Brooklyn Academy of Music
CRCS has forged an institutional partnership with BAM in order to enrich the lives of our students, foster relationships with our families through the bridge that BAM can provide in their arts residencies, and collaborate with a neighborhood institution that was thriving long before us. BAM’s goal is to provide to students the same caliber of groundbreaking, challenging work from around the world that it provides for adults. BAM believes that its arts education programs should inspire young audiences with curricula that address important artistic, social, and political issues. These residencies are designed to link educators, families, and teaching artists together through art mediums. The programs put in place support and enrich Community Roots’ curriculum, help build community, and support the sharing of different cultures.
The teaching artists that are in residence each school year teach African Dance. The teaching artists use a combination of their experience and expertise, Community Roots Exit Outcomes, and The Blueprint for the Arts to guide their instruction. Classroom teachers work as partners during workshops and therefore ensure that this time is an integral part of the Community Roots educational program.
Fort Greene Park
Community Roots Charter School is a short walk from Fort Greene Park and our students spend time learning and playing there on a routine basis. It is located on a hill overlooking Wallabout Bay and downtown Brooklyn. Bounded by Myrtle Avenue, St. Edwards Street, DeKalb Avenue, and Washington Park (the continuation of Cumberland Avenue as it fronts the park), it is both a popular neighborhood park and a site of national importance. The thirty-acre park is home to tennis courts and playgrounds, and is host to events such as concerts, readings, and other civic gatherings. It is also the site of a Revolutionary War fort and a monument to Revolutionary War prisoners, who were held by the British aboard prison ships in Wallabout Bay. Today, a 148-foot column stands in the park commemorating these Prison Ship Martyrs. The monument is undergoing an extensive renovation, slated to be completed in fall ’07. In 1846, Walt Whitman, the celebrated poet and then editor of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle was writing almost daily urging for a park in Brooklyn. As a result, Washington Park, later renamed Fort Greene Park, was established as Brooklyn’s first park in 1847.
You can also visit www.fortgreenepark.org or www.nycgovparks.org for more information about the park.
