2006 annual report - Urban Gateways

Greeley Elementary School, located in Chicago’s Buena Parkneighborhood declared itself this year a school dedicated to art, culture,and world languages. “Without our partnership with Urban Gateways thiscould never have happened,” stated Principal Haydee Alvarez. “The culturalcomposite of our school has allowed us to develop a solid educationalcurriculum that affirms the cultural richness of Chicago. For our school, thearts serve as the catalyst in connecting the various cultural backgrounds ofour students and their parents.”For almost fifteen years, Urban Gateways has partnered with GreeleySchool in building an arts-based curriculum that serves as a foundation forlearning throughout the school.We began our work in the mid-1990s with performance-based programsand workshops that provided students with access to the arts. A learningcontinuum was developed, beginning with short-term programs, advancingto complex long-term partnerships that included extensive professionaldevelopment for educators, administrators, and parents; artist-in-residenceprograms for students in all classrooms; and the development andimplementation of sequential curriculum. When Greeley was designatedas a 21st Century Community Learning Center our programming extendedbeyond traditional school hours, fully engaging students and integratingparents into their children’s education.1011