Portsmouth Public Schools Archives - Arts for Learning Virginia

Helping Create the Change to Invest in the Arts

April 8, 2025 By Cindy Sherwood

“What do you like best about the ACT OUT theater residency?”

“I like acting on the stage.” Sariyah, Cradock Middle School
“I like the teamwork part and just coming together.” Nyla, Cradock Middle School
“I like coming up with a storyline/idea/concept.” Lyla, Cradock Middle School
“I like the scripts.” NaYomi, Cradock Middle School
“I got to have fun and I got to create a lot of different things.” Sania, Waters Middle School

A big round of applause for the students, artists, and educators who made our pilot theater program, ACT OUT, a success. Students performed last Friday in the Portsmouth Arts Festival Theater Showcase, demonstrating what they’d learned about acting and much more to family and friends in the audience.

In addition to the benefits to the individual students who participated, we’re thrilled that ACT OUT has jump started Portsmouth Public Schools’ plans to expand its theater program. With strong enrollment in our spring residencies at Cradock, Waters, and Churchland Middle Schools, we’ve shown the interest is there. According to Joe Harmon, Coordinator of Secondary Performing Arts, PPS is hoping to offer theater classes at all three of its high schools in the future, beyond the single one now at Churchland High School.

Teaching artist Dai Poole worked with both staff and students at Churchland and Cradock Middle Schools, where he says there’s a shared belief in the “transformative power of the arts within a well-rounded education.”

Through theater, students gain invaluable skills—teamwork, public speaking, problem-solving, memory retention, and more—that serve them both on and off the stage. Sharing my firsthand experience as a working professional helped make the dream feel tangible, and that, to me, makes it all worthwhile. I strive to be the kind of inspiration I once needed at their age.”

During the twice-weekly, six-week residency, students learned introductory concepts of theater arts, including character development, improv, and stage awareness, while exploring personal strengths and creative expression.

Demonstrating what they’d learned, Waters Middle School students presented “Tales from the Enchanted Forest” at the showcase, guided by teaching artist Katherine Willet.

They designed their own costumes and then built them. Watching them come up with ideas for what they wanted to do and seeing those ideas come to life is amazing.”

Cradock students presented “Middle School Challenges” at the showcase. Teaching artist April Uhrin says students did a great job rehearsing, taking direction, and offering insight and ideas after she demonstrated different aspects of theatrical styles and storytelling during one session. And she was pleased with the growth she saw in students who participated throughout the residency.

Towards the end of our sessions, I could see the difference in their confidence along with comfort level on stage.”

“What do you like best about the ACT OUT theater residency?”

“Everything.” John, Waters Middle School

Remembering Jean Shackelford: An Exceptional Arts Advocate and Friend of Young Audiences of Virginia

February 3, 2025 By Cindy Sherwood

“Among her greatest joys was her 33 years of involvement with Young Audiences of Virginia! She served on the Board of Directors for numerous years and as President. She loved Young Audiences’ creative offerings annually to involve children in the arts.” Obituary for Jean Hogge Shackelford

Arts for Learning mourns the loss while celebrating the remarkable life of Jean Shackelford, who died last month at the age of 95. Jean made a lasting contribution to arts education in Hampton Roads and Virginia as a whole.

“She had such a huge impact on arts education in Virginia. I think others have tried to fill her shoes, but I don’t think we’ve ever had such a strong advocate as Jean,” said Beth Hazelette, immediate past president of the A4L board of directors. “Her passion and her drive were to provide quality arts education programming for all students.”

Jean was a teacher and administrator in Portsmouth Public Schools for decades, and, as Beth put it, “built the program” as the supervisor of music for PPS. Beth, who served as supervisor of music for Norfolk Public Schools, considered Jean a mentor. They first met when Beth was a high school choral student and continued the relationship for decades as Beth became a teacher and later an administrator and board member for Young Audiences, where they worked side by side.

“She worked really, really hard for the students and educators of Portsmouth,” Beth said. “She was so tough, but for a good reason. She worked tirelessly to promote a program that could have easily gone by the wayside. She was a bulldog. She wouldn’t let it die. She wanted to make sure all the students in Portsmouth had opportunities in music.”

