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Fellowship PaperJumpstarting Literacy Through Immersion in Theater:
By Thabiti Akil Brown Codman Academy Charter School
Massachusetts Charter School Association 2002
The Codman Academy Charter School (CACS) is a small college prep high school where students are involved in a variety of non-traditional educational activities. Students go to school from 9-5 on weekdays and 9-12 on Saturdays. They take part in a daily fitness class that requires them to complete a 1-mile walk to a site off campus. Advisories, group meetings with social workers at the Codman Square Health Center, and monthly college visits are among the many activities that our students have come to view as normal components of high school. (See Appendix A for a description of CACS.) In keeping with our non-traditional bent, we have crafted an unusual partnership between a professional theater, the Huntington Theatre Company, and our high school. At CACS the Humanities curriculum is dedicated to both History and English Language Arts. The English Language Arts component is grounded in our school-wide internship at the theater; twice a month a full day of school takes place at the theater. The plays that the Huntington chooses to put on are the same plays that we discuss in the Humanities classroom. Although many schools participate in programs offered by the Huntington and other professional theaters statewide, very few schools are partnered with a theater organization to the extent that our school is. This is a new and innovative practice, and we are working toward making it among the best. I have the honor of being the founding Humanities teacher at the school and am in charge of overseeing the implementation of this innovative curricular choice. While the long-term goal for students at CACS is college, our short-term goal in Humanities is to get students up to "grade level" in basic skills: reading, writing, and thinking about texts. We believe that we can better engage students with a text by first gaining their interest through discussions and activities geared toward helping them understand all aspects of theater production. Our "in," then, is to engage the supply side of learning; we increase the passion and care that students put into looking at texts as a means of getting students to want to do the extra hard work that is necessary to get up to grade level. The Cast: Students at CACS The most important people in this program are the students. The partnership was created, and continues to be molded, with the specific needs of our student population in mind. CACS is located in the Codman Square area in Dorchester, MA. During the first year of the partnership with the Huntington the school served a 9th grade class only, ending the school year with 29 students. Our students, who hail from a variety of neighborhoods in Boston, are representative of the population of the Boston Public Schools (BPS): 33% of our students speak a language other than English at home; 97% are students of color; 81% of our students were reading below grade level upon entering CACS at the beginning of the school year. In one area we face more challenges than the BPS. In BPS an average of 69% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch (Vaishnav 2002), while at CACS 85% of our students are. Our students come from working class homes, and a third of them speak a language other than English at home. Together these facts help explain why the majority of our students are not reading at what the Degrees of Reading Powers test (DRP), a nationally administered exam that measures reading comprehension (see also www.sopriswest.com), considers "grade level." Historically in the United States, communities comprised of working class people, immigrants, and people of color have been underserved by the public school system. Our students are no exception. The low levels of reading, writing, and textual analysis skills in our student population are a testament to this fact. While low test scores are part of the cold hard truth, our students, like the vast majority of adolescents, make up for their developing skills with unbridled enthusiasm for material that sparks an interest in them. With this in mind, Meg Campbell, CACS Head of School, set out with a flint stone and some kindling. Behind the Scenes: Creating and Planning the Huntington-Humanities Program One of the major lessons I have taken away from this first year at CACS is: If you do not ask for something that you want, odds are you won’t get it. Meg Campbell employed this philosophy when she went in to talk to Donna Glick, the Huntington’s Director of Education, about forging a partnership. After a few meetings on the topic the two came to the conclusion that this kind of partnership would be mutually beneficial. Donna, who oversees the Education and Community Outreach programs, was interested in creating an intense program with one school; our small size and flexibility made a good fit with the Huntington’s needs. Since the partnership was established there has been a core group of people involved in the planning of our biweekly visits to the Huntington. During the 2001-2002 school year the core team consisted of myself, Donna Glick, and the Huntington’s Education and Community Associate, Jaime Grande. Peter Follet, who took the role of Production Director for our culminating assessment project, the Showcase of Scenes, joined us during the second semester. We developed a master plan at the beginning of each semester, and then met often and any way we could (by e-mail, in sit-down meetings, and through phone calls) during the semester to plan the Huntington sessions. Because we were in constant communication we were able to share information about what was going on at the theater and what was going on in the classroom. This collaboration led us to plan theater days that incorporated the best of the classroom experience with the best of the theater experience. (See Appendix B for an example of the results of this planning, the schedule from the March 18 visit to the Huntington Theater.) The Show: Implementing the Curriculum Inside and outside of the Humanities classroom we spend the bulk of our English Language Arts time viewing, reading, talking, and writing about the plays produced at the