culturally relevant inspiration w brogan

CULTURALLY RELEVANT

INSPIRATION By: Windescence A. Brogan

A CLOSER LOOK AT THREE DIFFERENT CULTURALLY

RELEVANT SCHOOLS

1. Toledo School for the Arts

grades 6th-12th

http://www.ts4arts.org/

2. Sudbury Valley School

grades K-12th

http://sudval.org/

3. Brooklyn Free School

grades K-12th

http://www.brooklynfreeschool.org/


http://sudval.org/


1. TOLEDO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS • Located in Toledo, Ohio

• Urban setting, located in a downtown converted warehouse

• School population consists of about 65% Caucasian, 20% African American, 5% Hispanic, and 10% other.

• 35% of the student body are eligible for a free or reduced lunch

SUMMARY OF TOLEDO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AND WHY IT IS UNIQUE…

Toledo School of the Arts is a public charter school that offers students an opportunity to study core academic subjects while intergrading the arts into every subject. Classes in music, dance, theatre, and

visual arts are offered along with core academic subjects.

www.facebook.com/ts4arts

YOU TUBE VIDEO

Toledo School of the Arts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIhw0KZ10GQ

(Double click the picture above to start the attached video)


21ST CENTURY SKILLS SUPPORTED AT TOLEDO SCHOOL OF THE ARTS…..• Hands on activates involving the learning into the arts.

• Students encouraged to act out history with skits allowing for creativity in the way subjects are taught and gaining a deeper understanding.

• Collaborations with local artist who support the school and encourage involvement within the student body.

• Students are encouraged to critically think how to act out or express learning through the arts.

• Communication between students is encouraged.

• Students showcase, sell their art, and preform every month on the first Friday reaching out to the community and involving the community.

Students built these penguin puppets and performed on opening weekend of the new penguin exhibit at the Toledo Zoo. www.facebook.com/ts4arts

How the learning experiences reflect culturally relevant pedagogy…..

Learning experiences expose the arts that are culturally relevant to the students who attend.

How the school and promotes creativity in the classroom…..

Students are encouraged to intergrade the arts into core academic subjects allowing for creativity and deeper understandings of subjects.

How the school encourages teachers to be more creative in their approach to teaching…..

Teachers encourage the students by intergrading the arts into the lessons. Students who attend this school have a desire for the arts and have cultural relevance to the arts.

Toledo School of the Arts…..

www.facebook.com/ts4arts

2. SUDBURY VALLEY SCHOOL

• Located in Framingham, Massachusetts

• Suburban setting, located on 10 beautiful acres

• Private school with a $8200 a year tuition fee

• Unable to find school demographic information due to being a private school, they do not have to report like public schools are required to do.

SUMMARY OF SUDBURY VALLEY SCHOOL AND WHY IT IS UNIQUE…

This school is very unique and offers students the freedom to explore the school how they want. They hold no traditional

classes and students explore things that they find interesting throughout the day including video games, knitting, cooking,

playing, and just exploring. Students can attend as they want and they have no set hours, although they are open 8:30-5:30 daily and students must attend at minimum of five hours daily

within these hours.

www.facebook.com/SudburyValleySchool

YOU TUBE VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOAmTaZ4XI

Sudbury Valley School



21ST CENTURY SKILLS SUPPORTED AT SUDBURY VALLEY SCHOOL…..• Students are encouraged to create and spend their day

doing whatever they want to do and learn.

• Collaborations between students happen as they explore the grounds of the school, learning, making mistakes and learning from their mistakes.

• Critical thinking happens when the students in this school research and complete lessons of their choice.

• Communication is happening in this school as students communicate with each other as they explore.

• Problem solving is encouraged and students discipline each other when the need arises, taking votes and deciding best way to address concerns.

Students working together to complete a project. www.facebook.com/SudburyValleySchool


The learning experiences at this school are culturally relevant since each student decides when and what they wish to learn.


The creativity happens in this school as each child explores and decides how to spend their day. Students create the education they want individually with no instruction form teachers.


This school does not carry the traditional ways of thinking and learning instead each student decides what they want to do in the learning process. Teachers are there merrily to supervise and watch as students explore.

Sudbury Valley School…..

www.facebook.com/SudburyValleySchool

3. BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL • Located in Brooklyn, New York

• Located in an urban setting

• School enrollment averages 30- 55 students a school year with a 1:12 student teacher student ratio, this is a private non-profit school with a $9500 a school year tuition fee.

• School population 46.6% Caucasian, 36.2% African American, 10.3% Hispanic, and 6.9% other.

SUMMARY OF BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL AND WHY IT IS UNIQUE…

Teachers at this school follow the interests of each student and instruction is often given through play. Students have an equal part in the choices made throughout the day and they help decide what they are going to learn and when in the day

they are going to do it.

www.facebook.com/brooklynfreeschool

YOU TUBE VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igobUY5yG9I

Brooklyn Free School



21ST CENTURY SKILLS SUPPORTED AT BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL…..• Collaborations between students are encouraged and older

students often are working with the younger ones building collaborations as they explore and learn.

• Creativity is encouraged and students are engaged in the learning.

• The students have daily meetings using critical thinking skills to decide and problem solve options throughout the day they will plan.

• Students communicate their interests to the other students and teachers to collaborate plans for leaning.



Because each students interest is followed and taken into consideration when planning this school intergrades what is culturally relevant to each student.


Creativity is promoted when each student has the ability to create a plan on what he or she wants to study or learn. Students create games to learn things like numbers and intergrade play to learn.


This school encourages the teachers to think of the students as equal parts in the learning process. Students are encouraged to make choices in what they learn and what interests them. Teachers incorporate and follow the students interest.

Brooklyn Free School…..


CONCLUSION…..

Teachers who understand their student’s cultural relevance to the lessons have a greater chance of giving successful lessons. When teachers

connect the culture of the students to the lessons, then connections between home and school happen, giving that student a stronger

understanding of the lesson and making it relevant. All educators should understand that by integrating the student’s cultural background into the education, the demands of curricular lessons can still happen. Students’ successes depend on how the instruction is given, and by using relevant,

creative, and knowledge understandings, higher success can and will happen in the classroom. All three of the schools investigated have their

own individual and unique way of intergrading the students cultural relevance into the lessons taught or learned, but have one common theme,

cultural relevant inspiration to the student.

REFERENCES…..Retrieved November 2, 2014, from https://www.facebook.com/SudburyValleySchool

Retrieved November 2, 2014, from https://www.facebook.com/brooklynfreeschool

Retrieved November 1, 2014, from https://www.facebook.com/ts4arts

The Brooklyn Free School on BCAT News [Video file]. (2007, June 11). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igobUY5yG9I

Brooklyn Free School | where children are free to be themselves. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2014, from http://www.brooklynfreeschool.org/

Framework for 21st century learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework

Sudbury Valley School • The View from inside. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2014, from http://sudval.org/

Sudbury Valley School [Video file]. (2009, April 2). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOAmTaZ4XI

Toledo School of the Arts. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2014, from http://www.ts4arts.org/

Toledo Schools for the Arts: What Makes It Special? [Video file]. (2013, May 13). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIhw0KZ10GQ

https://www.facebook.com/SudburyValleySchool

https://www.facebook.com/brooklynfreeschool

https://www.facebook.com/ts4arts



http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework

http://sudval.org/




culturally relevant inspiration w brogan

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