05/17/2012

Special Education Arts Program Succeeds

"A professional development program for New York City special education teachers is reminding them of one basic principle: students like to have fun. And when students are having fun, chances are they will be more engaged with the lesson at hand.

With that in mind, the city’s Education Department and the Manhattan New Music Project, a nonprofit arts organization, are using a $4.6 million federal grant to implement EASE (Everyday Arts for Special Education).

The United States Department of Education awarded the grant in 2010 as one of 49 Investing in Innovation Fund awards. EASE was one of three grants focused on the arts, and it was the only one geared toward special education students.

The program is training teachers in District 75, the city’s special education district, to incorporate movement, music, visual arts, and drama into regular academic work.

Jennifer Raine, director of special programs for the Manhattan New Music Project, said the multidisciplinary approach was important for all students, but especially for those who are not succeeding in traditional classrooms.

'Behaviors get in the way of education,' she said. 'I mean, it’s pretty hard to do a math lesson when someone’s throwing a chair.'

EASE runs on the premise, she said, that an arts-based approach to instruction will keep students engaged and will provide a hands-on, step-by-step process to guide students through a lesson."

SchoolBook 05/16/2012