1. Moving Minds Cami Spring and Marcella Day

2. Our Proposal  We want to create an after school outreach program for special education students in local high schools to help them gain communication skills and confidence, while also helping them find creative ways to express their emotions.

3.  Location: Annapolis, MD  Population: Special Education high school students.  Duration: Every Wednesday and Friday for a semester. (roughly 15 weeks per semester) Each class will be an hour in length.

4. Our Goals  To help the special education students transition from the classroom setting to the work force, we want to show them how they can gain leadership skills through working in groups to express movement.

5. Measuring the Results  We will record how their verbal interactions and physical communication changes in hopefully positive ways with other students.

6. Movement Emphasis  Improvisation (individual and group)  Structured improvisation  Discussions about what movement they saw and how their movement made them feel.  On a higher level, incorporate props such as exercise balls, boxes, scarves, exercise mats  Modified meditation and yoga  Clapping and simple hand gestures will be included in their interactions with their peers

7. Teaching Methods  We do not want to focus on perfecting their dance technique, but instead want to have patience with them and obtain an overall understanding of each student as an individual. Class goals will be flexible in order to allow students to explore their creativity and let their movements connect the interactions between their brains and bodies.

8. Why is This Important? Special Education students do not always have an energy outlet while they are sitting in a classroom. They will learn information through different styles of teaching and at varying paces in order to accommodate for each student. This program can help them learn commutative skills of importance, while also having that creative playground to release their energy both mentally and physically. The use of music in this class is crucial because it will help stimulate other parts of their brains.

9. Budgeting $100 an hour per dance teacher (two dance teachers per day, two days a week): $400 per week, $6,000 per semester Payment for props (scarves, exercise balls, exercise mats, etc.): $150 Total: $6,500

10. Similar Programs  http://schools.nyc.gov/offices/teachlearn /arts/Blueprints/Dance%20Spec%20Ed%20 Supplement.pdf http://schools.nyc.gov/offices/teachlearn /arts/Blueprints/Dance%20Spec%20Ed%20 Supplement.pdf  http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/ http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/  http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/ index.php/videospodcasts http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/ index.php/videospodcasts

11. Resources  http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/ http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/  http://www.danceadvantage.net/special -needs-dance/ http://www.danceadvantage.net/special -needs-dance/  http://www.sandiegofamily.com/resource s/flourishing-families-special-needs- resources/1329-the-benefits-of-dance- class-for-children-with-special-needs http://www.sandiegofamily.com/resource s/flourishing-families-special-needs- resources/1329-the-benefits-of-dance- class-for-children-with-special-needs  http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/ index.php/videospodcasts http://autismmovementtherapy.com/site/ index.php/videospodcasts