Flynn Center for the Performing Arts

A Leader in Arts Education
The arts improve the quality of pre-school through graduate education, so the Flynn offers a range of
valuable programs designed to help teachers and schools adopt new ways to use the arts to achieve their
classroom goals.
School Programs
The Student Matinee Series annually offers
more than 30 quality performances tied to Vermont’s
curricular Standards of Learning, seen by as many
as 45,000 schoolchildren in grades PreK-12.
Matinee Companion Workshops in schools help
students prepare for and further engage with the meaning of the performances
they’ll see onstage.
“Words Come Alive” Workshops in schools help teachers learn how
to strengthen students’ curricular engagement and comprehension through
specially developed dance to movement, and drama activities. Publications
of techniques and lesson plans available.
Partnerships with school districts in the region allow for extended professional development for
teachers, making the performing arts an integral part of educational life. Formal partnerships exist
between the Flynn and Chittenden South Supervisory Union and the Burlington School District through
the Kennedy Center’s prestigious Partners in Education program. The Flynn is a strategic partner of
Burlington’s Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler
School. Flynn teaching artists are also working closely
with teachers in the Grand Isle Supervisory Union this
school year as well as East Montpelier Elementary School,
The Edge Academy, and Robinson Elementary School.
Teacher Workshops and Graduate Courses,
held in collaboration with the Champlain Valley
Educator Development Center and St. Michael’s
College, support educators and introduce ways to integrate the performing arts into class work.
The Vermont Young Playwrights Program brings professional playwrights into middle and high
schools where students are guided in developing original 10-minute plays. At the Flynn’s state-wide
festival in May, two winning plays from each school are celebrated in readings by professional actors
and directors from Vermont Stage Company.
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