WESTMINSTER — If you've driven through Westminster West recently, you may have seen an artful “village” of wooden structures at the Westminster West School building and grounds.
This is the home of an educational program serving all of the Westminster children enrolled at the town's public elementary school.
“Studio Y: The Story Adventure Goes West” was launched at the beginning of this school year to support and enhance student learning. The program builds on an educational approach developed over many years by Westminster's art and drama teacher, Janelle Beard.
Expanded this year in collaboration with Principal Doug Kussius and teachers at all grade levels, the program allows children to immerse themselves in an adventure-based story using project-based learning designed to develop their academic and social skills.
Beard first began developing the program in 2011, when she was hired by Massachusetts General Hospital to develop an arts and theater-based program that would serve children of varying interests and abilities.
“As a working artist, I see a studio as a space of potential,” Beard said in a news release. “It is a place of exploration, discovery, and sometimes, of course, failure. I wanted a space and experience like this for my students. Studio was an easy choice as part of a name.”
And why the Y?
“Y can stand for Youth. Why implies curiosity and exploration.”
She quotes Samuel Johnson, “Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.”
According to Beard, the Studio Y experience requires curiosity, creativity, problem-solving, and working together. It focuses on developing character traits that will serve children now and throughout their lives: self-control, patience, focus, flexibility, perspective, perseverance, empathy, courage, and optimism - all grounded in community.
More than a year ago, when the town's School Board began to plan the budget for the 2017-18 school year, they realized that projected enrollment posed a challenge.
Unlike many Vermont communities, the overall numbers in the Westminster Community Schools were holding steady and even growing. But only nine children were projected to come to the West School for this school year.
When Kussius saw Beard engaging a group of students in an “adventure journey,” he said his first thought was “how can we take these ideas and create a powerful and effective educational program for all our school children?”
The West building and grounds provided an ideal setting for this hands-on learning that could benefit all children in Westminster's public elementary school. Its several classrooms and spaces, woods and natural outdoor areas, walkable neighborhood and intimate environments work especially well for groups of 20 to 30 children and their teachers.
Following discussions with community members and educators, a proposal was brought to the School Board.
The School Board engaged community members in discussion of the options. The budget presented to the town last year at Town Meeting was designed to include the necessary support for the program, and resulted in reduced costs for operating the West building.
Community volunteers helped give the inside of the building a fresh coat of paint and have helped contribute artifacts to support the adventure stories the children experience.
Children in grades from K-6 have experienced this program this fall and winter for periods from one full day to several days. A second round of these adventure journeys is underway, with two more rounds for all of the children before the end of the school year.
At the end of the school year, there will be a culminating celebration where parents, grandparents, and other members of the community are invited to visit - guided by students to get a taste of what they have learned this year.