The Learning Early Network 

Mission:  'to work with parents, educational agencies and the community to improve the early learning opportunities for young children (0-8 years).'

Bradford County Regional Arts Council began the Learning Early Network (LEN) in 1998; since then the program has facilitated artist residencies in over 60 Head Start classrooms, presented 10 annual Learning Early Network Conferences in Sayre, PA, offered workshops and presentations as local, state, national and international conferences, and received numerous awards. LEN is recognized as a leader for early arts work.

 Learning Early Network Programs & Projects: 

Annual Conference:  keynote presentation, workshops (both arts & non-arts related) and interactive sessions designed to provide training and professional development for early childhood practitioners and artists.  Visit http://www.learningearly.com/ for more information.

Workshops: Artist led, hands-on, training opportunities for early childhood practitioners and/or artists interested in learning more about arts across the early childhood curriculum.  Can be tailored to meet your needs; contact brenda@bcrac.org for information.

Teacher-Artist Partnerships: Artists in the early childhood classroom partner with teachers to provide age appropriate, high quality, arts programming for young children.  Teachers and artists work together to create projects, share tools & resources that will improve student learning.  Contact brenda@bcrac.org for more information.

"Learning Communication Skills Through the Arts" project: A multi-year project designed to bring age appropriate music, dance/movement, storytelling, dramatic play and visual arts activities to Head Start programs throughout our region. Teacher training & parent involvement were key components in implementing arts activities that would continue to improve communication skills of students after artists completed the program.  The following Head Start programs participated:  Bradford-Tioga Head Start, Columbia-Sullivan Head Start, Danville Head Start, Luzerne-Wyoming Head Start, and Lycoming-Clinton Head Start.

'Early Arts Training Centers' -partnering with Bradford-Tioga Head Start: Four BTHS classrooms with a 'resident' artist or two who partner with the teacher to explore the arts across the early childhood curriculum.  Teacher/Artist teams share instructional tools and activities and train/mentor teachers, aides, parents, other artists, administrators - anyone interested in early arts programming - in the use of the arts in the early childhood classroom.  Training Centers include:

Canton Head Start:  Jena Miller & Gail Jones (Visual Arts)
SAM 1 (Sayre/Athens/Milan) Head Start: Kate Place & Mary Knysh (Music)
Troy Head Start: Laura Steele & Rand Whipple (Theatre Arts/Dramatic Play)
Wellsboro Head Start: Mary Wickman, Vanessa Knause (Dance/Creative Movement) & KJ Reimensnyder-Wagner (Singer/songwriter)

Bradford County Regional Arts Council's Learning Early Network has received many awards and recognitions as a result of this work.  BCRAC thanks all sponsors, artists, teachers, administrators, families, etc.; your constant support empowers and inspires our successes!

1999 - Best Practices in the Arts
              awarded by the PA Department of Education
2004 - Recognized as an international model for early arts programming
              by Arts Council of England (honored at their New Worlds Conference in Leeds, England)
2005, 06, 07, 08, 09 - Nominated for President's Coming Up Taller Award
2006 - PA Governor's Award for Outstanding Leadership & Service in Arts in Education   
              First rural arts organization to receive this award
2007 - Americans for the Arts' first ever Arts in Education Award
              presented at their annual conference in Las Vegas, NV

The BCRAC is most excited about working with our youngest children and helping them, their teachers and families to use quality arts experiences to encourage learning.