PEABODY — The city’s elementary schools have launched new arts-based learning programs for elementary school students, partnering with the Young Adults of Massachusetts (YAMA) organization and the Peabody Cultural Collaborative (PCC).
“These are field trip-like experiences that are extremely interactive that are conducted by artists, and the kids are just in orbit. They are enjoying the programs tremendously from what I have personally observed,” said Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Chris Lord. “We are so thankful to the Peabody Cultural Collaborative as it’s a great thing to be able to offer the schoolchildren in Peabody.”
PCC received about $15,000 last year from the J.B. Thomas Foundation and the Essex County Community Foundation to support the operations and expansion of the CuriousCity pop-up children’s museum. In its first 10 months of operations, CuriousCity hosted more than 6,700 visitors from 122 communities in 22 states. But once the pandemic forced CuriousCity to shut its doors in March, the funding was left in limbo.
“When museums were finally able to reopen, we knew that due to the size of our space and the activities we offered, CuriousCity would not have been able to be the safe, fun place we had created,” said PCC President Camille Bartlett. “PCC contacted the foundations to either return the funds or to utilize the funds in the spirit of the children’s museum — creating fun, engaged learning activities for children that explored arts and culture.”
“We didn’t feel we could open safely,” said PCC board member Tim Brown. “We knew that the schools and teachers were in great need, so it worked out really well. It all amounted to being able to repurpose the funds we previously received for the children’s museum to programs for the city’s schools.”
The first YAMA program debuted at the end of January when kindergarten classrooms were treated to Songs and Stories for Science Learning — Frogs and Butterflies.
“We had 25 kindergarten classrooms who participated and they really enjoyed it,” said Lord.
Lord said coming attractions include programs with storytelling and dance themes for the fourth and fifth grades during February and March.
Bartlett said the efforts of the Peabody Education Foundation (PEF) were a key ingredient in bringing YAMA on board.
“We needed advice on how to get started and immediately reached out to the Peabody Education Foundation for guidance,” Bartlett said, adding that PEF had worked directly with the Peabody school district for more than 35 years.
“In the past, the PEF has raised funds to support programming within the schools,” PEF chairperson David Gravel said. “This year, PEF responded to the school’s needs by supplying students with the tools and materials needed to be successful in a remote environment. What the Cultural Collaborative can offer complements the initiative we started this past fall.”
Gravel quickly facilitated a meeting between the PCC and school administrators who knew that YAMA programs have been successful at Peabody schools in previous years. Those positive experiences led to the decision to use the funding to support the current YAMA programming.
“The support from the community this year has been very much appreciated. The PEF was able to respond to the immediate needs identified this fall, ensuring students had supplies necessary at their homes to be able to fully participate in remote activities,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala. “The added programming available through the Cultural Collaborative has created a new level of excitement with the students.”
Brown said the initial investment voted by the PCC board was to fund up to $15,000 toward the project and that the PCC board was highly impressed by the creativity of YAMA’s programming. PCC is also looking for other ways to engage with local members of the creative community to engage preschool-aged children.
“Through the operation of CuriousCity we were fortunate to work with many local artists and organizations to provide programming,” Brown said. “Our next steps as a board is to be able to formulate plans to expand programming outside of the school hours and include a wider audience.”
“The enthusiasm generated by CuriousCity and the trust foundations had with the PCC to utilize funds to continue the mission of the museum is what makes this relationship possible,” Bartlett added. “This time, we are not creating something brand new. We are fortunate to be able to strategically collaborate with the schools and the Peabody Education Foundation, all who have a common goal of inspiring Peabody’s students.”
