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Welcome DC Collaborative Teaching Artist Fellows

The DC Collaborative is pleased to announce the 15 fellows that will participate in the inaugural Teaching Artist Fellowship Institute 2021. 

Art Brown

Chinedu Felix Osuchukwu

Eric Hilliard

Ines Dominguez Del Corral

Jeffrey Banks

Karen Morales-Chacana

Katie Macyshyn

Kevin Brown

Lauren Ellis Scott

Lionel Daniels

Magdalena 

Melissa Strova Valencia

Michael Merritt

Morgan Charéce Hall

ReChell Crowell

Funded in part by the Commission on the Arts and Humanities ‘Arts and Humanities Education Projects’ grant, the Fellowship Institute welcomes teaching artists of all levels - emerging and experienced - and selected fellows are committed to providing educational services to students in the District of Columbia. 

The fellows are divided in three cohorts led by three lead teaching artist mentors, Sylvia Zwi, Karen O. Brown, and Regie Cabico, who have been part of the fellowship planning and dedicated to developing mentorship workshops for the fellows. This year, the overarching theme of the Fellowship is increasing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies and unpacking inherent biases present in SEL, as our recent data work found this to be the largest need for DCPS classroom teachers. 

On May 24th, the kick-off orientation took place where fellows were invited for greetings and introductions. Mary Lambert from DCPS Arts presented on the importance of Social and Emotional Learning in the classroom and provided DCPS resources on Equity Strategy and Programming.

During the first three workshops in June and July, fellows will be introduced to utilizing the Arts to advance SEL, learn techniques in SEL, and develop their own techniques and activities utilizing SEL competencies learned. The fourth workshop will take place in collaboration with DCPS teachers and educators who will provide their own experience and feedback to fellows in improving their teaching strategies and techniques for students in class. The Fellowship Institute will conclude with the award certificate ceremony and celebration on July 19th. 

Click here to learn more about this year’s lead teaching artist mentors and our fellows!

Welcome, DC Collaborative Teaching Artist Fellows!

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DC Collaborative Internship Recap

Submitted by Lauren Walker

May 27, 2021

My name is Lauren Walker (she/her/hers), the Spring 2021 Membership & Collective Impact Intern with the DC Collaborative. I graduated from the University of Richmond (Richmond, VA) in May 2019 with my B.A. in International Studies. I come from a performing arts background; I started out playing piano, and eventually switched to flute, which I continue to play. As a result of my musical training, instrumental instruction is an arts discipline that is very near and dear to me. I am based in Germantown, MD, about 25 miles outside of Washington, DC.

As the Membership & Collective Impact Intern, most of my work was split between assisting with membership services, and with the Collective Impact initiative Any Given Child DC. Within my work with membership tasks, I was able to sit in on meetings with potential members, teaching artists/practitioners, and assist with the preparation and note-taking for the ‘advocacy edition’ of the annual membership meeting in April. My work with membership services also involved drafting messaging that was sent out to member organizations.

Aside from tasks involving DC Collaborative’s membership, I spent a large amount of time providing support for Any Given Child DC (AGC DC). DC Collaborative serves as the “backbone organization” for AGC DC, and serves a unique role in providing support and guiding the strategy of the initiative. One of my first projects as an intern was helping put together the first edition of the Collective Impact newsletter. Additionally, I regularly attended meetings for the AGC DC Steering Committee, and also had the opportunity to attend subcommittee meetings. One of the projects that I found the most interesting was working on the AGC DC glossary. Aside from attending meetings, I also had the opportunity to do research on collective impact resources, and resources related to justice, equity, and anti-racism, the latter of which were included in the AGC DC glossary site. 

Throughout my internship, I was able to relearn the importance of communication. Given that all staff members worked from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this importance became even more prominent. I was also able to learn about new aspects of governance. Being part of a smaller team enabled me to get a closer look at the elements that go into managing both arts organizations and nonprofits. The aspect of governance was also present throughout collective impact. Making sure that all of the stakeholders in collective impact are on the same page is an integral task, which was evident through learning more about AGC DC. Lastly, I was able to learn more about the current arts/humanities landscape in Washington, DC. Despite having lived in the D.C. metropolitan area for most of my life, I was unaware of the amount of community-based organizations that work to provide artistic and cultural opportunities to both students and the general public.

Starting Fall 2021, I will be pursuing my Masters in Arts Management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. In the future, I hope to do work that involves some type of artistic/cultural diplomacy, or something that involves arts and community/economic development. I believe that my experience interning at the DC Collaborative will be very valuable, especially in regards to making sure that equity and community voices are always centralized.