Huntington. The 2001-2002 season included 5 plays. Although the students saw all of the plays offered as student matinees we focused on 2 plays produced by the Huntington, James Joyce’s The Dead and Heartbreak House, and worked on a third that was not produced for this season, A Raisin in the Sun. During the study of these plays the Huntington days are filled with interactive activities aimed at improving the understanding of each play as both a literary text and a dramatic production. We find that discussions with actors, re-enactments of scenes, viewings of understudy rehearsals and movie versions of the play, and the like, lead students to ask interesting questions about the characters, the flow of the play, and the author’s intentions in creating the piece. One of the most interesting moments for me as a Humanities teacher is when the students, having already read and/or seen the play, engage in discussions with the theater’s dramaturge, the person responsible for describing the historical moment from which the play arises, both for the author and the characters. The natural flow of the discussion integrates History and English Language Arts/Drama and is naturally interdisciplinary and engaging, helping students gain historical knowledge to support their understanding of the play. Through ongoing interactions with the production and business staff, we are also able to expose the students to the production side of theater. These interactions include tours of the "shop" where the set is produced, creation of advertising posters (after talking with a member of the theater’s publicity department and viewing professional posters aimed at producing a certain effect on certain audiences), and discussions with costume designers about clothing choices. On a typical day, which might include a mix of some of the possibilities listed above, students spend time reflecting in journals about the day’s activities. They are given both open ended and more specific questions to guide their writing, with the goal of having students think about how the different components come together to form one literary and dramatic piece of work. Taken as a whole, the time at the theater is meant to deepen knowledge that the students have about all aspects of a particular play’s production. Class time differs from Huntington time because it includes more "traditional" methods of literature study, including vocabulary work, deconstruction of themes, examination of symbolism and character development, journal writing, and preparation for literary analysis essays. Although the Huntington days afford me the opportunity to use a non-traditional entry point to the texts we study, the traditional elements (reading, writing, and comprehension) are our focal points. As a result, I take care to allocate plenty of time to practicing these skills. During every two-hour Humanities period students read (the play, pertinent historical information, other related materials) and write (in response to journal questions & discussions, essays, for example). Students write a variety of responses, including literary analysis, creative writing, historical research, and critical analysis of performance (see Appendix C for examples). At the end of our study of A Raisin in the Sun, for example, some students wrote on the portrayal of the American Dream in the play. For Heartbreak House one of the many choices was a creative writing prompt: write Act IV for the play in the same voice as the author, George Bernard Shaw. Students employ the philosophy of "writing as a process" on all major projects; they revise and refine their writing, working toward improving the way they express their ideas in writing. The writing process at CACS includes grading with rubrics (both self-graded and teacher graded, see Appendix D), peer editing, and writing conferences. Because in real life the writing process is truly endless, students in my classroom have the ability to revise a piece of writing as many times as they choose. In addition to the literary analysis essays that students complete at the end of each play studied, students are expected to produce an end of the semester performance. At the end of the fall 2001 semester, students performed scenes from A Raisin in the Sun. All students participated in the performance as either actors or directors. During the spring of 2002 students were asked to demonstrate their learning and display the many skills they had acquired over the course of the year. They engaged in an authentic task: the production of a play. Students became members of the departments required for a theater production and staffed each department: Set Design and Building, Painting/Visual Arts, Costume Design and Sketching, Light Design/Sound Design, Dramaturg, Assistant Director, Stage Manager, and Acting Ensemble. In addition to the core team, we enlisted mentors from each relative Huntington department to help guide the students in their planning process. We began work on the production in March, and the play was performed in late May. At the show we placed all elements of the production on display in a Production Museum. Each department created a display board illustrating the process that they went through to complete their task. For example, the Costume Design group included the original sketches that they drew of the characters in their different period costumes, photographs of the costume choosing process, and pictures of the complete ensembles. The shining moment for the Acting Ensemble came on stage; the proof of their hard work was evident in the performance. After months of behind the scenes and on-stage preparation the show was an overwhelming success. Challenges In operating this unusual program we face constraints on three main fronts: programmatic, logistical, and in terms of student readiness. In programming we confront the issue of content: What should the school offer in terms of content? What is available at the Huntington in terms of content? How do we involve all students, including those at the furthest ranges of student achievement, the students who need serious remediation in reading and writing as well as the students who are above average readers and writers? Logistical questions center on space and staffing constraints: What spaces are available for use on the days when we are at