Students Engage!

This program augments existing ELA education curriculum or may be shown as a “virtual fieldtrip.” To enhance student learning, teachers read Shakespeare’s text with their students and will be given access to a professional video of OMC’s original retelling of Shakespeare’s famous tale with selected passages and poems presented by award-winning poet and spoken word artist, Chancelier “xero” Skidmore.

Romeo + Juliet is the first in a new series of virtual arts integration programs to be produced by OMC. Integrating the Arts into core disciplines provides added depth to the classroom experience and helps students make connections, find meaning, and discover relevance between their schoolwork and their everyday lives.

With support from the Director of Fine Arts with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System as well as the Director of the Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy, OMC’s program was awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge. After undergoing a rigorous evaluation, the program will be made available to all local schools for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Teachers can augment the ELA component with stimulating Fine Arts activities through cross-disciplinary collaboration. There are no limits as to what format Art teachers may choose, from visual arts to theatre or even music. Partnering ELA lessons with a Fine Arts component not only will make learning Shakespeare even more engaging for students, but will help them to make meaningful real-world connections.