The Dream Flag Project ® kicks off its 10th anniversary year

PRESS RELEASE: CONTACT: Wanda Odom, 610-526-1678February 24, 2013wodom@agnesirwin.orgLauren Saul, 215-409-6895lsaul@constitutioncenter.orgThe Dream Flag Project ® kicks off its 10th anniversary yearPartners with National Constitution Center to share international art & poetry celebrationPHILADELPHIA – The Agnes Irwin School’s Dream Flag Project ® and the National Constitution Centertoday jointly launched the 10th anniversary season of the international art, poetry and community-buildingproject with a free visit day, orientation and workshop for teachers at the civics and history museum.The Dream Flag Project ®, founded by 6th grade English teachers at Agnes Irwin, brings together thedreams of thousands of students from elementary to high school each year to share their hopes for theircommunities, their nations and the world.The celebration began with remarks by Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, alongtime supporter of the project, and Kerry Sautner, Vice President of Visitor Experience & Education forthe National Constitution Center.“The National Constitution Center is honored to be a part of such a smart and thoughtful project thataligns with the Center’s mission,” said the Center’s Vice President of Visitor Experience & EducationKerry Sautner. “We strive to inspire our visitors with incredible stories of how ordinary citizens havefought to improve the course of our nation’s history and Constitution.’ It is fitting that we are partneringwith the Dream Flag Project for their significant milestone as we ourselves celebrate our 10 th year as themuseum of “We the People.”As a partner, the National Constitution Center provided free museum entry for all participants.In addition, Dream Flag teachers from Philadelphia area schools spoke about integrating the project intotheir classroom work. Teachers from Florida, Alaska and Belize City in Central America also joined theconversation, via Skype, providing examples of their students’ work. After the presentations, teacherswere able to actually experience making Dream Flags of their own through a hands-on workshop.Jeff Harlan, a co-founder and director of the project, said the partnership with the National ConstitutionCenter demonstrated the “exceptional pull” of the program, which has grown in the last decade to includeschools in 34 states in the United States and 18 countries. More than 75,000 students have created andconnected Dreams Flags since the project’s inception in 2003.“Civic awareness begins when we articulate our own dreams and learn how we are connected to others.This is what The Dream Flag Project ® does for students around the world. We are natural partners withthe National Constitution Center in celebrating individuality, in forging personal connections for commongood, and in helping students recognize the dreams they share with others different from themselves,”said Harlan.The project was inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and the tradition of Nepalese prayer flags,colorful pieces of cloth strung outside to promote peace, compassion and blessings. Students write dreampoems, transfer them to cloth and make them sing with color, drawing and imagination. The flags are thenattached to a Dream Flag Line. Each April and May, Dream Flag Lines are exhibited and celebratedpublicly—in classrooms, cafeterias, libraries, workplaces and online. A major Dream Flag Project®celebration is held each spring in Philadelphia.-MORE-

ADD ONE/DREAM FLAG PROJECT"This Sunday's launch and teacher workshop will connect Philadelphia's city government, the NationalConstitution Center and teacher presenters to teachers new to The Dream Flag Project from across ourregion, people from the arts community, Philadelphia Family Services, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,the Wayne-based African Education Project, and others,” said Harlan. “It will be the kind of communitybuildingexperience that has the project reaching new heights in this 10th anniversary year."Sandy Crow, co-founder and sixth grade English teacher at Agnes Irwin, said that her favorite aspect ofthe project is its focus on bringing others together for a common purpose that enhances all participantswhile also celebrating individual dreams."Teachers create artistry in the classroom all the time,” said Crow. “It's the nature of our work. But when itresonates with other teachers in other classrooms and then when it spreads word-of-mouth to classroomsall over and is shaped and reshaped, and when it lasts for 10 years, it is deeply humbling."For more information about the project, visit www.dreamflags.org.About The Agnes Irwin SchoolFounded in 1869, The Agnes Irwin School is an independent all-girls’ college preparatory school inRosemont, Pa., serving students in PreK through Grade 12. Its mission is to foster the development ofeach student's highest potential in intellect, character and physical well-being through a rigorousacademic education, diverse community, creative arts and competitive athletics. For more information,please visit www.agnesirwin.org or call 610.525.8400.###About the National Constitution CenterThe National Constitution Center is the first and only nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the mostpowerful vision of freedom ever expressed: the U.S. Constitution. Located on Independence Mall inHistoric Philadelphia, the birthplace of American freedom, the Center illuminates constitutional ideals andinspires active citizenship through a state-of-the-art museum experience, including hundreds of interactiveexhibits, films and rare artifacts; must-see feature exhibitions; the internationally acclaimed, 360-degreetheatrical production Freedom Rising; and the iconic Signers' Hall, where visitors can sign theConstitution alongside 42 life-size, bronze statues of the Founding Fathers. As America's forum forconstitutional dialogue, the Center engages diverse, distinguished leaders of government, public policy,journalism and scholarship in timely public discussions and debates. The Center also houses theAnnenberg Center for Education and Outreach, the national hub for constitutional education, which offerscutting-edge civic learning resources both onsite and online. Freedom is calling. Answer it at theNational Constitution Center. For more information, call 215.409.6700 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org.