At PS 51, the Bronx STEM & Arts Academy, third and fourth graders will once again dance together in person when National Dance Institute returns for a 20-week residency, expanded from our traditional 10 weeks.
For principal Min Hong, though, the connection between NDI and PS 51 isn’t measured in mere weeks. “It’s a lifetime program,” said Dr. Hong, who sees NDI teaching artists as full participants in the lives of the students. “They are a part of raising our children together.”
NDI and PS 51 have been partners in education for five years, a relationship launched and generously supported by the Yvonne and Leslie Pollack Foundation, which maintains a close connection to the school. With our sixth year on the horizon, Dr. Hong joined NDI for an interview to share her all-in philosophy behind raising the next generation and giving children everything they deserve.
When you became principal at PS 51, what was your vision for the school?
I promised that in five years of becoming a principal, our school would become a focused school for 21st-century learning. But we will never lose the premise of why this school was built 30-plus years ago: The arts must be as important as reading, writing, and math. We will never lose sight of how important the arts are to children, to adults, to humankind. As a result of everyone’s collaborative work, our school’s name has changed to the Bronx STEM & Arts Academy.
How does that vision impact your work and your approach to education?
These children are my children. And I’ve been criticized for that. But if you don’t look through the lens of ‘they are your own children,’ then as an educator, you may not be able to give them everything they deserve. It will stop where the budget stops. It will stop where the compliance stops.
But as a mom, I would give everything to my child if I could. And so with that lens: While it is possible, at least for me, I will do anything that I can to ensure that my children are able to access high-quality learning through rigorous instruction and, of course, through the arts. Thanks to the Yvonne and Leslie Pollack Foundation, we have been able to achieve our goal.
You’re going into your sixth year as an NDI partner. What do you value about NDI as an organization?
The work we do for our children is never about the adult. It is always about the kids. I value our NDI partnership because this is also their belief system. NDI’s Teaching Artists will work with my visual arts teacher, my music teacher, and my parent coordinator. They are successful in teaching our children to love dancing because they see themselves as teachers, first and then as their dance instructor.
Can you share an example of how NDI made an impact in a child’s life?
There was a student who came to us in kindergarten. He had a love for sports and music. But had incredible difficulties and challenges academically. NDI came into his life as a third grader, which was his most troubling year. My thought was: If the child wants to be disruptive, he’s not going to do it here. This is valuable time, and a limited time, that NDI has with the children.
The team of teachers, though, never gave up on this child. They said “Let us try again. Let us try this way.” In the end, the child was afforded opportunities to shine and be a part of every performance that NDI offered.
For this child, it was like, “Wow, even though I am being really difficult, they are not giving up.”
So he gave in a little more, and each time he trusted a bit more. This is not to say that every Tuesday (NDI Day), dance lessons became easier. But he looked forward to Tuesdays. Then sometimes he would have a better Monday because on Tuesday he was able to dance. At the end of fifth grade, we had a talent show, and he played a viola solo. We were amazed. That was a result of so many people championing for him. He heard the quiet whispers of all of us chanting, “We are here for you!”
How do you describe the role of NDI’s teaching artists within your school?
They are a part of raising our children together. If they were considered as people coming from outside in, then when they leave, they are simply gone and they can check off that they have done their job. But when you have the idea that National Dance Institute partners are a part of our community, then they live with us all year long. So even when the teaching artists have completed their residency for the year, children are found still writing personal narratives about when they took a risk for the first time on stage as a dancer. The evidence comes to life in their conversations, stories, and for many of our fifth grade scholars, excerpts in their yearbooks of how much they loved NDI. That’s the proof right there.
You’ve mentioned a few writing projects, as well as receiving letters from the children when they objected to having lunch during class time, or instructional lunch, instead of a traditional lunch period. What’s behind your emphasis on writing?
When we instituted Instructional Lunch, as a part of the COVID-19 return to school plan, one grade objected. Just like their school mom (me), my children are very opinionated, but in a good way! Their teacher encouraged them to write letters to try and convince me to reconsider. I wanted to teach our children that they should never be passive about their choice and rights as learners. But I also wanted the children to practice respectful and critical ways of becoming a change agent to make change happen. As an educator of color, leading a school with children of color, I want my children to know that silence is not an option and our voice always counts and matters.