McLaughlin Community Arts Project

With this grant, the Anchorage School District will implement the Mclaughlin Community Arts Project. The goal is to provide a culturally responsive and trauma-informed, integrated, mixed-media arts program to 76 incarcerated students ages 12–19. Deliverables include a culturally responsive and trauma-informed arts curriculum that is developed collaboratively with students, families, and staff. Additionally, the program will establish weekly arts instruction, facilitate professional artist instruction by mixed-media artists in Alaska, develop five permanent student-created art displays, and issue quarterly student-led newsletters. Through these deliverables, this program is expected to increase access to high-quality arts education, increase protective factors, reduce risk factors, and reduce one-year recidivism rates for Alaska Native justice-involved youth.