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Collective Impact Resource Feature: Impacts of Arts Education

Submitted by Lauren Walker, Membership and Collective Impact Intern, Spring 2021

May 26, 2021

(Source: EdVestors, 2021)

A recently published study titled “The Arts Advantage: Impacts of Arts Education on Boston Students” examines how access to arts education can influence various “student social-emotional and academic outcomes, as well as parent and teacher perspectives”  (1). This study was launched by BPS Arts Expansion, a partnership led by the Boston Public Schools Visual and Performing Arts Department and EdVestors, a non-profit organization based in Boston. As part of their Collective Impact initiative, these two entities brought in “local foundations, the [Boston] school district, arts organizations, higher education institutions, and the Mayor’s Office” in their work of creating a sustainable arts education strategy (1). 

The authors of the study emphasize that, in general, there is a lack of data-based research that adequately demonstrates the importance of access to arts education; they state that “in the absence of of robust evidence demonstrating the value of arts education, it is often the first subject to be cut when education policymakers are faced with difficult decisions regarding how they allocate educational resources” (1). However, there is increasing research that demonstrates how “arts learning opportunities” can improve both the overall academic abilities of students, in addition to social-emotional skills, which the authors describe as “policy-relevant educational outcomes” (2). 

The study took place over 11 school years (2008-2019), and included over 600,000 K-12 students in the Boston Public School system. The researchers used the school-level data “to examine the effects of variations in students’ arts resources and learning opportunities” (2). Rather than comparing students who engaged in arts courses with students who did not, students were compared to themselves: “the main analytical strategy employed...is estimating changes within, rather than across...relative to their own changes in arts education participation” (2). 

The differences in “students’ arts resources and learning opportunities” enabled the researchers to correlate “social-emotional and academic outcomes” with the presence of arts education (3). There were three main findings from the study:

The researchers found that when students were enrolled in arts classes, there were “positive effects on student attendance”, and had a strong impact on students who had “a history of chronic absenteeism” (3).

When students were enrolled in arts classes, school engagement amongst both parents and teachers increased. There was a higher incidence of teacher reports of increased effort in schoolwork by their students, and parents were more involved in their children’s schools.

Increased arts exposure had “mixed effects on test scores” (3). The trend showed an upwards shift in test scores for mathematics and language arts. This trend was more present in middle school students than elementary school students.

(Source: EdVestors, 2021)

The findings enabled the researchers to come to the conclusion that “students receiving the arts in school attend more, are more engaged with learning...and their parents are more likely to participate in school activities” (3). As a result, increased opportunities for arts learning can be helpful in creating healthier school environments. While there is more research to be done on this subject, the researchers state that this evidence can “help inform decision-making for administrators and policy-makers when it comes to the...allocation of resources for arts educational opportunities” (4). 

(Source: EdVestors, 2021)

Much of collective impact includes measuring the effect of the work on our intended audiences. Within Any Given Child DC, our audience consists of students and communities linked to DC Public schools and public charter schools. Data collection and analysis is essential to the work of collective impact, and the study that was carried out by BPS Arts Expansion demonstrates how data is useful in understanding the impacts that access to arts education/arts learning experiences can have on students, teachers, and the overall school community. The DC Collaborative looks to Boston Public Schools as a resource for demonstrating successful, tangible outcomes from an 11 year Collective Impact model. 

Resources:

Collective Impact Resources

The Arts Advantage: Impacts of Arts Education on Boston Students (Complete Report)

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Establishing Governance in Collective Impact

Submitted by Lauren Walker, Membership & Collective Impact Intern

May 4, 2021

On March 31, FSG and the Collective Impact Forum held a webinar titled “How to Embed Clear Roles and Responsibilities across Your Collective Impact Governance”. The hosts of the webinar, Ebele Anidi and Jennifer Splansky Juster, explained in detail some of the roles that are common in collective impact initiatives, some of the challenges that come along with establishing governance, misconceptions surrounding the role of the backbone organization, and suggested ways for “enhancing coordination” and effectively undertaking the work of the given initiative.

The graphic above demonstrates the relationship between an initiative’s Steering Committee, Backbone Organization, and additional Working Groups. Working Groups are described as a tool that enables people to “come together in smaller subsets” and “work on specific priority topics”. These smaller groups enable more people to participate and engage in the collective impact work. Backbone organizations guide and facilitate both the Steering Committee and the different working groups. All three entities are essential to “moving the work forward”. The arrows in this graphic represent how communication flows across the infrastructure of the collective.

The hosts provide the following tips for “effectively managing” the initiative and it’s infrastructure:

Establishing “clear, collectively established expectations of roles held by different organizations and individuals”

Establishing working norms

Paying attention to effective communication (ie. what are the best practices for communication?)

