By Michelle Berra, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Since the start of the 2011-2012 school year, more than 32,000 M-DCPS students have had the opportunity to experience Miami’s vibrant cultural atmosphere through Cultural Passport. Cultural Passport is an innovative educational initiative designed to provide all Miami-Dade County Public Schools students in grades K-12 with a different cultural field experience each school year. This initiative would not be possible without the generous support of both individual and corporate contributions, and in-kind donations from all of the M-DCPS cultural partners.

For the third year in a row, the Adrienne Arsht Center provided performances of Rock Odyssey for all of the fifth grade students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools as part of the Cultural Passport initiative.  Rock Odyssey, created by Emmy Award-winning composer Billy Straus and Kleban award-winning playwright Stephen Cole, is a musical version of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. For many students, this was their first opportunity to visit one of the premier performing arts centers in the world, at no cost to their school. In addition, the Rock Odyssey experience extended beyond the theatre and into the classroom through an in-class curriculum created in cooperation with World Book.  Teachers participated in two professional development sessions specifically designed to integrate the theatre experience with the District’s language arts, reading, social science, and fine arts curriculum.

Twenty-first century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and cooperation are not only skills which students will need to have to thrive in our global economy; they are also skills which permeate the arts and instruction in the arts. As the latest research in education continues to show the importance of students developing 21^st century skills, M-DCPS shows its dedication to the arts and to preparing students for the future by allowing them to participate in integrated cultural experiences throughout the city.