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SCHOOL GRANTS
District Wide Night of Jazz Kevin Scully Approximately 100 students from district jazz ensembles — including members of the Sousa Elementary School Jazz Band, Weber Jazz Lab, Weber Jazz Ensemble, and Schreiber Jazz Ensemble, and their teachers — will rehearse and perform with a professional jazz musician. District Band Spectacular Kevin Scully Band students in 5th-12th grade will experience the thrill of performing in a world-class concert hall at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post. This program is funded in partnership with the Creative Arts Department and The Ed. Foundation. Summer Art Program Sue Burton Continuing a new summer program tradition that started in 2025, this program will complement the Summer Music Program, and offer students opportunities to explore creative visual arts practices in the summer months. Students will be exposed to new techniques in a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, 3D building, and STEAM themed projects. This program is generously supported by The Gersh Family 
Schreiber High School The Memory Project Nicole Thomas The Art Honor Society will create portraits of children and teens around the world who have been orphaned, neglected or disadvantaged. The portraits will be delivered to the children to provide them with special memories that capture their childhood. Schreiber Theatre Company’s Annual Musical Production Lauren Foster-Holzer and Christine Nelson Students will engage in a professional-level musical theatre production for the Port Washington community to enjoy. HEARTS PW provides support to bring this production to life. This program is generously supported by The Knight Family Schreiber Theater Company’s Annual Play Christine Nelson and Lauren Foster-Holzer Students will produce a full-length stage play production at Schreiber in November. Each production features the talents (both on and off stage) of 25-40+ Schreiber students. All are invited to attend. 2026-2027 Gina Farasciano Community Theater Grant Recipient Afterschool Crafts Makers Club Joy DiPasquale This program for 9th-12th graders will offer a variety of hands-on craft projects in a welcoming and education environment, focused on developing life skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, and self-confidence. Students will work with different materials, such as knitting, sculpting, jewelry making and crafting with recycled items. Process Over Pixels: Expanded Practice in AP Photography Elizabeth Zucker AP Photography students will gain experience with traditional analog photography by using new professional photography equipment. Through learning analog processes, students will enhance their technical photography skills and strengthen their understanding of foundational concepts such as exposure and composition. Students will also learn to integrate analog work with digital work, bridging traditional and contemporary processes, which reflects current professional practices. Dance Production and Professional Residency Program Kailtin Szczesny Students will discover new ways to express themselves through dance by attending classes with professional artists and dancers as part of the Radio City Rockette Dance Workshop Experience and the Joyce Theater Dance Education Program. Students will have new costumes for the Annual Schreiber Dance Showcase (which is choreographed by students) to enhance the Showcase’s creative intent and message. The experiences culminate in students attending live performances at Radio City Music Hall and the Joyce Theater. This program is generously supported by The Goldberg Foundation. Peel and Reveal: Advanced Monotype Exploration with Gelli Plates Nicole Thomas Through a class taught by painter and printmaker Chris Ann Ambery, students will be introduced to Gelli plates which encourage spontaneity and the rapid exploration of ideas. Students will technically master the subtractive and additive methods of monotype printing using professional brayers and stencils. They will move beyond single-layer drawings to create works that involve 5–10 "pulls" on a single sheet, mirroring the complexity of professional print labs. The final goal is to provide each student with a series of prints that demonstrate technical versatility and portfolio diversification. Viking Voices Kevin Scully Formed in 2025 with support from a HEARTS PW grant, this vocal group at Schreiber High School combines the traditions of a cappella singing, show choir, and jazz choir to create an eclectic experience, allowing students to sing and create music in a variety of vocal traditions. Weber Middle School Weber Music Tech/AV Club Allison Friedman In an after-school club, students will learn the technical side of music and theatre by learning how to operate sound and lighting boards, how to create music with digital tools, and how to record/edit audio and video. Musical Angel Project Stacey Portmore-Davies and Allison Friedman The Weber Musical Production is a full-length musical produced over a four-and-a-half month period and involves approximately 150 students. Weber students are able to experience and grow their theatrical interests through acting, singing, dancing, stage managing, lighting, sound, stage crew, photography, and videography. This program is generously supported by The Goldberg Family Hands are for Holding Francine Weiner Gibney Dance’s Hands Are for Holding will use three sequential workshops combining live dance performance and interactive movement activities to engage classes at Weber Middle School in vital conversations about healthy relationships, boundaries and respect. These special dance sessions use movement to better understand cyber-abuse, investigate how personal boundaries and consent are individual and dynamic, and how to communicate with and respect those differences, as well as demonstrate the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors. This program is generously supported by The Goldberg Family 