Longtime board member Minette Cooper first worked with Jean in 1975, developing and implementing programs that put teaching artists in the classroom to guide students in music, poetry, and dance. Minette credits Jean with smoothing the way to integrate the arts into the schools.

“She was a remarkable lady who accomplished so much because she could persuade people to help when probably no one else could,” Minette said. “She was a doer, a really well-informed doer who could get things done as easily as possible. She was phenomenal.”

Minette Cooper, Jean Shackelford, Judy Thaler, Susan Einhorn, and Marty Einhorn celebrate the 65th anniversary of Young Audiences of Virginia/Arts for Learning in 2019.

In addition to her work in Portsmouth, Jean was a powerful voice for arts education at the state level. She received Lifetime Achievement and Distinguished Service awards for 20 years of leadership as a member of the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA). And after she retired from Portsmouth Public Schools in 1989, her efforts continued—she served for 11 years as the legislative liaison in the General Assembly, working to establish the Virginia Coalition for Fine Arts Education that advocates for the arts across the Commonwealth. She acted as a vital communications link to VMEA about all legislation that might affect the arts.

“She had this passion not just for Portsmouth and Portsmouth school students but for music students across the state. She made sure that someone was keeping an eye on what was happening in Richmond because there were a lot of decisions being made that in the end did impact the arts,” Beth said. Those decisions included the initial years of implementing high-stakes testing in Virginia. Beth says Jean was on the “ground floor” as Virginia created grade-specific Standards of Learning (SOLs), making sure the arts weren’t ignored amid the push to emphasize core academic subjects.

After her retirement, Jean also joined the board of directors of Young Audiences, serving multiple terms as president. As a recipient of Young Audiences’ Arts-in-Education Advocacy award, Jean was lauded for her leadership, insight, and vision. The proclamation states:

“Particularly of note is her guidance in helping us understand and utilize the Standards of Learning as a vehicle to better serve Virginia schools.”

Among other contributions as a board member, Jean helped secure new grant funding for various projects and was instrumental in helping to develop the current mission statement of “engaging and inspiring” students in and through the arts.

“She lived her passion for arts education, she really did,” Beth said. “She led a very purpose-driven life.”

For more on Jean’s lasting contributions to arts education as well as other aspects of her life—such as eight years as an elected member of the Portsmouth City Council—please read this: Jean Hogge Obituary. We wish her family members peace in this time of mourning and express our gratitude for all Jean achieved for the students, educators, and artists of Virginia.

If you’d like to make a memorial contribution to Arts for Learning in honor of Jean, please click on this link: Donate Now

In Their Own Words: IDEAL Residency Students Express What They’ve Learned

May 14, 2024 By Cindy Sherwood

Year two of our unique IDEAL after-school residency wrapped up May 9th with a fantastic student showcase, art exhibit, and reception for family and friends at the Chrysler Museum of Art. What a joy to witness the faces of students as they first saw their artwork displayed in the gallery…. and how gratifying to hear what they learned during their ten-week exploration of self-identity through poetry, music, and visual art.

Douglass Park Elementary, Portsmouth

Cameron: “It’s fun being an artist. Whatever you make is good. It’s a masterpiece. You can make anything, and it will still be a piece of artwork. If I accidentally make something bad, I can change it to something else good. I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

Serenity: “I learned I can do art. It’s great. It’s peaceful. When you draw, everything around you is so quiet. I’ve become nicer as a person. I didn’t usually help people, but now I really help people with stuff.”

Inaliyah: “I’ve learned more about who I am and what I want to become. I want to become an artist because I want to tell people how I feel through art. My teachers taught me how to make things more expressive. I think my mind has grown more and my ability to understand others.”

Point O’View Elementary, Virginia Beach

Hayden: “I’ve learned more about myself and my feelings and my identity. I’ve learned that I can express myself through art. I think I’m more confident. I’m able to make new friends more easily now.”

Walter: “The best part of this program is that we tried doing different things, things that we don’t always try. And I feel like I learned more trust in people.”

Jack: “I’ve learned that I can express myself through art and I could draw what I feel and I could have different feelings in my art. As an artist I’ve learned different skills about how to draw. I feel very proud of myself because I did exceptional in my art piece and I’m just very happy [about it being shown at the Chrysler.]”

