The Rockwell is very pleased to represented by Gigi Alvaré, Director of Education, at the 12th Annual National Summer Learning Association Conference.This year’s conference theme, Renewing the Promise and Purpose of Learning, celebrates the joy of learning, the perfect tie-in with our own Garden of Fire Summer Program.
Gigi will travel to Baltimore to present with Garden of Fire colleagues Emily Hofelich-Bowler, Executive Director of Addison Youth Center, and Alli Lidie Deputy Director and White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellow of AfterSchool Works! NY: the New York State Afterschool Network (ASW:NYSAN).
Gigi Alvaré reads the Garden of Fire Story to youth on the first day of the summer program.
The presentation, entitled Garden of Fire: Reaping the Rewards of Community Networking Through a Joint Summer Program, will highlight how several organizations and programs came together in a rural community to create a rich summer program for youth. The Garden of Fire was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grant after the first summer of programming.
The session will give context to the Garden of Fire collaboration with an opening discussion, led by Alli Lidie, who will speak about the structure for regional after-school networks in New York State that bring together both after-school and summer providers in their communities. The Garden of Fire program grew out of the relationships formed through network participation, and through work with The Triangle Fund, a funder and member of the network. The session will also touch on work done by other regional networks in New York.
Emily Hofelich-Bowler and her owl friend, courtesy of Tanglewood Nature Center
The Garden of Fire is a project conceived collaboratively by local organizations whose purpose is to build capacity, depth and the integration of art and science for programs serving at-risk youth in Steuben County, New York. Emily Hofelich-Bowler will speak about networking with the local school districts to optimize resources, and how incorporating state-wide learning initiatives (STEM) as part of the program gave the summer program more leverage and legitimacy in asking for school support.
By providing programming led by professional artists and educators held in museums, gardens, and fields, the local community and region opens up to students who otherwise might have very limited opportunities. It is our hope that the model program we have collectively created will spark the imagination and action of other communities to build their own Gardens of Fire.
To learn more about the Garden of Fire visit GardenOfFire.com
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