All Elementary Schools
Curtains Up – A Musical Theater Experience Allison Friedman and Emily Baxter Curtains Up is an elementary school theatre program for 4th and 5th grade students in the Port Washington public schools. Through putting on a full musical production - complete with singing, dancing, costumes, and sets - Curtains Up instills a love of musical theatre as well as helps to teach self-confidence and community building skills. Performances will take place in June 2026; production to be announced. This program is generously supported by The Edelson Family Storytime Theater Kevin Scully and Elementary School Principals This program incorporates performance arts with the classroom curriculum as students experience books in a kinesthetic, artistic, imaginative, social and tactile atmosphere. Kindergarten and 1st grade students are guided to act out a piece of literature, bringing the book to life. Little Dancing Feet Jennifer Szillus This enrichment program for Pre-K students, led by Karen Ferry-Guy, offers exploration and exposure to lively musical styles and dance forms as well as self-expression, and develop a love for both music and dance in a comfortable setting. This program is generously supported by The Cotsen Foundation |
Daly Elementary School
Daly Revue Production Casey Cheffo-McNulty Students in grades 4 and 5 will work together with a team of dedicated and talented teachers to present the annual Daly Revue. Stay tuned for this year's theme and sit back and enjoy skits and songs which promote teamwork and working together towards a common goal. Students are involved both on and off stage to make this memorable evening the success it always is. This program is generously supported by The Cotsen Foundation Guggenheim Elementary School Bright Star Loren Maroof Kindergarten and 1st grade students will see a professional theatre performance by Bright Star Touring Theatre designed to bring literacy and character education to life through music, movement, storytelling, and culture. The engaging program will strengthen students’ understanding of story elements while reinforcing positive character traits such as kindness, respect, and cooperation. This interactive arts experience will spark imagination and creativity, build confidence, deepen connections to classroom learning, and foster a greater appreciation for theatre and the arts. Manorhaven Elementary School Manorhaven Drama Club Victoria Devine The goal of this program is to foster a love of performing in students, many of whom would not otherwise have the opportunity to be able to study theater, dance, improv or acting at this stage of their lives. The program includes a fall initiative for grades 3-5, and a spring program for grades 4-5, including a performance. Students will learn voice projection, body language, body movements, and facial expression to help them with their confidence on stage. This program is generously supported by The Knight Family South Salem Elementary School Rhythms of West Africa: Dance, Culture, and Celebration: Alvin Ailey West African Dance Pia Ferrante First graders will participate in an eight-week, in-school residency in West African style dance, led by members of the celebrated Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. These workshops teach unity of body, mind and spirit which is fundamental to African culture. Students also learn regional songs along through dances of welcome and praise culminating in a performance. Step by Step: Cultural Appreciation Through Dance Pia Ferrante Building upon the skills and dances previously learned in the Alvin Ailey experience (1st grade), Salem's 5th grade students will engage in a nine-week, in school, hands on dance residency workshop, teaching students Hip-Hop style dance along with a focus on civic responsibility. Students will foster community agreements through dance and create a 'brave' space. They will also explore concepts of identity, self expression, acceptance and enhancing empathetic relationships across diverse cultures and races. The program is a collaboration with the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College. This program is co-sponsored by HEARTS PW and The Ed. Foundation Pre-K Little Dancing Feet Amy Singer This six week program teaches Pre-K students multiple forms of dance, from tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop and African traditional dance, as well as fundamentals of following directions, team work, and musical vocabulary. The program concludes with a special performance. 
