Community Allies, LLC.

What if?

What if school deepened student connections with their administrators, teachers, peers, families and communities?

What if in schools, students expanded their understandings of ethical decision-making and civic discourse?

What if in school students developed complex analyses regarding poverty, racism, homophobia, discrimination, bullying, and more?

What if schools provided opportunities for students to become local, national, and international leaders?

Do you have students

who are amazing artists, musicians, film makers, and poets outside of school and who are prone to boredom in school?
who struggle to stay in school and are fighting hard not to give up?
who overcome life-threatening obstacles each and every day?
who don’t come to school?
who verbally and/or physically bully others and/or are bullied by others?

Our Solution: Ethnodrama

What is Ethnodrama?
Ethnodrama integrates drama with ethnography, the study of people and cultures. Through ethnodrama, students sustain in-depth and sophisticated research processes through which they become community leaders in ethical problem-solving. Through ethnodrama, youth design and pursue their own learning goals and assessments. Through ethnodrama, teachers learn how to integrate instructional designs that maximize both student passion and their language learning.

Ethnodrama Student Testimonials

Teacher Testimonial

Students in a January 2016 ethnodrama after-school program explain their experiences with their individual research projects and their reactions to the community research and drama and film work.

"I’ve had student-led discussions before. Their [film producer and film participant] discussion offered a level of comfort for students to ask questions they would not have felt comfortable offering normally. And they were backing up their discussions with current events and an amazing amount of knowledge about race . . . There was a level of nurturing but also a level of correcting naïve conceptions regarding race, which are extremely prevalent… it was amazing to see so many white middle schoolers embracing a very vulnerable conversation. So it was awesome."

Ethnodrama: Youth Create Compelling Community Conversations

Student Leadership in Communities

Students engage in community-centered research
Students learn how to decode a variety of texts
Students write and publish in various formats
Students develop communication skills for engaging audiences with their research

Student Film Producer Testimonial:
"I know there’s kids that have something to say but they really don’t get a chance to say it. Like hearing the stories that we heard today. I know there’s kids out there that really have a lot on their minds. Just to get it out to where we could listen to it, even though it’s a small number of people. But just expressing themselves. I’m really happy about that. I appreciate that, that they felt comfortable enough to listen to our story and then put out their own story to us."

Ethnodrama: Drama, Media, and Literacy Instructional Support

Ethnodrama involves interdisciplinary teaching and learning that strengthens student reading comprehension and writing abilities. With ethnodrama, students encounter instruction centered in their questions, identities, cultures, and artistic and intellectual goals. Ethnodrama can serve as a school-wide inquiry for all subject areas, and it can be integrated into any content area.

Through ethnodrama, students become sophisticated interpreters of their worlds. They acquire powerful frameworks for civic discourse and socially just action. They become community leaders and competent language users in a wide variety of contexts. Ethnodrama is useful for any grade, k-16.