DC Public Elementary Schools

The Washington National Opera and District of Columbia Public School (DCPS) Partnership offers students and teachers a unique opportunity to explore how opera reflects its time, culture, and creators.  Beginning with in-class preparation with WNO Teaching Artists and attendance at the Opera Look-In,  students reflect on the opera and how it connects to their own culture (i.e. school, community, nation, and world).  The partnership continues throughout the year as students and teachers work with assigned teaching artists to help develop a work of art that connects the opera to the DCPS curriculum.  Works of art, such as a song, story, dance, or visual art piece, are unique to the students’ shared experiences with opera.

Professor development sessions on the Opera Look-In and Arts Infusion are offered, and the workshop fee is waived for all DCPS Partnership educators.  Credit toward recertification is available upon completion of the course. Two Arts Infusion sessions are mandatory for new partnership schools. 

Date:  September 2009–April 2010

Eligibility: DCPS Elementary Schools

Fee: $2.00 per student

Registration and Questions: 202.448.3462 or education@dc-opera.org

NOTE: Registration includes all fees for the Opera Look-In and Teaching Artists visits.  Registered participants are expected to complete all aspects of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Partnership. 

“I am in complete support of Washington National Opera’s Center for Education and Training’s professional development workshops for teachers, teaching artists and the Opera Look-In as ways to further deepen the music education efforts in the DCPS system.” – Ben Hall, current Director of Music for District of Columbia Public Schools