Young Audiences of Maryland, Inc. (YA) envisions a day when every student in Maryland has the opportunity to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts. Founded in Baltimore in 1950, YA has grown into the nation’s premiere arts-in-education network with 32 chapters in 21 states. Collectively, the YA network reaches more than five million youth, educators, and families each year.
Mission Statement
YA’s mission is to transform the lives and education of our youth through the arts by connecting educators, professional artists, and communities.To fulfill this mission, YA provides a variety of services to schools, libraries, and community centers throughout Maryland, including:
· Vetted, in-school arts programs, ranging from live performances to long-term residencies that serve students of all ages;
· Professional development for teachers of all subjects in the use of arts-integration techniques, which are proven to reach more students than traditional teaching methods; and
· Artist training, which helps artists to align their programs with the school curriculum, ensuring maximum effectiveness in the classroom.
Activities and Programs
Assemblies
Young Audiences’ 45-minute assemblies inspire and motivate students with live, interactive, educational arts experiences. Performed by professional YA artists, assemblies are a wonderful way to introduce students to new artistic disciplines and cultures—from Classical Ballet to Indian dance, Pantomime to Slam Poetry, American Roots music to African drumming;
our assemblies enhance appreciation and build knowledge of the arts, increase understanding of other cultures, and connect to Common Core College and Career-Ready Standards.
Artist Residencies / Arts-Integrated Workshops
Young Audiences’ Artist-in-Residence programs engage students in creative experiences through a series of in-depth classroom visits from YA-trained artists who work alongside teachers and students. Many residencies are arts-integrated, connecting skills and concepts in the arts with those in math, literacy, science, and more—like exploring math and music by making a one-string guitar or handcrafting a mural depiciting our local ecosystem. Our residencies and workshops empower students to engage in the learning of all subjects in new ways, help teachers integrate the arts, into the teaching of any subject, improve student achievement and engage struggling learners, and build 21st Century Skills such as critical thinking.
Maryland Wolf Trap
The Wolf Trap Institute Residency is a partnership between a Wolf Trap Teaching Artist and an early childhood educator to provide professional development for teachers while helping children learn through active participation. Experiences in a Classroom Residency focus on performing arts integrated strategies that teachers can use to foster young children’s learning and development. Classroom experiences in the residency will support early childhood curriculum standards and outcomes.
Teaching Artists Institute
The Teaching Artist Institute (TAI) is a comprehensive professional development program for teaching artists that build artists’ capacity to contribute to student learning in and through the arts.The program trains teaching artists in the use and understanding of the state curriculum and the Common Core Standards, as well as arts integration strategies to assist the artist in engaging teachers and students.Topics such as classroom management strategies, designing, writing, and teaching artist-in-residence lessons, and educator needs are covered, as well as opportunities for field testing and feedback.
Professional Development
Young Audiences’ innovative professional development programs help
teachers harness the power of the arts to engage and challenge students in
other academic areas. Our professional development workshops are designed by educators and teaching artists to increase comfort level in teaching both in and through the arts, provide the basis for improving student achievement in the arts and other academic subjects, help educators unpack the Common Core Standards through the arts while creating new lesson plans and units.
Reviews:
“YA offers such a great variety of performers who not only engage the students, but leave them excited to go home and share what they learned with their family!” -Whitney, Teacher, Johnston Square Elementary
“Working with YA helps us accomplish our school’s objectives of building respect, self-esteem, and a global viewpoint within our school community and promoting successful learning for all students.” – Lisa, Principal, Edgewood Elementary