greene grants
2009 Greene Grant awarded to:
Boston Arts Academy Foundation
The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School—Book Tour
The Boston Arts Academy for performing and visual arts is one of Boston's "pilot" public high schools. The school prepares a diverse community of aspiring artist-scholars to be successful in their college or professional careers, and to be engaged members of a democratic society.
Linda Nathan, BAA's co-headmaster, has published a new book telling the school's story… the importance of creativity and art-making in working through issues faced by the faculty confronting race, achievement, and access issues - and how they've created a community of positive and effective teachers and learners. Dr. Nathan hopes the book will be a catalyst for discussion about the nature of the public school system in this country, and the central role that the arts should play in education. The book is being promoted in a number of U.S. cities with BAA students and teachers, who have created performance pieces and exhibits for the tour.
"I live in a whirlwind of putting out fires, dealing with non-instructional issues, friend and fund-raising, working with our Board and others, and yes, hopefully visiting classes and seeing the wonderful work my faculty does. Don't get me wrong: I love my job and I love the fact that I get to do about 39 different things each hour, but I don’t get sustained time with kids anymore. That's just not the job of a principal.
Traveling with kids means being together almost all of the time. We eat, talk, prepare for presentations, and debrief. We get to know one another in different ways, away from the pressures of school, our lives, or even our communities and families. The time together has been precious for me."
-Linda Nathan, on her book tour