the Huntington? Which faculty members at school and staff members at the Huntington are available to be with students, mentoring them as they go about their tasks? In terms of student readiness, we ask ourselves: Are the actions and attitudes of students consistent with the behavior expected at a professional theater? In terms of content, we are, for better and for worse, locked into the choices made by the theater. The students had a very hard time with the first play of the 2001-2002 season, James Joyce’s The Dead. It is a difficult piece of literature, often quite foreign, in both content and style, to the experiences of our students. While we had some success with the play (by the end, the students understood the themes), it was nowhere near as successful as A Raisin in the Sun, which contained characters who are more readily accessible to our student population. In our experience, however, as students become increasingly comfortable with reading plays and spending time at the Huntington, the number of variables they have to deal with is reduced and so too is the impact of difficult content. We are creative and flexible with the logistics component, and this keeps our choices, regarding site and staff, fluid and positive. If there are not enough staff members to handle the number of students in the space we intended to use, we change the site or increase the number of staff. This process becomes infinitely more manageable with small numbers of students. As the school grows we will need to become even more creative. The format for the second year of the partnership will include 9th and 10th graders working together at the theater. While all students will continue to read and view the Huntington plays, only half of each class will participate in the full-year internship. The largest concern, one that grows out of our constant need to change spaces, is with student readiness, our students’ ability to be as professional, fluid, and flexible as the adults involved. From early on we realized that having the full 9th grade at the Huntington site was a difficult arrangement, given space and staffing constraints. Many of our students had not yet mastered the art of working in a professional environment with their peers. As such, we removed a number of students from the Huntington and placed them in our Learning Through Internship (LTI) program. These students studied the same texts as their classmates in the classroom, but did not spend time at the Huntington on days that we travel to the theater. Instead, they maintained internships in school-sanctioned sites throughout the city. A handful of students improved their behavior to the point of being allowed to return to off-campus days at the Huntington. The Critics Respond: Measures of Success Taken together, this multifaceted approach to teaching literature has produced wonderful successes. One of the strongest measures of success so far can be found in the words of the students who participate in the Huntington experience. The Huntington Theatre and CACS produced a joint Student Feedback Form (2002) that elicited telling responses from students and provided interesting quantitative data. Regarding how the experience helped improve interest and fluency in literature, students responded positively. To the question, "Do you find other assignments any easier after reading plays this year?" 86% of students responded Much Easier or Somewhat Easier. In addition, 72% of students said they would pick up a play to read on their own after their time at the Huntington. Students expressed strong support for continuing participation in this partnership. 86% said they want to keep coming to the Huntington. When asked "Why?" students wrote: "I think the Huntington is a good experience for everyone and no matter what you do you can always express yourself some way." "I’m an actress and I felt that the Huntington not only helped me in mastering things but it helped show me that I do have talent and I should use it." "I find theatre very interesting. There is a lot more to the whole "theatre" thing than I thought. Besides acting there’s the lighting / sound and costuming concept. It goes deeper than just memorizing lines." The students have much to say about their time spent at the Huntington. (See Appendix E for an Executive Summary of the responses.) While the students’ words attest to the positive impact their time at the Huntington has had, these are not the words with which our school and its students will be held accountable. The words that matter most to those looking for the bottom line are the ones that students are able to produce in written responses to MCAS and other standardized test questions. But for those looking for the bottom line, we have good news. At the beginning and end of each school year CACS students take the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) test. On the DRP exam high school students average an increase of 1-2 DRP units, from September to June. During the 2001-2002 school year the DRP scores of CACS 9th grade students rose by an average of 6 points. The class average in the fall was 48, placing the students in the 29th percentile nationally. In the spring the class average rose to 54, and as a result the national percentile rose 10 percentile points to the 39th percentile (CACS Annual Report 2002). These numbers reveal a substantial increase in tested reading comprehension. Interestingly, students who had high DRP scores at the beginning of the year also posted significant gains. The success of our students is also revealed through anecdotal evidence. Over the course of the 2001-2002 school year I saw students’ ability to read and analyze a text improve. We discussed historical background, plot, symbolism, and subtext. While students had difficulty engaging with the written plays at the beginning of the year, by the end of the school year, they jumped into texts enthusiastically. By June, they had also come to see the written word of the text as just one of many components in the overall theater process. They wanted to find out who writes each play and when, the history behind it. They wanted to know how different actors tackle the same written material. They had moved beyond being interested in words only, and had developed a greater understanding of the performed play.
