East Palo Alto Academy

One example of the synergy between Stanford and EPAA lies in the Performing Arts curriculum.   Researchers at Stanford’s Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA) have found the EPAA Performing Arts teacher’s work to be so innovative that they are conducting research on his innovative Warrior Writers after-school program.  Teacher Andy Robinson has developed a curriculum where students study plays by prominent playwrights of color, and then write and perform their own plays, poems and hip-hop lyrics to tell their stories about challenges faced in their homes and community.  This process, strengthened by classroom dialogue, empowers students to express the pluralism of their identities, and to use their voices to confront issues of social justice.  Using ethnographic research methods, Stanford hopes to understand the program’s effects on individuals, the school and the community.