COMMUNITY GRANTS Cancer Care Port Washington: Red Stocking Revue Renee Genarelli The Red Stocking Revue is a Port Washington community tradition, featuring students, as well as local amateur singers, actors and dancers, who produce and perform a fun theatrical experience while raising awareness of services for Port Washington families dealing with cancer. Port Washington Play Troupe Pamela Seiderman The Port Washington Play Troupe will perform a special holiday season production, to celebrate the joy that community arts brings to the community. 2026-2027 Gina Farasciano Community Theater Grant Recipient Berest Dance Center: Next Steps Initiative Olga Berest Middle school dancers in grades 6-8 at Berest Dance Center will participate in a tuition-free wellness and mentorship program designed to support their physical, mental, and emotional development as they advance in their dance training. Through interactive group sessions overseen by a licensed therapist and facilitated by a high school mentor, students will discuss healthy training habits, injury prevention and body awareness, goal setting, strategies for handling feedback and criticism, and cultivating peer support. By fostering positive self-esteem, improving emotional regulation, and heightening self-awareness, the program will strengthen dancers’ abilities to navigate the pressures of advanced dancing and performance and in turn help them develop a positive, resilient and sustainable relationship with dance. Helen Keller National Center: Creative Arts Antonia Isnardi DeafBlind students at the Helen Keller National Center located in Port Washington will have the opportunity to participate in an inviting environment that supports them in using art as a modality for self-expression. The students will then have their works exhibited at The Art Guild of Port Washington where community members will have the opportunity to share the students’ stories through their creative expressions. This program is generously supported by The Gersh Family Parent Resource Center: Outreach Program for the Arts Leila Noor The Outreach Program at the Parent Resource Center, serves low income Latin American immigrant families with young children. Our Outreach Program serves more than 200 children and parents each year, giving them access to programming, particularly, music and art focused. Port Washington Senior Citizens Center: Painting Class Leila Noor Seniors who attend this program at the center will engage in specialty art classes facilitated by qualified art teachers. Seniors develop and improve their drawing and painting skills. They learn to work with all sorts of media including oil paint, acrylics, charcoal and water colors. The work is showcased at an art exhibit at the Port Washington Public Library. Landmark on Main Street: Artist in Residence program Amanda Kowalczuk Landmark on Main Street will offer workshops, master classes, and/or multicultural, interactive performances with professional musicians, with input and collaboration with local through students through School District liaison Kevin Scully. Students will learn technique, artistic skills and creative inspiration from professional musicians, dancers, artists and/or theater professionals. This program is co-sponsored by HEARTS PW and The Ed. Foundation Landmark on Main Street: Take Your Places Sean Perry and Floryn Stock Landmark on Main Street will inaugurate a new theater program designed for children ranging from Kindergarten through 3rd grade. Beyond the performance education itself, participants will be taught a broad range of theater related skills, to include singing, stage directions, set design, lighting design, props, and even costume design. The program aims to build children’s confidence through this educational program, as well as develop a sense of community and belonging. This program is generously supported by The Knight Family Port Washington Library Foundation: Theater for Dessert Leila Noor A theater program for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) designed to bring books to life while learning theater skills. The ten-week program aims to have participants learn the tools of acting, while building communication skills, character development and social interaction. Multimodal arts learning will also be experienced through set and costume design and creation working with professionals in the industry. The Nicholas Center's Annual Community Musical Together We Shine: The Nicholas Center Inclusive Musical 2027 Nicole Ferrara Through its Creative Arts Program, The Nicholas Center connects Autistic individuals with the wider community through ‘art-focused’ projects that facilitate inclusion, socialization, and community building. The Center's 4th annual Musical Production will integrate multiple artistic mediums and provides participants with opportunities to shine in various roles: singing, dancing, acting, playing instruments, scriptwriting, filming, and creating visual art. The program fosters self-expression and builds confidence while celebrating the neurodiverse community. |