Learning Shakespeare, Citywide: Folger Education Partners with District of Columbia Public Schools
Folger Education’s work with the local public school system in Washington, DC, provides an ideal testing ground for scaling on a system-wide basis the proven methods for teaching Shakespeare with which the Folger has been equipping educators nationwide for decades. Building toward these successes in DC classrooms inspires the Folger’s work with teachers everywhere.
When Alexa Bernard introduces her ninth-grade students to Romeo and Juliet, they don't start with famous speeches and characters, or with the prologue. They begin instead with quick-moving exercises using words, phrases, and Shakespearean insults. "I love the beginning, because it hooks them," says Bernard, who teaches at Bell Multicultural High School, part of the Columbia Heights Educational Campus or CHEC—which in turn is part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).
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Throughout the District

Laying a Cornerstone

Festivals and Families

Esther Ferington is an editor, writer, and content developer based in Alexandria, Virginia.