Special Education

MNMP has partnered with New York City’s Special Education district, District 75, since 2002 on both small and large-scale professional development and in-class programs.

- 70% of MNMP’s teaching artists are experienced in working with special education


- 65% of these artists have worked with District 75’s most severely disabled populations

Communication and Socialization through the Arts (2008-11):

Currently in its second of three years, CASTA seeks to improve communication and socialization deficits of students with autism spectrum disorder. District 75 and MNMP have collaboratively developed multidisciplinary arts curricula through which these deficits can be addressed. Over its three-year duration, the project will serve 110 teachers and 3,000 students in 36 schools.

Creative and Integrative Arts Educators (2005-08):

This three-year professional development program integrated multidisciplinary arts activities with classroom learning through students’ creation of a musical theater production. Classroom teachers and arts specialists learned to guide the students through scriptwriting, songwriting, set and costume design, and performance of an original production based on classroom curriculum. The project served 120 teachers and 4,430 students in 20 schools.

Creative Music Educators (2002-05):

This was a three-year professional development program designed to improve learning outcomes in District 75’s music classrooms. The project served 52 teachers and 4,550 students in 31 schools, and post-project dissemination trained dozens more teachers.