Beth Olshansky

From New Teacher Handbook

Picture This: An Arts-Based Literacy Program by Beth Olshansky

Press Release

The Manchester School District in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Art-Based Literacy at the University of New Hampshire and RMC Research of Portsmouth, NH has been awarded a 4-year Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement.

The grant will be used to adopt, adapt, expand, refine, evaluate and disseminate two innovative, art-infused instructional models in elementary schools which have been selected to pilot this innovative art-based approach to literacy learning. Picturing Writing: Fostering Literacy Through Art and Image-Making Within The Writing Process, developed by Beth Olshansky, have proven their effectiveness in significantly improving students’ academic performance in writing and reading, particularly among at-risk learners, through the integration of standards-based art and language arts instruction into the core curriculum.

The City of Manchester serves as a national refugee relocation center and has the highest poverty level in NH. A preliminary Picturing Writing pilot program implemented in several elementary schools in Manchester has demonstrated great promise.

The research that results from this 4-year grant will be of national significance. It will provide school districts across the country with hard data and explicit art-infused methodologies which can be applied toward improving the literacy skills of all students, particularly those who are currently targeted by No Child Left Behind.

For more information about the Center for the Advancement of Art-Based Literacy at the University of New Hampshire please contact Liz Arcieri at 603-862-3691 or visit http://www.picturingwriting.org