KidPower at Miner Elementary School

Since October, 20 students at Miner Elementary School have stayed after school for two hours to participate in Kid Power-DC.

The students enrolled in the Kid Power-DC program at Miner are exploring local history, and expressing it through the visual and performing arts to gain more advanced academic and artistic skills.

The students are making "The Neighborhood Book," a scrapbook of their research, art, photos and maps. The book will be available in print and on the Internet. Also in the works is a big theater show that the students are creating that is based on themes of "The Neighborhood Book." The community will be invited to attend the show in June. There is even more: the students are making a documentary film of the project!

Students attend workshops and work on their projects after school for four days a week and attend field trips on Saturdays. They receive training in research, writing, making maps, acting, dance and more. Last month, the group was selected for the Kids café meals program. This means that the students are given dinner before beginning their work sessions.

The training and hard work of the students is already paying off: in December, the students participated in a talent show for friends and family at Miner. At the talent show, members of the group read biographies of each other, displayed artwork and maps and performed a step dance. One young lady sang a song.

Kid Power-DC and the students do need your help. They are looking for longtime residents willing to talk about memories of the neighborhood. They also need art supplies, D.C. history books, old funny clothes to use as costumes, volunteers to work with the students and money. Gifts are tax-deductible, and receipts will be provided. For more information, please call Caroline Cleveland, at 703-244-5995 or e-mail her at caroline@kidpowerdc.org. Donations can be mailed to Kid Power-DC, P.O. Box 21677, Washington, DC 20009, or they can be made over the Internet at http://www.kidpowerdc.org.

Miner Elementary School is at 601 15th St. NE, 724-4565. http://www.k12.dc.us/schools/miner/webupdate/welcome.html. §