At Berlin Central School, we have held three in-school workshops where students participated in segments of the I Love You Project and other arts-focused discussions. Two students from Berlin are also beginning a mentorship experience with Lee King, contributing to the Taconic Community Table (TCT) builds. These hands-on sessions are scheduled for May 6, 8, 13, and 15, culminating in the production of two custom-built tables for the school. These creations will be unveiled at the school’s wellness fair on May 17, allowing the broader community to engage with the students’ work. In addition, these students will be part of our BUnbound mentorship network as their involvement with TCT deepens.

Averill Park High School has welcomed us to provide photography workshops led by Giorgia Valli. Beyond in-school engagement, students from Averill Park have participated in multiple field trips to our site, where they took part in the Transformations program, mural-making activities, and gallery visits. Recently, two students, accompanied by their parents, completed tiles for the I Love You Project, extending the creative engagement beyond the classroom.

In our Music Apprenticeship program, Django Gregerson has officially joined forces with Payton MacDonald through BUnbound. They have already begun their mentorship journey, setting the foundation for an ongoing and meaningful collaboration focused on musical development.

We hope to expand our high school network next with Tech Valley High School, and are beginning to plan the prospect of having something in the works with this school. We have initiated discussions with the school’s administration about tailoring programs to meet their specific needs, including possible integration of our artists-in-residence into their classroom environments and the introduction of TCT as a learning opportunity. While still in early stages, this partnership holds promising potential for future engagement, and we are excited about the promise of expanding our regional schooling network.

Our collaboration with Schenectady Public Library has included in-school musical improvisation workshops and participation in the Transformations series. Although logistical challenges such as travel distance have hindered internship participation this academic year, the relationship remains strong. Students have also attended a BUnbound introductory workshop held last fall, signaling continued interest and potential for future collaboration.

Through our work with the Hudson Taconic Land Trust and Rensselaer Youth Outdoors (RYO), we are contributing to a long-term initiative that places Education Enrichment Sites within five minutes of every school in Rensselaer County. These sites will feature tables built collaboratively by RYO youth and our team, serving both as community resources and platforms for learning. This partnership blends environmental stewardship with career and technical education, and will evolve as a multi-year endeavor involving students from elementary through high school.

In the Fall of 2023, Arts Letters & Numbers and Big Picture Learning (BPL) began a collaborative relationship by developing a musical improvisational program for the students of BPL Schenectady. Thanks to the support of the Arts Center of the Capital Region, and the creative energies of Melanie Chirignan and Melanie Hardage, this program spanned 7-weeks and saw twelve students working towards the development of the understanding of musical creation and improvisation. Each engagement took place on site at BPL Schenectady, where students explored music theory and frameworks, which culminated with each student developing individual musical pieces that were shared with the wider school community. 

Building on the understanding and the power of a transformative curriculum, these musical numbers were integrated into the classroom experience, where musical expression was conjoined with literary expression. With the backdrop of music as an expressive power, poetry, storytelling, and literary structures were formed with the students’ music as the catalyst. With this, expression, listening, connection, feeling, depth and resonance were enhanced, and extra-curricular explorations informed the learning experience of the whole school within the classroom.

In 2023, an exciting new partnership with Big Picture Learning was set in motion as ALN became a regional B-Unbound hub. B-Unbound is a national network of community platforms that connect youth with supportive adults and peers as they navigate their way through shared interests outside of school. By becoming a hub, ALN is among the few physical locations across the country facilitating this learning environment.

Through ALN's extensive network, local and regional youth can be paired with adults who support their interests and way-finding. Additionally, a digital platform helps youth and adults connect virtually, expanding access to the national network of mentors. The B-Unbound model, developed over 25 years, ensures that each youth experience is uniquely designed to support personal growth and discovery.

Through our B-Unbound hub, we offer a wide range of opportunities in project-based and career development areas, including the arts, cooking, horticulture, carpentry, construction, finance, hospitality, environmental conservation, meditation, education, and even fly-fishing.

Our BUnbound Internship Program continues to grow. Django’s current music mentorship with Payton MacDonald marks our first official participant. Oscar, a student from Berlin Central School District, is preparing to join the program to develop a project in fulfillment of his Eagle Scout requirements, with a second student likely to accompany him. While Tech Valley High School has only just begun conversations about incorporating BUnbound, there is a shared enthusiasm for its potential impact. Currently, the program has access to a network of 25 mentors across diverse fields, ready to support and guide students in their areas of interest.

We are committed to supporting youth, trusting our collaborators and creative network to contribute to the growth of the B-Unbound hub by becoming supportive adults for youth who share their interests. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to start a conversation about joining B-Unbound — whether as a youth participant or a mentor.