Southside STEM Academy at Campostella, Norfolk

Jaela: “The art that I created showed me that even if I feel bad, I can be creative. I feel I can be more confident now and more friendly to others. I used to be really shy.”

Mauriyana: “I think I’ve grown more as a person and an artist. My art style is different and the way I communicate is better. I communicate better if I’m comfortable around people. We spoke aloud on how we made our art and how our art helped us and that made me more comfortable communicating.”

Many thanks to Justin C. Mitchell of JB Digital Photography for the wonderful photos.

You can view the IDEAL students’ artwork through June 9 at the Margaret Shepherd Ray Student and Family Gallery at the Chrysler. Admission and parking are free.

An IDEAL Learning Experience for Both Students and a New College Graduate

May 8, 2024 By Cindy Sherwood

The Margaret Shepherd Ray Student and Family Gallery at the Chrysler Museum of Art, which is displaying IDEAL students' artwork through June 9. — The Margaret Shepherd Ray Student and Family Gallery at the Chrysler Museum is displaying IDEAL students’ artwork through June 9.

On Thursday, May 9, the upper elementary students participating in the second year of our IDEAL (Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages) after-school residency will gather at the Chrysler Museum of Art, sharing their artwork with family and friends in a collaborative exhibit. Participating students came from three elementary schools in three school divisions: Douglass Park in Portsmouth, Point O’View in Virginia Beach, and Southside STEM Academy in Norfolk.

Brandy guides a student while working as a teaching artist at Portsmouth's Douglass Park Elementary. — Brandy guides a student while working as a teaching artist at Portsmouth’s Douglass Park Elementary.

Of the seven teaching artists who have guided students through this residency, there’s one who has learned a great deal herself, gaining valuable experience working with children, shortly after graduating from Norfolk State University.

Brandy Lee started as an Emerging Teaching Artist in the fall, learning various aspects about a career in arts education. Through a partnership with area colleges, Arts for Learning staff members and artists on our roster mentor student artists on classroom management, program development with curriculum preparation, and arts administration practices.

Simone Couther is an Emerging Teaching Artist with Arts for Learning Virginia.

Simone Couther was also named an Emerging Teaching Artist last fall and continues her journey through the program.

Brandy shows her artwork at the James Wise Gallery at Norfolk State.

Brandy, who lives in Virginia Beach, is a mixed media artist. As part of her Fine Arts major, she was required to throw her own art show, along with other NSU seniors. She graduated in December.

As an Emerging Teaching Artist, Brandy credits Aisha Noel, Arts for Learning’s Programs and Community Engagement Manager, for “showing her the ropes.”

“I was very new. I knew that I wanted to teach kids art, and Aisha was there to show me expectations of what I needed to do.”

Brandy working with IDEAL participants in Portsmouth. — Brandy works with IDEAL participants in Portsmouth.

The Emerging Teaching Artist program also benefits Arts for Learning. “It’s a great avenue for helping college students explore post-graduation careers in a supportive and artistic setting,” Aisha says. “I think it’s mutually beneficial—we help the students navigate that scary period between college and the real world, and the students help our organization remain youthful and relevant.”

In February, Brandy began working with students participating in IDEAL at Douglass Park Elementary. Along with teaching artist Tabetha McNeal, Brandy guided students as they explored the question of identity through various forms of visual art, music, and poetry.

Brandy helps a student in the IDEAL residency.

“One thing that was very obvious to me as an Emerging Teaching Artist was that I can’t hold students to the same expectation as those in college or high school,” Brandy says. “They’re just learning how to do these things so you have to learn patience. You have to teach them in the very beginning about techniques and you have to think about, is this student actually interested in art, and if so, how am I going to teach them as they begin their adventure as an artist?”

Brandy calls the IDEAL residency “significant” to children who come from many different backgrounds. “It helps them push the boundaries of what they can really do. In IDEAL, we’re teaching kids identity through pattern, so they can establish their own identity, they can recognize their own identity. I feel that’s pivotal to them, and I’m grateful to be there and help them do that.”

