Ten months ago, the New Children’s Museum ruffled feathers when it decided not to house a tiny charter school that was originally planned for the newly rebuilt museum. It said it was weighing other educational plans for the space that the charter school would have occupied, but was vague about the details:
“The big question is, do we put resources into really deeply serving 80 students, versus serving — in a different way — a larger number of students?” (marketing and communications manager Jessica) Hanson said. “There’s no specific plans at this point.”
Now the plans are clear: The museum has announced that its School-in-Residence program will bring students from Washington Elementary School in Little Italy to the site for three weeks, learning about creativity, making and thinking about art, and taking their usual classes in the museum. Other schools in the county will later do the same, according to a museum press release.
The museum is also sponsoring a weekly after-school program for children at the Monarch School, which serves homeless youth. The press release added:
“We are committed to fostering creativity and providing innovative learning experiences through project based learning,” explained Rachel Teagle, the Museum’s Executive Director. “These unique partnerships with Washington Elementary and Monarch School are a continuation of our goal to be a cultural institution that serves as many children and students as we can. We’re especially proud to begin by responding to the needs of our downtown neighbors.”