Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture uses the rich Puerto Rican cultural resources of Western Massachusetts to provide the teachers and students of Springfield with arts opportunities on par with those offered by wealthy suburban districts. An educational program for grade 3-8 teachers, Explorations incorporates aspects of Puerto Rican culture into the classroom.

The three-year program involves approximately forty teachers from ten schools in Springfield working in teams consisting of an arts educator and a classroom teacher. Together, they attend week-long professional development sessions each summer and in-service days in the fall and spring. At the conclusion of each summer session, they develop five-day units of study that integrate Puerto Rican culture into student learning.

Teachers work with leading experts in Puerto Rican culture from Massachusetts, New York, and Puerto Rico, ranging from local luthier and cuatro advocate William Cumpiano, to Juan Flores of Hunter College, and Doreen Colon of the Museo de Arte in San Juan. Puerto Rican artists with international reputations such as Los Pleneros de la 21, a bomba and plena performing group from New York City, and Sol y Canto from Boston have also performed as part of Explorations’ multi-disciplinary curriculum. Spanish lessons are provided so that teachers can communicate more effectively with students and parents.

In addition to curricular units that relate to their culture (or to the culture of their classmates), students gain new opportunities to work in depth with high-quality local visual artists, dancers and musicians. The program sponsors concerts in each of the schools, featuring both local and national performing artists.

Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture is a partnership between the Springfield Public Schools and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The program is funded by an Arts Model Development and Dissemination Grant from the US Department of Education.

Springfield Public Schools and the MCC have published a Resource Directory for educators participating in the project.

For more information about Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture contact Julie Jaron at Springfield Public Schools.