Lower Manhattan Arts Academy
School Description
The Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (LoMA) is a small, supportive, multicultural school where the focus is on academic excellence through the arts. Every aspect of LoMA’s design, structure and practice supports its students’ intellectual, emotional and cultural development with the ultimate goal of seeing that he or she gets into and succeeds in a four-year college. As an arts school, the visual and performing arts are integral to every student’s day in three ways. First, students will have opportunities to work with visual and performing artists during academic classes to create high quality, standards-based performances of learning. Secondly, each student also has the opportunity to specialize in a particular art - visual, choral, instrumental, dance or drama. Finally, LoMA has partnerships with many Lower East Side arts organizations so that every student takes part in an extended day program at least twice a week. This integration of the arts into every student’s day will help to build our students’ cultural, social and academic capital so that they will become successful, thoughtful, contributing members of their communities.
Arts Leadership Team
Yetta Garfield, assistant principal- ygarfield@aol.com
Chris Ahearn, humanities teacher- cjahearn@gmail.com
Deborah-Frances Pierre, music teacher- musiqueteach@yahoo.com
Kenyetta Bailey, dance teacher- kenyetta.bailey08@gmail.com
FOUR-YEAR PLAN GOALS
Goal One: To create a music production and recording program that utilizes modern software and technology.
Goal Two: To build a toolbox of visual arts integration projects that will deepen understanding of the themes and ideas of the books in our humanities curriculum.
Goal Three: To expand the dance curriculum to incorporate African Dance.
APPROACH
Goal One: Through consultation, professional development from recording industry professionals and teaching artists, partnerships with recording studios and equipment purchases, LoMA builds recording and music production capabilities into the music composition curriculum.
Goal Two: LoMA will have a teaching artist work with the English teacher to create art visual arts units that will go with the several pieces of literature that the curriculum teaches. Each year they will add a new arts integrated lesson into the curriculum.
Goal Three: LoMA incorporates a teaching artist into the dance classes to supplement the areas where the dance teacher has less experience while helping her develop her own units
ARTS PARTNERSHIPS
Goal One: Funkadelic Studios
Goal Three: Young Audiences
Outcome
Goal One: The Music Department at LoMA will offer comprehensive instruction in and practical experience with modern music recording and production and allowing students to be better equipped to meet the demands of the 21st century music industry.
Goal Two: The Humanities curriculum will be updated to incorporate arts integration projects that will increase student engagement as well as the depth of understanding on the cultural and politically context of the books that they are reading. The training and knowledge gleaned from this process will allow the humanities teacher to turnkey and demonstrate technique to his colleagues.
Goal Three: The dance teacher will have the technical know-how and the curriculum will be updated to provide students with proper training in additional dance forms that will increase student engagement.
Four-Year Plan 2016-2020.