For Schools

Weeksville Heritage Center has developed successful partnerships with several Brooklyn schools. Two of our programs—Green Weeksville and The Story Quillt Project—have been implemented at P.S. 243/The Weeksville School for three years. New school partnerships with M.S. 394K and Cobble Hill School for American Studies will begin in fall 2006 and spring 2007.

Green Weeksville

Weeksville piloted Green Weeksville, an environmental education program, in spring 2004. Green Weeksville engaged 25 2nd and 3rd grade special education students, leading them to explore the environment and learn the history of Weeksville. In 2005, we expanded the program to include two classrooms. The sessions took place both in the school and at the Weeksville historic site, where students created their own kitchen garden. Now in its third year, we have expanded the program, focusing on teaching students about Weeksville history through gardening and ecology, as well as through an additional nutrition curriculum. This year, students will create an heirloom heritage garden at the Weeksville Heritage Center’s historic site. Green Weeksville is made possible through the generous support of The Bay and Paul Foundation and KeySpan Foundation

The Story Quilt Project

Now in its third year, The Story Quilt Project at PS 243K has grown to become one of our most successful programs. The project brings together parents, teachers, professional artists and Weeksville historians to teach two 4th grade and two 5th grade classes creative techniques that help them build confidence in their artistic abilities and complement their social studies curricula. Students begin by learning about oral history through visits to the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses. They then prepare questions and interview a community elder about their experiences. The information from the tours and interviews are incorporated into drawings that become a part of each classroom’s colorful story quilt. Quilts from past years have been displayed at Weeksville Heritage Center and in P.S. 243K’s own mini-museum. Support for The Story Quilt Project is made possible by New York Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

For more information on Weeksville’ school partnership programs, contact education@weeksvillesociety.org .