Recurring engagement in group reflection as a way to nurture trust and build respect (ie. are we living up to the expectations that were initially established?)

There are also common misconceptions regarding the role of the backbone organization that the hosts address:

The backbone organization sets the agenda. The host uses the analogy of a quarterback on a football team in describing how the backbone organization should function. The role of the quarterback is integral to the success of the team, but they are not the one designing the plays. Rather, it is the quarterback’s job to understand the playbook and make sure that the team “advances down the field”.

The backbone organization is the only entity that is responsible for driving the solutions. In reality, the backbone organization should be in a position that provides support to all other aspects of the collective.

The backbone organization receives all the funding. The host makes the point that “transparency regarding funding is critical”, and that the backbone organization Should function to mobilize resources and help other partners understand how funding should be allocated and managed.

The backbone organization is self-appointed rather than selected by the community. The backbone organization is chosen through a specific process that can differ based on the community/initiative. The DC Collaborative was identified by DCPS Arts and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities,  received a multitude of Support Letters from members of the community of practice, and went through a screening process for the Kennedy Center’s Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child initiative.

The hosts continue the webinar by listing “8 principles of practice”, which are shown in the image above. Among the 8 principles that are listed, they explain the following principles in more depth:

Priority placed on equity. This approach to equity should be put into practice both internally and externally.

Inclusion of community members and centering of community voices. This is a necessary step in making sure that it is truly the ‘community’ that makes up the collective initiative. The hosts describe this process as “embedding community ownership in the fabric of your initiative.”

Building a culture that fosters relationships, trust, and respect. This requires the redefinition of power dynamics, and establishing new trust that might not have existed before.

Customization for local context. This involves understanding that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach or solution.

Along with going over governance strategies for our work with AGC DC, we would like to take this opportunity/time to conduct a pulse check. Are we living up to our stated values? What are some accountability measures that could be utilized to make sure that we are staying on track with our work? What are some aspects from this webinar that can be applied to our present and future work? What are some terms/roles that could benefit from clarity?

As a part of additional resources, FSG provides a graphic describing 21 ways of facilitating group reflection. The second resource comes from TRG (Training Resources Group), and their decision-making gradient. Another decision-making protocol is the ‘Stoplight Approach’. The steps of decision-making are correlated to the color of stoplights: 

Green means that everyone is on the same page regarding a decision

Yellow means that we can move forward while still refining certain aspects

Red means that not everyone is on board, and that the decision should be returned to a full group discussion.

Resources:

Webinar Link

Webinar PPT Slides

Team Decision Making: The Gradients of Agreement

Facilitating Intentional Group Learning

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The Backbone Organization: The DC Collaborative’s Role in Collective Impact

Submitted by: Lauren Walker, DC Collaborative Membership and Collective Impact Intern  March 24, 2021

The DC Collaborative serves as the backbone organization for the Washington, D.C. community for Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child. Despite being one of the fundamental pieces of collective impact initiatives, the role and duties of the “backbone organization” are often confusing, misunderstood, or not communicated clearly.

In the article, “Understanding the Value of Backbone Organizations in Collective Impact”--published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review--the roles, common duties, and impact that backbone organizations have on collective impact initiatives are studied and explained in detail by FSG and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF). GCF served as a backbone organization for collective impact initiatives in Cincinnati, OH, and later “chose to invest in evaluating the work of a cohort of backbone organizations” in order to assess the work of backbone organizations, how they contribute to the overall success of various collective impact initiatives, and the factors that can impact their success (2). This project was developed out of a need to communicate the value of backbone organizations to community stakeholders, and why the strategy was worth pursuing (3).

The study found that there were six common activities of backbone organizations. These organizations often worked to “guide vision and strategy; support aligned activities; establish shared measurement practices; build public will; advance policy; [and] mobilize funding” (3). Depending on the phase of the collective impact initiative, a backbone organization would often focus on different activities. For example, in the initial phases, it was common for a backbone organization to “guide vision and strategy” and “support aligned activities” (3). As an organization moved further along in their collective impact work, it was common that they shifted their focus to “establish[ing] shared measurement practices,” and eventually expanding their external practices, such as seeking funding, engaging with other community members, and educating “policymakers” and “elected officials” (4).

