A new year always invites a time to create or evolve classroom rituals.  Rituals are key to building a culture of belonging, respect, care, love and joy. 

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I appreciated the role of art as a way to proceed, reflect and share my thinking and learning. What a powerful way to connect with students and adults! -Jen Hladun, Principal of Lincoln High School

Over the past two years, we have been working with schools and arts organizations through an arc...

How much do you love Prince? Or Beyonce? Jason Mamoa, perhaps? Alok V. Menom? Harry Styles? These popular artist icons can change our cultural expectations, lead us to make self-improvements, encourage the emotions lodged in our bodies to release, and offer us insights and wisdom to lessons...

Mariah and I generally speak of creativity and culture interchangeably, and often in the same breath. While this alignment may seem obvious to many, we think it important that we pause and break this correlation down a bit. 

When we think about culture, we know that it is not a static...

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Through the Arts can be defined as the knowledge, methods, forms, and purposes that the arts and culture play in building cognitive capacity for independent learning and collective wisdom. Teachers and educators can support the development of culturally...

Did you know that creativity can be developed... just like learning how to speak a new language or learning to swim? Here are five skills that your students will gain from creative arts practice routines: 

1. The Power of Observation: Observation requires attention and awareness. All the...

Misinterpretations of culturally responsive teaching and learning can and will happen! As teachers take on liberatory and or emancipatory pedagogy, a commitment to practice is required. Nuanced attention to complex ideas and questions requires critical and constant reflection. 

In the...

It’s not a new idea at all. It’s a very ancient idea, and one that has clung to the sidelines of our educational system for way too long. It’s been waiting ever so patiently for recognition, acknowledgment, and a ready audience. It’s been dancing in the background with...

The system of education in the U.S. was built on foundations of white supremacist patriarchal structures. This is something we all, or certainly those of us impacted negatively by the implications of this statement, know by now. What is clear is that there is a need for a full leap in our...

Carolyn Gramstorff was the entering principal when I started teaching at North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS).  I had just left an all Black school in Sacramento, a KIPP model school, that exhausted me due to the routines and expectations held on teachers.  When I moved to...

Recently, Mariah began a series called #TenMinuteTalks on Instagram.  "I adore the people in my life.  They are artists, teachers, thinkers, believers, creators, innovators, doers, and they inspire me." Mariah says.  Though most are folks she would call kin, some are people she's...