The Doors of Hope Community Mural project was a collaborative effort involving Arts Letters & Numbers, Doors of Hope, the Rensselaer County Mental Health Student Assistance Program (SAP), and the Nopiates Committee. Directed by Ira Baumgarten, Frida Foberg, and Kayla Jolin, this project aimed to foster intergenerational conversations and expressions of hope and resilience within the Sand Lake community. It also sought to strengthen community bonds through art, engage youth in positive activities, and highlight the work of Doors of Hope, a non-profit organization that supports families in need through its thrift store profits.

Over three weeks, the project gained remarkable participation. It began with a public idea workshop where community members, partnering organizations, and students from Averill Park High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group shared their interpretations of a 'door of hope.' With guidance from the project team, the students, counselors, and community members collaboratively developed and implemented a cohesive mural design. The intergenerational exchanges continued throughout the project, from initial discussions to spontaneous conversations during mural implementation, where students shared their progress and were celebrated community members of all ages.

The completion of Sand Lake's first mural not only adds visual interest to the town but also sustains a meaningful dialogue about hope. The mural's narrative explores opposing elements like night and day, light and dark, rainbows and thunder, and rain and sunshine. The students emphasized that hope is a spectrum, sometimes arising from acknowledging the darkness. This successful project has sparked enthusiasm for more murals, both as artwork and as a means to involve the community in their creation. 

During the academic year of 2019/2020 Arts Letters & Numbers brought the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative (HFFI) to the Capital Region. This nationwide apprenticeship program, designed by Big Picture Learning and Harbor Freight Tools, is an alternative pathway for students whom show significant interest in the trades.

HFFIs National Director Charlie Plant and ALN’s Associate Director Frida Foberg worked with City School District of Albany’ Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams, and Albany High School’s Abrookin Career and Technical Centers teachers and staff to initiate a pilot version of HFFI. The regional pilot version gave four students from Abrookin, Albany High Schools Career and Technical Center the opportunity to experience one-on-one work with a professional crafts person, while getting school credits as well as a stipend.

Even with COVID-19 restrictions, several students met the requirements to finish their fellowships and received their stipend and money towards tools for their trade. Omair Siddiqui has worked at DeNooyer Chevrolet as a detail technician since the beginning of the school year. In the fall, Omair will continue working at DeNooyer while attending the automotive program at Hudson Valley Community College. Connor Joslin, who worked at DePaula Chevrolet, is in the process of finishing his fellowship while at home. After the COVID-19 shutdown, an alternative plan was created that allowed Connor to work on his family’s and friends’ cars and watch YouTube videos to hone his skills. Connor will be attending HVCC in the fall to study environmental and natural resource conservation. Dacoda Clemens spent most of the year working with the state Office of General Services maintenance department. Dacoda will attend HVCC in the fall to pursue a degree in electrical. Dacoda will also be taking an EMS class to qualify to be a firefighter.

In the year 2019, Arts Letters & Numbers established a partnership with the global education organization Big Picture Learning to develop new projects in the Albany Area, as well as, Nationally and Internationally. Each year, Big Picture Learning holds ‘Big Bang’ an international conference on Student-Centered Learning. This conference is an intergenerational collaboration, where students and educators come together to learn from one another and from the community. This year Big Bang took place in Detroit, MI., in late July. Arts Letters & Numbers was asked to create an interactive map of key locations for the Out-learning experiences that were part of the conference. Arts Letters & Numbers Fellows Jennifer Park and Hyunbae Chang created a 10’ by 15.’ handmade map allowing the community to locate their visits through-out the gathering. Director David Gersten and Associate Director Frida Foberg represented Arts Letters & Numbers at this years Big Bang, building new foundations for future collaborations and expansions.

In 2016, Arts Letters & Numbers collaborated with Albany High School's Theater Ensemble, the National Coalition Building Institute, and Youth FX in a year-long project. The initiative aimed to amplify the voices of students through theater, dance, film, writing, and community building. As part of Albany High School's Social Justice After School Program, 20 students wrote, developed, and performed a play titled "Which Way is Home." This production delved into their personal and familial journeys to find a place of home and peace in Albany, New York.

The Social Justice Theatre Director, Noelle Gentile, explained, “The purpose of the piece is to highlight the transformative power of listening to one another, hearing each other’s stories, and discovering the bonds that unify us. The piece aims to empower all those involved and those who witness it as audience members.”

ALN's Ché Perez and Frida Foberg were brough on to partake in the students' storytelling and playwriting while designing a stage set to accommodate their stories. Following the "Which Way is Home” performances, ALN hosted the students at the Mill, where, in collaboration with Youth FX, a local non-profit film arts program, they filmed and produced a dramatization of the students’ stories. The National Coalition Building Institute played a crucial role in facilitating coalition building and storytelling activities, creating a safe space for the works to evolve.

The students who developed "Which Way is Home" challenged the status quo of institutionalized racism and oppression by sharing their journeys in search of a better home and a more just world. The films developed during this program have since been used to inspire younger students in coalition building, leadership, and finding their voices.