Lessons Learned: "How Can I Use These Ideas at My School?" Although it would be difficult to take the practices detailed above and transplant them in their entirety to another school/theater partnership, other schools can take components of our work and craft them into partnerships that are suitable to their individual needs. There are some difficulties, however, that all schools developing this type of partnership will encounter. The difficulties lie mostly in finding a willing partner, setting aside the personnel to plan the program, and designating a limited number of students to participate in the program. Difficult does not mean impossible, however; effort at forging a program can bring about results, from a full-blown English Language Arts curriculum to an after school program for a select number of students. Schools implementing a partnership with a theater have to understand that it’s important to limit the number of students engaged in the program. It is much easier for a small team of educators to plan a curriculum for a small group of students, especially where a professional theater is concerned. The larger the operation, the more difficult the logistics become. Schools interested in this type of partnership would also have to pay more attention to the skills the students practice than the author and text that they study. Having a partnership with a theater company means studying the plays that company performs in a given school year. Given the major role that the MCAS plays in the lives of students in all Massachusetts public schools, interested parties would have to brainstorm other methods of exposing students to the "recommended list of authors." At CACS 9th grade students take a Reading class once a week, have Advisory book clubs, and read books such as And the Band Played On in Biology class. Reading "across the curriculum" is an important addition to our internship program. One area in which this approach could be particularly fruitful is when working with students who require remediation in reading and writing. An internship at a professional theater "opens up" the curriculum for these students, as it takes their learning process beyond pencil and paper activities. The interactive approach, which sparks deeper understanding, goes well with a strong in-classroom reading and writing component, something CACS is careful to have in place. The key to learning is sparking interest. Hands-on activities and authentic assessments, key elements in the Codman Academy Charter School/Huntington Theater partnership, go a long way toward achieving the goal of improved reading, writing, and thinking about texts. Appreciations This partnership would not have been possible without the pioneering vision of Meg Campbell, CACS Head of School, and Donna Glick, Director of Education at the Huntington Theatre. With the production of this paper, I am particularly indebted to the hard work of Jaime Grande in planning, executing, and evaluating the program throughout the course of the year. Special thanks also to the staff of the Huntington Theater and the faculty and staff at Codman Academy Charter School.
About the Author Thabiti Akil Brown is the founding Humanities teacher at Codman Academy Charter School. He completed a dual concentration undergraduate degree in American Civilizations and Urban Studies at Brown University. He went on to earn a Master's Degree in the Teaching of Social Studies from Teachers College Columbia University. He taught as a student teacher at The Beacon School in New York and spent two years teaching at the International School of Panama. His special interest is in schools as community and family centers.
Contact Information: Thabiti Akil Brown
Appendix A
About Codman Academy Charter School
Codman Academy Charter School (CACS) opened in September 2001 on the site of one of its primary partners, Codman Square Health Center, with a founding class of 29 ninth graders. CACS is Dorchester’s first charter high school. The school was created in response to a strong community need for a small, college preparatory high school in the Codman Square/Four Corners area. Codman Academy Charter School’s mission (from our original charter proposal, written by Director Meg Campbell in 2001) is to "prepare students for full participation in the intellectual, economic and civic life of our society, by ensuring their preparation and access to further education, the skills and vision to undertake a rewarding career, and the motivation and character needed to engage deeply and productively in community life. We view parents and community members as integral partners in this endeavor." Our philosophy is guided by the ten design principles and five core practices of Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (www.elob.org). We place an equal emphasis on intellectual and character development, and we strongly promote both a healthy lifestyle and an ethic of service.
Appendix B Schedule from the March 18 Visit to the Huntington Theatre
Appendix C Heartbreak House Final Assessment
Literary Analysis: Please use your "common mistakes" sheet to help guide your writing. Your essay must be a minimum of 3 pages typed (1" margins, 12 pt., plain font, double-spaced).
Creative Writing: Please use your "common mistakes" sheet to help guide your writing. The short story must be a minimum of 3 pages. The scene must be a minimum of 4 pages [use the play as a guide]. All work must be typed (1" margins, 12 pt., plain font, double-spaced).
Projects: Please use your "common mistakes" sheet to help guide your writing. Your project must be a minimum of 3 pages typed (1" margins, 12 pt., plain font, double-spaced).
Note: Any written assignment with "common mistakes" will be returned to the writer ungraded. The essay will be considered missing until it is resubmitted without basic errors. Please proofread your work.
Appendix D: Literary Analysis Rubric
Literary Analysis. How does heartbreak affect the characters in the play? Describe and analyze various moments of heartbreak in the play. Use at least 3 characters. Define heartbreak for each and explain how it affects the character’s actions. Use quotations from the play to support your points.
Comments: Total Score:
Appendix E Codman Academy Charter School / Huntington Theatre Company Partnership Student Feedback: Executive Summary, Spring 2002
Responses to Questions
Excerpts of Responses Why do you want to return to the Huntington?
What was your favorite part of coming to the Huntington?
What would you change about your visits here?
What new things do you understand about theatre, acting, and production that you did not know before?
If you could have a job in the theatre, what job would you want? Why?
If you were telling a friend about your time at the Huntington, how would you describe it and its value to you?
References Codman Academy Charter School Annual Report. 2002. Dorchester, MA. Duplicated. Student Feedback: Executive Summary for Codman Academy Charter School/Huntington Theatre Company Partnership. 2002. Ed. Jaime Grande. Dorchester, MA. Duplicated. Vaishnav, A. 2002. Numbers Support Charter Schools. The Boston Globe, 28 July, C1, C4.
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