Mo`olelo Performing Arts Co. Launches 'Bridges' Project

Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company announced today the launch of Mo`olelo Bridges, a new arts education pilot residency at San Diego's Hoover High School. The program uses storytelling, theater and creative writing activities to teach high school students critical literacy skills and to transform them into storytellers of their own lives.

Running from February 10 through June 14, 2009, Mo`olelo Bridges is an innovative partnership project of San Diego's acclaimed socially conscious Equity theatre company, Hoover High School, Young Audiences of San Diego, and the City Heights Educational Collaborative. The project is an adaptation of Neighborhood Bridges (Bridges) (www.neighborhoodbridges.org), a Federally-recognized arts education program that was developed by The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis (CTC).

Initially designed for elementary and middle school students, Bridges has been proven to improve students' ability to read, write, think critically, and to develop collaborative and public speaking skills. Bridges helps students grapple with the complicated issues, conflicts and questions found in today's diverse society. The project challenges young people to identify the roots of social problems, examine their own feelings, and to propose creative non-violent solutions. Through a competitive process, Mo`olelo was awarded a dissemination grant from CTC to receive free training for the Neighborhood Bridges program in summer 2008, and with their approval, Mo`olelo is now adapting the program to benefit the San Diego high school community.

"We are very excited to partner with Mo`olelo on this nationally-recognized program and adapt it for Hoover High," said Midge Backensto, Associate Director of the City Heights Educational Collaborative. "We look forward to learning from the pilot project in an effort to improve and invigorate our comprehensive arts education across all three Collaborative schools based on what we discover this year at Hoover."

For more information about Mo`olelo Bridges, visit www.moolelo.net or call 619-342-7395. 

Mo`olelo means story in Hawaiian. Selected as the inaugural Resident Theatre Company at La Jolla Playhouse, Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company is a socially-conscious theater organization dedicated to broadening the scope of San Diego's cultural environment by telling powerful stories that are as diverse as the islands of Hawaii while paying Equity wages to local actors and developing environmentally-friendly theater practices. A recipient of the Patté, McDonald Playwriting and the Anti-Discrimination Awards, its mission is to create new works based on research within various communities, produce lesser-known works by master and contemporary playwrights, and to educate youth. 

Founded in 1963, Young Audiences of San Diego (YASD) is the oldest and largest San Diego County nonprofit whose sole mission is arts education, encompassing music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and creative writing. Teaching in and through the arts utilizes the creative process and opens the possibilities for teachers and for learners. Our comprehensive standards-based services include teacher professional development, in-school and after-school residencies and workshops, educational assemblies, family arts nights, and off-campus learning through field trips. Visit our website www.yasandiego.org.

The City Heights Educational Collaborative (CHEC) is a unique partnership which includes San Diego State University, San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Education Association, and Price Charities. All four partners provide support and service to three City Heights schools - Hoover High, Monroe Clark Middle, and Rosa Parks Elementary. The mission of the Collaborative is to attain academic achievement levels and high school graduation rates equivalent to those of the highest performing schools in San Diego, and to prepare students for post-secondary academic and career opportunities.

As a major contributing partner, SDSU provides the Collaborative schools with the latest research in education reform, and serves as an anchor for PreK-12 professional development across all content areas. Price Charities, with an intense focus on health and social services, has helped Collaborative students and families overcome barriers to academic success through the site-based, fully staffed parent centers and through the medical, dental, and psych-social services offered within the schools' health centers. Finally, The Collaborative's College Avenue Compact agreement with San Diego State University and San Diego City College, offers guaranteed admission to San Diego State University to Hoover High graduates who meet the established benchmarks for graduation.