PAEP’s STEAM enrichment after school programs provided 10 middle schools or K-8 School District of Philadelphia schools with a host of arts integrated activities for 2014-2015 through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s 21 Century Learning Community Center grants. The first of these grants, Cohort 6A, was held after school at AMY at James Martin, Bache-Martin, Decatur, Shawmont, and Woodrow Wilson. The second grant program, Cohort 7, is housed in Finletter, Grover Washington, Lingelbach, Ludlow, and Welsh Schools. Students in both programs worked with teaching artists in a variety of visual and performing arts forms, had homework help, snacks, and group exercise four days a week for three hours each day. Special exhibits and performances were held at the end of each program cycle. PAEP also partnered with PCA to bring in PCA artists from the Philadelphia Theater Company and olive Dance for special residencies.
PAEP is currently hosting two summer camp programs. One program is at Bache Martin School and the other program is at Thomas K. Finletter School in the Little School House. Each site runs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 9am-3pm. Every morning each student has two classes and chooses from physical education, dance, music, visual art, animation, or theater. They can change these classes weekly. In the afternoon students attend their major classes. They chose their majors prior to the start of the program. Students receive free breakfast and lunch and are offered a warm up called “mindfulness” after each meal. A professional WNBA player and a professional soccer player lead physical activities. The teaching artists are professional artists from all over the city of Philadelphia. Both camps have a robust number of students attending and will run until August 6th. The students had a talent show, a 4th of July celebration, a fabric workshop, math and science lessons, one on one tutoring, and literature exercises, which are all integrated in their various art classes. The programs will end with two family carnivals and all camp performance the last week of the program.
