YA Education Operations Director Liz Winter Presents at Young Audiences Arts for Learning National Arts in Education Conference in D.C.

Washington, D.C., March 26—On Thursday, March 26, 2026, Young Audiences Arts for Learning’s Education Operations Director Liz Winter, and Art Educator at Washington Avenue School in Pleasantville, NJ Tara Bach, joined Young Audiences Arts for Learning National in Washington, D.C., for a national arts in education conference, Telling Our Story.

Young Audiences Arts for Learning’s National Arts in Education Conference brings together arts education professionals and practitioners from around the country. Presented every other spring by Young Audiences Arts for Learning National in partnership with a local YA affiliate, each conference explores a themed related to arts education through breakout sessions, keynote addresses, site visits, and other activities.

Winter and Bach lead a breakout session titled Lessons Learned Through Dance: The Impact of Our RAISE Program Grant. Their session offered an inside look at Washington Avenue Elementary School’s multi-year RAISE program grant, implemented as a dance residency for third, fourth, and fifth-grade students in a school without an existing dance program.

While students learned technique, style, and discipline, the heart of the project was the intentional space created for them to share their perspectives and craft their own narratives through choreography. They explored the project’s approach, the stories that emerged from both students and the teaching artist, and the impact these narratives had on the school community. In their discussion, they emphasized how storytelling through movement and reflection helped build trust, strengthened relationships, and established alliances essential for sustaining arts-based learning. They discussed ways the school can move forward proactively after the grant concludes. 

“It was great to share the positive outcomes of this residency with a national audience. Teaching artists and arts administrators took away creative educational techniques and will be able to turnkey these ideas in their schools and communities. That leads to more students receiving authentic arts education that encourages students to tell their own stories and explore who they are as people and a community,” says Winter.

To learn more about the RAISE program at Washington Avenue School, read this article on WHYY https://whyy.org/articles/washington-avenue-elementary-new-jersey-arts-program-dance-mural/.