The Asheville City Schools Foundation's TAPAS Program Building Quilts, Building Lives

"Project-based learning at its best." That's how first-grade teacher Beverly McBrayer of Asheville's Hall Fletcher Elementary School described the First Grade Quilting Bee, an innovative artist residency that brought teaching artist Elizabeth Garlington to her classroom to introduce students to math concepts through quilting.

The Quilting Bee is just one example of the over 60 hours of residencies brought to Asheville's nine City Schools district schools through TAPAS (Teaching Artists Presenting in Asheville Schools), a collaboration between the Asheville City Schools Foundation, LEAF in Schools and Streets (a project of the Lake Eden Arts Festival), and the University of North Carolina Asheville's Center for Craft, Creativity and Design.

Research shows that hands-on learning and education through the arts produces long-term, measurable outcomes. But the cost often keeps such initiatives out of reach for cash-strapped school districts. By collaborating with local artists and agencies, the Asheville City Schools Foundation was able to keep costs down and impact high. Teaching artists receive high-quality training in how to tie their particular art form to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

Founded in 1988, the Asheville City Schools Foundation is dedicated to student success through the following strategies: mobilizing the community; supporting excellent teaching and lifelong learning; and providing support and opportunities for students.

"The TAPAS Residency is a phenomenal resource for reaching students who struggle with learning through conventional methods," says McBrayer. "It can start a fire in them that may stay lit throughout the rest of the year and maybe even their lives."

85 Mountain Street  |  PO Box 3196  |  Asheville, NC 28802
Office: 828-350-6134  |  Fax: 828-255-5131  |  email: acsf@acsf.org

http://www.acsf.org/