After finishing their study, FSG and GCF came to the conclusion that the work of backbone support organizations is very distinctive, and that “individual organizations could not do the work of collective impact without backbone support” (6). The roles of backbone organizations also evolve over time to match the needs of their stakeholders, including partner organizations and the larger community. Some of the common challenges of backbone organizations and their partners include adequate evaluation and use of data, building public will, maintaining external communications, and advancing policy (6). There are also particular nuances that can affect the effectiveness of backbone organizations, such as structural opportunities, the phase of the collective impact initiative, and the capacity of the organization (7).  Lastly, FSG and GCF found that there are common attributes that are present in backbone organizations that influenced their effectiveness as leaders: “visionary; results-oriented; collaborative, relationship builder; focused, but adaptive; charismatic and influential communicator; politic; [and] humble” (7). In a similar vein, there is also the presence of “intangibles,” meaning that there is some indiscernible quality that enables backbone organizations to lead collective impact initiatives successfully (7).

To say that the needs of the community have changed post-pandemic is an understatement. In the midst of the ongoing changes and challenges, the major work of the DC Arts and Humanities Collaborative has been to clearly communicate its role as the backbone organization of Any Given Child DC, and to enhance both internal and external communications. In order to provide vision and strategy, the DC Collaborative is also working with its Steering, Equity/Justice, and Assessment/Evaluation Committees to determine community need and the relevance of community-based programming. The Equity/Justice Committee is working to determine the most pressing needs and ensure that all voices are represented in essential discussions. Simultaneously, the Assessment/Evaluation Committee is mapping who the Arts and Humanities Education Community of Practice is serving, the type of programming/services that we are collectively delivering, and identifying barriers to accessing these programs.

Quick Links:

Collective Impact Resources

Understanding the Value of Backbone Organizations in Collective Impact

DC Collaborative Website 

Stanford Social Innovation Review

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Interning at the DC Collaborative

I am Njoud, the Winter 2020-2021 Community Partnerships Intern at the DC Collaborative. I assisted with community memberships and the data work of the Collective Impact project. My experience with interning at the Collaborative has been wonderful because of the staff, my expansion of knowledge in the Arts Education data field, and having the opportunity to speak with the organization’s career coach Simone Blanchard, whose guidance helped me set up new goals.

While working under the Community Partnerships Manager, my tasks were mainly focused on the Any Given Child DC Collective Impact work, a data mapping project focused on illustrating arts and humanities organizations’ programming in the DC public education system, ensuring that our community is operating with equity. I was responsible for data collection, member tracking, focus group administration, and focus group meeting notes. In addition to my contribution towards the Collective Impact project, I helped with updating the Collaborative’s Distance Learning Resource Database, facilitating virtual field trips, and assisting with membership tracking.

As an intern at the Collaborative, I learned that managing data can be time consuming, but the end result can be very rewarding because of the organization’s mission. In my opinion, this experience was one of the best because it is important to me that the staff works collectively as a group and supports each other along the way. I also appreciate the coaching session as it helped me shape my current and future goals working in the Arts.

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For Teacher Appreciation week, the DC Collaborative would like to spotlight some of the amazing teachers in our community. These teachers are going above and beyond right now to ensure that their students are still receiving a quality education, and for that we thank them! 

Full quotes from teachers:

Phoebe Dillard

  “The arts are one of the most collaborative experiences. Though working through this collaboration virtually poses new challenges like never seen before, who better to take this on than artists. We figure out how to make it rain on stage, we figure out how to fly a green witch above a theater, how to make chimney sweeps tap upside down around a proscenium but some of the real magic comes from within the arts classrooms. We tell our children: it's possible. We let them dream and those dreams open new doors in all facets of their life. A health pandemic may make that more challenging but it certainly doesn't change that. However, it is not always an easy task inside the classroom to coach creativity. Students just want to be heard, loved, and valued but sometimes they come with darkness that isn't their fault. The arts have always been able to penetrate that darkness. Unfortunately this health pandemic doubles that darkness for some of our students, so arts education is even more important. We as teaching artists are finding new resources, new means of communication and new strength to reach out to students and still allow them to unleash their creativity, still provide an outlet. It's the time for compassion and creativity. We as teaching artists are here to create that environment for our students and foster new ways of expression.”

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For Teacher Appreciation week, the DC Collaborative would like to spotlight some of the amazing teachers in our community. These teachers are going above and beyond right now to ensure that their students are still receiving a quality education, and for that we thank them! 

Full quotes from teachers:

Briana Phillips:

 “Visual, auditory, kinesthetic, logical, intrapersonal and interpersonal are some of styles in which students learn. Integration of arts and humanities in the classroom allows a teacher to meet all or most of a students learning style in one lesson. Allowing students to express mastery of a skill or concept in a creative manner, is a more accurate way for teachers to collect data. Now more than ever teachers and students must think of non-traditional ways to meet academic expectations. During distance learning the use of technology, arts and humanities has helped tremendously.”