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  • Tori Rumzis

GroundWorks creates meaningful connections with students at Willson Elementary.


Willson Elementary School in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), a magnet school for deaf and hard of hearing students, is one of GroundWorks’ valued outreach partners. We have worked with Willson since the Spring of 2012, originally through our exCHANGE program. 

In recent years, we have been doing a series of long-term residencies with Willson called Kinection for Learning. This program is our highest-impact residency where we take academic concepts from multiple areas of the Ohio State Curriculum Standards and deliver unique kinesthetic instruction through creative movement dance concepts.  Our holistic approach supports physical embodiment and experiential learning, allowing students to discover new cross-curricular connections and develop interest in subjects that challenge students in a traditional classroom setting.

Kinection for Learning can be a transformational experience for students, school staff, and GroundWorks teaching artists alike.  Students consistently demonstrate increased scores in academic subjects, physical organization, and social emotional development through pre and post-assessments made throughout the 12 week residency. Students who do not thrive in their traditional classroom settings become leaders in the GroundWorks classroom, shattering the expectations of the staff who rarely see that student as an eager participant, let alone a leader.  Since the GroundWorks teaching artists are able to reduce the student to teacher ratio to 8:1, GroundWorks artists are able to develop close bonds with the students, creating a deep investment for progress in both the artists and students.


Responses from student journals also give a glimpse into how impactful the program is for these students:

“I enjoy my time with GroundWorks because it is fun. Also, they help us when we need it and it helps in math.”

“I really am thankful for all you guys did for me. I am thankful for you teaching me and I’m going to miss you. I want to thank my teacher for teaching me dances, shapes, and other stuff that we learned with GroundWorks.”

“Today was a very fun day at GroundWorks. GroundWorks is a fun way to learn about Science, Math, Reading, and Social Studies. GroundWorks is interesting if you understand it. I LOVE GroundWorks SO much!”

This program holds a special place in our heart because of the meaningful connections we are able to establish with the students over 12 weeks. All of our dancers work on this residency together, also solidifying their bond through the experience and bringing our entire company closer. We are excited to continue building our relationship with Willson and continue this program in the many years to come.

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