PS 171Q and Community-Word Project: Collective Impact Work Comes to Life

Community-Word Project (CWP) brings collaborative arts residencies to classroom teachers. This school year PS 171Q and Community-Word Project embarked on a new journey together. Community Word Project writer named Ms. Moira Theilking and theater artist Ms. Jacqueline Raymond worked with 3 classes of 2nd and 3rd grade students.

Ms. Theilking and Ms. Raymond focused on the theme of self-identity. Students were asked to bring a special object from home (toys, stuffed animals etc) to inspire each student’s individual haiku. This 20-week residency provided great opportunity for both teaching artists and classroom teachers to combine different learning strategies for writing and creative expression.

The CWP teaching artist duo was able to tap into other resources. They introduced books from a local writer named Renee Watson. An additional teaching artist from Community Word Project named Gary Devirgilio came to the classes to play guitar and sang with the students before the Thanksgiving Break. In February, the final culmination project brought all classes from both grades to celebrate with their families in a presentation of student work.

Ms. Autumn Tilson , Program Manager of School Partnerships for Community-Word Project described the inaugural year as the following, “Overall, the residency was a big success! The students were very eager and willing to try new things and take risks. Their writing was brave, creative, detailed, and personal. The students had ‘serious fun’ and so did the teaching artists!”

PS 171Q, Community-Word Project and Zone 126 look forward to future collaboration and bringing collective impact to life.