PrattSchool.org :: Programs
As part of our commitment to Learning for Life, Pratt Community School offers a wide range of enrichment programs to our students — through the classroom experience and our partnership with Pratt Community Education. These classroom programs include:
- Musical demonstrations, dicussions and performances through the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s CONNECT program.
- Weekly science projects — integrated with math and language arts — with University of Minnesota graduate students through a NSF-funded partnership with the University.
- Tickets to Children’s Theater Company productions and a weekly Neighborhood Bridges class with the 4/5 room, emphasizing the use of dramatic skills in literacy.
- Activities linking the arts with critical thinking and reading comprehension — in collaboration with local artists through Arts for Academic Achievement and using Visual Thinking Strategies.
- Deep understanding of history and geography through the Core Knowledge curriculum under a Minnesota Humanities Commission grant.
After-school programs have included:
- Science Club
- Theater and Performance Arts (in 2005 both Much Ado About Nothing and The Wizard of Oz were produced
- Taiko and African drumming
- Storytelling
- Classes in computers, dance, Spanish, Chinese and more
The following is a partial list of the special programs being offered at Pratt for the 2006–2007 academic year. Though Pratt is the smallest school in the Minneapolis public school system, it offers a particularly rich set of programs thanks to the tireless efforts of many volunteer, parent and staff members:
Arts for Academic Achievement
This is a program administered by the Minneapolis Public Schools. We work with one or more artist educators each year. Last year (2005–2006) we had a puppeteer/mask maker come to each classroom once or twice a week for about six weeks. The residency concluded with a small performance and celebration during the school day.
Visual Thinking Strategies
This is an approach to teaching deeper problem solving, observation skills and drawing inferences and conclusions, using works of visual art as the stimulus. All the teachers at Pratt have been trained in this approach, and use slides and posters from the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Minneapolis Institute of Art : Art Adventure!
This is a new program this year, where Pratt parents are trained at the Minneapolis Institute of Art to be classroom docents. Twice during the year (December and May) the docents will bring a collection of art reproductions from the MIA into the classroom, and will present a program about the art and the theme that links the pieces.
Children’s Theatre Company
There are two programs with the CTC. Grades 1–3 attend two plays during the year. Grades 4 and 5 are involved in a much more intensive program, Neighborhood Bridges, which involves an actor educator coming into the classroom for one afternoon a week. The children work on a variety of literacy and dramatic skills, including public speaking, creating skits, writing, nonverbal expression, and producing a full dramatic piece.
Minnesota Orchestra
Grades 2 and 3 attend one concert during the year.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra: CONNECT
Four to six times a year, musicians from the orchestra, or international music groups affiliated with the orchestra, visit the school to present combination education and performance sessions. In addition, grades 1–5 attend a SPCO concert during the year.
National Science Foundation Grant
Pratt, in conjunction with Tuttle Community School, is participating in a 3-year NSF grant. Doctoral candidate science students from the University of Minnesota work with the grade 2/3 classroom teacher for ten hours a week, developing and presenting science lessons and experiences. A science club is run during one trimester of the year.
Core Knowledge / Cargill Grant
This is a new program this year. In conjunction with Tuttle Community School, the staff is infusing additional elements of history and geography into the curriculum. Specific focus this first year is on Native American history and physical geography. The grant will fund field trips, special staff development, and purchase of teaching artifacts that can be used across multiple years.
University of Minnesota Volunteers
The Service Learning office at the U of M facilitates the placement of between 12 and 15 student volunteers each semester. They work an average of 2 ½ hours per week, helping in the classroom, on the playground, and with special projects.
Americorps / Minnesota Reading Corps
New this year, we are fortunate to have the skilled assistance of Jennifer Metzler and Robin Hill, from the Reading Corps. They work one-on-one with all students in grades 1–3 who are below grade level in reading.
Bilingual Program Aide
Abdillahi (John) Hassan is an experienced Somali-English speaker who has worked for the school district for many years. He is at Pratt three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) for 3 hours each time. Mr. Hassan makes many family contacts, and assists the teachers with their Somali speaking students.
Volunteer Coordinator / Arts Coordinator
With funding from Pratt Council, an anonymous donor, and the Pratt PTO, the school now has a ten hour per-week coordinator. This position will support both University and community volunteers, will allow fuller participation on many of the above listed activities, and will lay the groundwork for additional arts opportunities in the future. Jakki Kydd-Fidelman is filling this position.