

"We've had students teach art projects about Californian history and Egyptian artifacts." Schultz said. "The arts broaden the students' horizons and deepen their education - it makes it much fuller, deeper, and richer. It taps into their creative potential." 

Nancy Myers who teaches fourth grade at Prairie Elementary school said she is equally enthusiastic about Artsbridge. 

"The lessons are good at getting the children thinking about their bodies and into their bodies so they're using their muscles and using them intentionally." she said. 

Myers also said it has been beneficial for the children to work with a young person. 

"This is a title I school which means a lot of the children don't have the opportunities that people in more economically advantaged areas might have." Myers said. 

Torke said she has especially enjoyed this particular age group. 

"It's the best part of my day." Torke said. 

She said she really enjoyed working with kindergartners in previous quarters, but their minds weren't developed enough to engage in very complicated lessons. 

"We raced each other a lot." she said referring to the kindergartners favorite activity in dance class. 

Torke also worked with emotionally- disturbed seventh and eighth grade boys, which she said was a challenging task. 

Torke said the job involves a lot of preparation. but that this preparation mostly incorporates a lot of reflection. She said she thinks about what went on during class on the drive home and later writes down everything she thought about.

THE PRESS ENTERPRISE

(May 18, 2000)
Leaping into literacy/learning

UCRís ArtsBridge appears to help children express themselves and boost academic performance.

By Pat OíBrien 
The Press Enterprise

The room fills with chaos.  Nineteen children leaping, jumping, falling, giggling.  But they do not slam together.  They donít step on each othersí feet.  And they stop still as stone if asked.

These second-graders at George Washington Elementary School in Riverside know about kinespheres - imaginary bubbles of space surrounding each of them.  They know about respecting that personal space.  Even more amazing, they take this knowledge of space and apply it to writing lessons.

Need a margin along the paper? Space between words? They understand this concept.

They have learned these concepts, and others such as locomotion and tempo, through a dance movement class brought to them though ArtsBridge, a state-funded arts program implemented by the University of California, Riverside.

ArtsBridge was created in 1996 at UC Irvine to fill a gap in arts education.  Years of budget cutbacks had resulted in the loss of many art classes in Californiaís public schools.

Eleanore Stewart, associate director of UC ArtsBridge, says studies have shown numerous benefits to arts education, such as increased creativity, problem-solving skills, collaborative skills, communication skills, discipline and self-confidence.

"These are all life skills that the arts build and develop in everyone, but particularly in children," she said.  "Thereís a lot of research that demonstrates that involvement in the arts reaches kids at risk.  It increases attendance in school, improves relationships with teachers, allows for socially acceptable methods of expressing emotion."

UCR was the first campus chosen to join UC Irvine in a pilot program last spring due to UCRís success with another arts programóthe privately funded UCR Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts.

The state decided to extend ArtsBridge to almost all UC campuses during 1999-2000 by giving it a budget of 1.5 million.

Education lubrication

How to gauge success?

"Children tend to crowd their words and make a long caterpillar of their words.  So when I teach writing I say, "Remember the bubble kinesphere." Itís little connections like that have really helped the children," said Nancy Peralez, who teaches second grade at George Washington Elementary School.

She cites some examples.  One student has done more than leap across the classroom.  He has leaped from 17 (below basic) to 29 (proficient) out of 35 points on reading comprehension skills since the beginning of the year. 

"For this one little child, this is the tonic he needed.  It worked for him," Peralez said.

The class as a whole has developed a longer attention span, now able to stay with a topic for 40 minutes as opposed to 20 minutes earlier in the year.

"Its perfectly natural for them to stay focused to a lesson until it is completed.  That has been different," Peralez said. "This program is lubrication for all of them.  My dive is academics.  We need to get them writing, reading.  ArtsBridge has been lubrication that has helped them move."

The program also has helped with social skills and self-esteem.  One student changed from a shy boy who hung behind others to leader of one of the dance movement lines.

"He never misses his place.  Heís learned how to adapt and adjust," said Noreen Schweiss, the ArtsBridge scholar who came to Peralez with the projectóstimulating literacy through movement.  Hereís a typical session:

Schweiss leads the children through exercises.  They cheer when she asks them to do energetic circles and kinespheres.

Then Schweiss says, "No locomotor, only axial."

These seven-year-olds donít seem confused by this sophisticated vocabulary.

"Do you move though space?"

"No", they respond with assurance.

Indeed, for this exercise they move around only in the space where they are currently standing. They do a mirror exercise, in which they mimic the slow movements of a partner.  Sometimes they do suspended or freeze positions.

"Now locomote.  No running.  Stay within the boundaries."

Off they goóleaping, jumping, prancingówithout any collisions.

In a quiet exercise, sitting still, they "scan" for objects in the room.

"What energy are we going to use?"

"Sustain."

"Very good."

After some stretches and deep breathing, Schweiss asks them what they have learned from the program, especially about the three elements of  movementóspace, time and energy.

"You can crash into other people if you donít have space," says Eric Smith, 8.

