Stage
Training Apprentice Mentor Program (STAMP):
Stage Training Apprentice Mentor Program (STAMP) is an
After School Drama Class at Smallwood Middle School.
As part of the Indian Head Center for the Arts’ outreach
program and in response to budget cuts for the arts in education,
STAMP has partnered with CCBOE to provide an after school
drama program which brings an inexpensive solution to theatre
education to Middle School children in Charles County.
What the School provides
1 - An empty classroom (no stage needed)
2 - An adult contact person (a parent, teacher or after-school
coordinator)
3 - Transportation home for children whose parents cannot
come
(none available during 2007-08)
4 - Snacks
What We Provide
Classes meet after school twice a week for the duration
for the school year.
Beginning in 2008-09 classes will meet twice each week for
10-week sessions.
STAMP
provides an experienced instructor, curriculum, flyers,
educational materials, and access to the Black Box Theatre
for performances.
The Cost
Currently children are served at no cost to the school or
to the parents during the pilot phase which ends at the
end of 2008 school year.
2008-09
registration fees will be: $100 per child for each 10 week
session
Registration fees can be paid in two ways:
1 - Via a fee-based agreement between STAMP and the school,
or
2 - Each student pays $100.00 for the 10-week program.
Installment plans and scholarships are available for students
who are unable to pay the full tuition. The PTA could be
instrumental in helping to raise money for students’
tuition fees and we want to meet the individual needs of
your school.
Our after-school classes have proven to be extremely beneficial
for a young person’s development. Creative dramatics
promotes self-confidence, creativity, problem solving and
team-building skills in a non-competitive and nurturing
environment
The data below is from research available from
ARTS
EDUCATION IN MARYLAND SCHOOLS (AEMS):
Research shows that After School Creative Arts Programs
are
proven to positively affect on—
READING AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
MATHEMATICS SKILLS
THINKING SKILLS.
SOCIAL SKILLS
MOTIVATION TO LEARN AND TO ACHIEVE
POSITIVE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
Arts
Education provides:
Improved SAT Scores
Higher Achievement
Competencies for Academic Success
Arts and At Risk Students: reasons to stay in school
The
Community:
The town
of Indian Head is a town of 3500 people which are evenly divided,
racially, between Caucasians and African Americans. It sits
at the terminus of State Route #210, approximately 30 miles
from Washington, D.C. and abuts a naval station (the largest
employer) which occupies a peninsula in the Potomac River.
It is serviced only by a single metro area bus along the #210
corridor and several short routes by the local VanGo.
The town
has no shopping center, no cinema, no community pools, no
children’s playgrounds within neighborhoods, no library
or store from which to purchase books should the community
so desire. The town has one elementary school and one middle
school which is the feeder school for a large suburban high
school beyond the town borders.
The
School:
General
Smallwood Middle School can look with pride at its attendance
rate (94%). However, th school strives to raise its proficiency
levels in reading and math. 2007 AYP (mdreportcard.org
) scores say General Smallwood 7th graders are 65% proficient
in reading and 58% in Math. However African American and poor
children, who make up more than half of the student population
at General Smallwood are 57% proficient in reading and 47%
proficient in Math.
We believe
the job of providing learning experiences belongs to the entire
community, not simply to overburdened, understaffed and under
budgeted schools.
History:
We were
given permission by Charles County School System to begin
the pilot program January, 2006, at General Smallwood Middle
School. The pilot program called for two seventh grade students
to spend two hours for two days each of the academic quarters
of the school year 2005-2006. Four children completed the
program in the first year (2005-2006).
We are
now working with approximately 20 children for the 2007-08
school year. The curriculum continues to undergo change where
necessary, with the addition of a performance by the children
this year.
Next year
we hope to add field trips and visiting performances for children
at the theatre and more exposure to science and math applications
in theatre.
Goals:
- Major attendance
to and interest in English classes.
- Improvement of reading, writing and speaking skills.
- Major memorization skills, creativity and imagination.
- Use of acquired skills and confidence in a variety of circumstances.
- Major respect for peers, superiors, and seniors.
- Attendance to theatre performances and artistic events
- Improved interest and performance in math and science
Evaluation:
For the
2007-08 year, students will be evaluated daily by way of written,
oral, and or exercise of practical application of technical
materials. Each student will make a portfolio of the work
accomplished and present it to the school principal at the
conclusion of the mentoring session. Set makers, theatre administrators,
lighting experts, and a former teacher in Language Arts will
perform the evaluation of the students. The Board of Education
for Charles County will be invited to evaluate the program
in its totality.
Parents
will be invited to evaluate the program by way of invitation
to a final performance at the Black Box Theatre in the Indian
Head Center for the Arts
Funding
Sought:
We seek grant funding and donations from a miriad of sources.
We have received partial funding by grants from Charles County,
Chaney Foundation, and a very generous donation from a private
citizen.
Partnerships:
We are working with Tri-County Youth Services Bureau, which
addresses the at-risk youth of Charles County, Calvert County
and St Mary’s County. We also work in collaboration
with the African American Heritage Society to link heritage
with Art, and with the College of Southern Maryland to create
the first college-bound generation. STAMP will also seek alliances
with those organizations who seek to foster careers in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math, fields with a strong demand
for an imaginative work-force.
Sustainability
of the program:
I. Upon
completion of the initial learning module, graduates will
produce a show at the Black Box Theatre. They are then eligible
to compete for positions on running crew or other positions
in the theatre for which they feel qualified.
II. The program will be replicated for each succeeding year
at General Smallwood Middle School and may eventually open
to students at Matthew Henson Middle School, before expanding
throughout Charles County.
III. All students who have passed through an initial 10 week
learning module and have worked successfully in a show at
the Black Box Theatre are expected to be knowledgeable enough
to assists mentors in subsequent STAMP educational programs.
IV. Students whose academic scores in state testing fail to
rise after exposure to the program will be eligible to take
advanced courses in content poorly acquired.
Volunteer
Advisory Board
Nancy
Van Gulick, Betsy Cooksey Lewis, Louise Webb, Beverly Hardy,
Peggy Palmer, Jewell Bragunier, Dr Lelia Allen
Chesapeake
Bay Floating Theatre, Inc (CBFT) operates the Black Box Theatre
in the Indian Head Center for the Arts as part of its development
of the James Adams II Floating Theatre. CBFT is dedicated
to cultural advancement of the region through education, arts
and entertainment. |
