Our Vision
TheaterReaders is an innovative program that uses Conservatory Style training techniques to build social emotional skills and promote academic engagement in youth from grade school through college, as well as provide tangible support to teachers for all grades.
The program starts in the classroom with students engaging at least once a week with a trained TheaterReader teacher who works with the classroom teacher to find new engagement paths for areas of study or social emotional learning.
Social & Emotional
In the classroom, the TheaterReader program creates new pathways to engage with curriculum, giving students with different patterns of learning or disabilities a level playing field with students more suited to traditional methods. This gives non-traditional learners an equal seat at the table and the ability to fully contribute and leader. In short, we have found that our training produces powerful readers and writers.For many of our students, this is a revelation. Those that have not yet found academic success through traditional paths find that theatre unlocks the door to literacy
Destigmatizing
Intensive theatre training builds love of language, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, focus and confidence.
Our training also teaches students to value each voice, not just their own perspective. This exemplifies the cutting edge of current literacy research and practices, where emotional investment in reading and writing must come first, in order for literacy to flourish.
Social Connection
We have the resources of two hundred dedicated students and families who are a powerful support group for volunteering and role modeling.
Skill Building
Local professors of education tell us our curriculum is the embodiment of literacy work, where students with learning, behavioral and emotional challenges find great success, and realize they are truly an essential and valued part of the community. But the data is lacking, which makes it hard to build the support needed to create programs like theaterReaders.
TheaterReaders is committed to doing the academic research to understand how social-emotional skills are intertwined with academic success, and use this to help our partner schools build out the programs that can change their student’s lives.