Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts has awarded grants to 14 teachers at public high schools and middle schools in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., to fund music, dance, and theater projects in their classrooms. 

Three teachers at FCPS schools are among the grant recipients. The grants are part of Wolf Trap’s Grants for Performing Arts Teachers, an annual program that issues financial awards to support area public school teachers who are working to bring new and exciting performing arts experiences to their students. 

All grantees and their students are invited to participate in a celebratory day of learning at Wolf Trap. Among the teachers receiving grants is Stacey M. Jones, Luther Jackson Middle School, for the project “Reviving Ghanian Traditions Through the Blues Workshops.”

Students in Luther Jackson Middle School's advanced theater arts class will work with Kennedy Center Teaching Artist and Focus 5 Consultant Imani Gonzalez, to learn about Ghanian traditions, connecting the African culture to the African American tradition of the Blues. Studying the blues genre will allow students to explore and tell their own stories. Students will write monologues to connect with the long tradition of defiant storytelling in the face of adversity. Bringing this type of cultural integration into the classroom will strengthen students' sense of identity while promoting acceptance of other cultures through a better understanding of how we are all connected.

Wolf Trap’s annual grants program celebrates high-quality instruction and performance achievements of public high school and middle school music, dance, and theater teachers. Awardees receive a financial grant of up to $5,000 in support of special projects that align with Wolf Trap’s performance and education priorities.