Seven-year-old Rayah Shilleh comments that it takes a lot of energy to hold a suspended position.

The scanning exercise had shown its academic use earlier when Peralez asked students to look at a reading assignment and then say what stood out to them.  One student commented that the assignment was like scanning.

Like a gold mine.

"Clearly there is a problem in Riverside County schools.  There are a number of schools that have no arts programming at all," said theater pofessor Eric Bar, who is director of the UCR ArtsBridge program. "This is one kind of a fix.  Itís not the ultimate fix."

During this year, UCR has sent 58 arts scholars to work with more than 2,800 students.  Some of the projects are quite ambitious, such as teaching jazz theory or classic Geek theater.

"The children are so eager to learn.  They are like a gold mine," said Sinnie Chen, 20, who is now working her third quarter in the program, teaching a combination of music and visual arts to elementary students.

The program not only fills a void in the childrenís education; it benefits the university students.  They each receive a $1,000 scholarship for which they must prepare lesson plans, conduct workshops for 25 hours in classrooms, keep a running record and submit documentation.

But more importantly, they gain more knowledge about their fields.

"They learn about their at by sharing it with others," Barr said.

Schweiss, who is 43, returned to college as an adult and is the mother of four.  She wants to pursue a masterís degree so she can continue to develop a curriculum for teaching literacy through movement.  She contends that when children learn gross motor skills, their cognitive development increases.

"Little people are kinetic learners still.  Thatís how you are learning in those states," she said.

Peralez admits she knows nothing about dance movement, but she has taught in the Riverside Unified School District for 20 years and learned a lot about children and their needs.

When she heard about ArtsBridge, she applied for anything UCR would send her.

"I didnít want to be left out," she said.

Contact: Tracy Childs, 949-824-5484, tpchilds@uci.edu

UC IRVINE CHOSEN TO LEAD STATEWIDE EFFORT TO HELP RESTORE ARTS EDUCATION TO K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOLS

University of California Initiative Based On UCI School of the Arts' Acclaimed 'ArtsBridge' Program

The initiative, approved by the California Legislature and the UC Board of Regents, will be patterned after UCI's acclaimed "ArtsBridge" program in which School of the Arts students conduct lessons in dance, music, art, drama, storytelling and digital arts in local public schools at no cost to the schools.

Development of the program will be overseen by Jill Beck, dean of UCI's School of the Arts and founder of ArtsBridge.

The other UC campuses (with the exception of UC San Francisco, which is a medical and research institution) will develop ArtsBridge programs that will be funded, in part, by an annual total allotment of $1.5 million in state funds. From that amount, UCI will receive $310,000 this year to significantly expand its ArtsBridge program. In addition, $190,000 of the money will be used to develop and direct the statewide program, with the remaining $1 million divided among the other campuses.

"I'm very pleased that UCI has become a leader in the effort to restore arts curricula to California's public schools," UCI Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone said. "I can't overemphasize the importance of arts education to our youth. The arts not only enable children to broaden their understanding and appreciation of other people, cultures and ideas, but comprehensive arts education has been shown to sharpen analytical skills in subjects such as math and science."

The new UC ArtsBridge program is part of an ongoing commitment by the University of California to foster new partnerships between UC campuses and the state's K-12 public schools. The statewide ArtsBridge program will focus particularly on restoring arts education to schools in lower-income areas, while also paying attention to the need for arts instruction in all of the state's schools.

Beck launched UCI's ArtsBridge program in 1996 with just 11 students conducting a total of seven programs. In less than three years, the program has grown to nearly 60 students who conduct programs in 23 Orange County schools and several hospitals. The program's faculty director is Keith Fowler, UCI associate professor of drama.

Beck said the success of UCI's programóand the launching of the statewide programóis a testament to the desire among educators and parents to restore quality arts curricula, which have been largely absent from California's classrooms since funding cutbacks decimated most arts education beginning in the late 1970s.

"Like UCI's ArtsBridge program, the statewide efforts will be inspired by the fact that the arts provide immeasurable lifelong benefits, and the earlier children are immersed in the arts, the more benefits they enjoy," Beck said. "The arts ignite creative thinking, build depth and confidence in self-presentation, and broaden children's intellectual and emotional horizons."

The School of the Arts recently recruited a director to oversee the statewide program. Eleanore Stewart, who most recently served as a project manager for Stanford University's libraries system, will direct administration functions of the new program, including forming a statewide council of faculty advisors and organizing an annual ArtsBridge conference to exchange ideas and discuss new curricula.

The infusion of money from the state will enable UCI to increase its number of ArtsBridge students from 60 currently to 80-100 by next academic year. But Beck stressed that future funding from the state will be contingent on campuses' ability to use their programs to attract corporate and private sponsors. UCI's program, for example, is funded through a mix of state funds and contributions from individuals and corporations, including Disneyland, The Irvine Company, Ingram Micro and the Leo Freedman Foundation.

ArtsBridge America . Lawrence University
P.O. BOX 599, Appleton, Wisconsin 54912-0599 . 920.832-6525