And we’re grateful to Brandy, Tabetha, and the other IDEAL residency teaching artists: Asiko-oluwa Aderin, Jackie Adonis, Cindy Aitken, Jennifer Graham, and Dai Poole, plus Gary “JuJu” Garlic, who taught the music portion of the program for all three schools. Thank you also to the residency stewards from each school.

Student paintings are ready for viewing at the Chrysler Museum of Art.

From now through June 9, you can view the collaborative art exhibit in the Margaret Shepherd Ray Student and Family Gallery at the Chrysler Museum. Art work created by the students who participated in IDEAL is professionally displayed and open to the public. Click here for more details.

Asiko-oluwa Aderin at her art show in April 2024. Photo credit: Silas Morgan

The first student to complete our Emerging Teaching Artist program and join our roster of teaching artists was Asiko-oluwa Aderin. Asiko graduated from Norfolk State University on May 4 with a major in Fine Arts and a concentration in Graphic Design. We’re so proud of Asiko, and we wish her all the best as she pursues her artistic career.

In Their Own Words: IDEAL Residency Students

June 6, 2023 By Cindy Sherwood

Sometimes we can learn the most about the impact of a program that we offer directly from the students we serve.

So we wanted to share comments from some of the students who participated in our IDEAL (Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages) residency this spring. Remarks from students at Virginia Beach’s College Park Elementary and Portsmouth’s Westhaven Elementary are divided into the categories that we measure before, during, and after the residency to determine gains: self-worth, community connectedness, and creative expression.

SELF-WORTH

Emma, College Park, 5^th grade: “It showed me I could really be anything I want to be.”

Sadé, College Park, 5^th grade: “I want to teach others how to do art. It’s very inspiring. It makes you feel like you can do other things that you thought that you couldn’t do in art. And that’s why I love Arts for Learning.”

Deniya, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I learned you can do what you want to do. You just have to keep practicing. Don’t let anybody make you come down, just keep trying and trying… And you might end up being an artist if you keep trying.”

Harmony, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I got a lot more friends in my life. They made us sit at different tables so we could get to know each other, and it really helped a lot. I’m very shy. I got put into a room full of new people I didn’t know, at least most of them. I guess I had to branch out… I feel like Arts for Learning made me into a better person.”

COMMUNITY CONNECTIVENESS

Samantha, Westhaven, 6^th grade: “Arts for Learning was important because it helped you connect with who you are and your identity.” (Samantha had noted that she was Filipino on her mother’s side and used to visit cousins in the Philippines prior to Covid. She said she had done research about the Philippines as part of IDEAL.)

CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Sadé, College Park, 5^th grade: “I’m more excited when I do art. It makes my heart burst.”

Mark, Westhaven, 6^th grade: “I created a phoenix, and it was really inspiring because it shows my personality, like the power of the phoenix. It’s a sock puppet so it’s silly and goofy but on the inside it’s powerful and meaningful. The project changed how I saw myself because I expressed my inner personality.”

Kerrington, College Park, 5^th grade: “Before I joined [the IDEAL residency], I wasn’t really artistic because I didn’t think I could do the things I wanted to do. When I joined Arts for Learning, it was really fun because I got to paint, do watercolors, and sculptures…. Anytime I go home, I have paint and canvases in my room, and I just paint nonstop. And my mom tells me to go to bed and I’m like, ‘No, I’ve got to paint.’”

Mary, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I realized that I could express myself in different ways instead of just talking about it. I can express myself through singing or dancing or painting or drawing. Arts for Learning has helped me a lot because I learned I can express myself in different ways.”

Raenah, Westhaven, 5^th grade: “I’ve changed the way I express myself going to [the IDEAL residency] because I learned that I don’t have to just speak the way I feel, I can draw it out, dance it out, sing it out, or do it all types of ways. My favorite way of showing my feelings is painting. I can show it if I’m mad, happy, sad, or any other emotion. The painting I did for the Chrysler Museum I basically just put lots of fun and colorful things because I feel like it describes how I am most of the time because I’m mostly happy.”

Many thanks to Hannah Sobol and Jackie Glass of Heard Productions for conducting interviews with students at the Chrysler Museum.

The IDEAL student art exhibit is still on display and available for the public to view through Sunday, June 11. Admission to the Chrysler Museum is free. The artwork can be viewed at the Margaret Shepherd Ray Family and Student Gallery.