When can creativity, literacy, and learning take place outside the classroom?

Beyond School Hours!

Beyond School Hours programs take place outside of the school walls and also during times outside of the normal school day. This program extends the University of Arkansas’ Center for Children & Youth’s mission to deliver high quality arts programming and opportunities to schools in Northwest Arkansas. Entirely funded through grants and charitable donations, Beyond School Hours engages students of all ages in creative, dynamic programs in a wide range of art forms at no charge to any student, ever.

Beyond School Hours is coordinated by current ARTeacher Fellow Martha Sandven, who has worked in arts integration and youth development since 1995.  Every projecta seeks to improve the achievement of students in areas of reading and writing, higher-order thinking, creative problem-solving, executive functioning, school attendance, all while developing creativity, innovative problem-solving, imaginative play, and critical thinking skills about the complex societal challenges facing young people today.  The work of Beyond School Hours has not gone unnoticed, winning the 2020 Governor’s Arts Award through the Arkansas Arts Council.

 Beyond School Hours creates points of access for meaningful and enriching creative experiences outside of traditional classroom walls and during times outside of the school day. 

The Breakfast Club

“This program makes me want to come to school” – eighth grade student

“I finally found my ‘people.” – seventh grade student

“It’s okay to be weird. It really is.” – eighth grade student

“I am going to have my own art show. Breakfast Club gave me the confidence to do it.” – high school junior

“This is the safe place without any judgment.” – high school sophomore

In 2015, students at Ramay Junior High School gathered for an after-school arts program and lovingly named it in honor of the John Hughes film, The Breakfast Club. Meeting twice weekly and some evenings, this group of students felt that the program gave them a place to gather, freedom to share their ideas, and escape from the social and academic pressures of the regular school day.

Students create original works of visual and performing art, then share them with elementary schools, middle schools, and community audiences. Some works are inspired by or adapted from source material such as children’s books while others are completely original.

ART/Works!

“When do we get to go backstage?” – high school junior

“I want to run the spotlight!” – high school senior

“You’re kidding me! Are there really jobs like this that I could get?” – high school senior

“I love this place! When do we get to come back?” – high school junior

In partnership with the Faulkner Performing Arts Center on the University of Arkansas campus, ART/Works! is a spring internship program for high school students interested in learning valuable job skills in the arts. Student interns are selected from a pool of applicants and attend seminars led by professionals in fields such as stage management, box office management, exhibit curation, and technical theatre. Ultimately, interns complete 60 hours of work and receive both a certificate and a stipend. This Beyond School Hours program is schedule for a pilot in the spring of 2023, and it is a welcome expansion of The Breakfast Club. Productions in 2023 will include performances by diverse visiting musicians and theatrical performers and also a community youth dance competition.

Art Integration Workshops

“”This was so much fun!” – high school freshman

“At first I felt ashamed, but then I felt free.” – high school sophomore

“It felt good to just dance.” – high school junior

CCY and its partnering artists, educators, and arts organizations collaborate to provide art integration opportunities for students grades K-12 through workshops. Among all of the art forms, stand-alone opportunities in drama, dance, music, and visual art have provided high school students with a range of experiences. Recent art integration workshops included “Music and Mental Health,” featuring Robin Spielberg, Steinway pianist, composer, and recording artist, and “Movement for Self-Expression,” led by Wilfredo Rivera, Artistic Director and CEO of Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. Both of these workshops were produced and hosted by Beyond School Hours program partner, The Faulkner Performing Arts Center. Art integration workshops engage students in learning opportunities to develop emerging skills in the arts while simultaneously building literacy skills.   

Students participating in the program have the opportunity to tour arts programs in Northwest Arkansas and craft their own artistic identities through the arts. Beyond School Hours is an ongoing project. For or inquiries or more information, contact Center for Children & Youth director Hung Pham at ccy@uark.edu.