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Our Mission

Through the power of the arts the Educational Arts Team provides young people with experiences that transform hearts and minds. We believe that the arts are an essential way to help young people realize academic success, increase self-worth, and create a vision of a positive future.

Organization Profile

Since 1974, the Educational Arts Team, a private nonprofit organization, has developed and conducted countless educational and social workshops for children and families and teachers. The Team's unique approach of responding to community needs and requests from educators, by integrating the arts into the educational curriculum, has led to a high demand for their workshop programs.

Through collaboration with the school districts, community-based organizations and foundation and corporate sponsors, the Educational Arts Team offers a menu of in-school and after-school workshop programs for children and families and operates a popular summer arts camp located near Liberty State Park. The Educational Arts Team has recently expanded beyond Jersey City to include school districts in Hudson and Essex counties.

The Team provides a range of programs to meet the needs of elementary schools and the community including workshops for students K-12 and professional development workshops for teachers. The programs use age-appropriate drama, writing, storytelling, puppetry, music, dance and visual art activities as strategies for promoting learning, teaching basic academic subject areas, encouraging positive social experiences and promoting positive relationships.

Educational Arts Team Staff

Carmine Tabone, Executive Director
is the founder and director of the Jersey City based Educational Arts Team. He has served as a board member and vice-president of the American Alliance of Theater and Education, as president of the Hudson County Coalition of Non-Profit Agencies, and as a Regional Governor for the Children's Theater Association of America. He is an adjunct faculty member at New York University and has taught a graduate course for theatre education students: "Theatre Practices: Leaders in Educational Theatre." He is the author and co-author of a number of journal articles and books on uses of theater for education.
Roxanna Arrojo, Drama Specialist
has been working for the Educational Arts Team for over five years. She graduated from New Jersey City University with a major in Musical Theatre. She has worked as a drama teacher for the Upward/College Bound program at New Jersey City University and as a vocal teacher at Holy Family Academy.
Dom J. Buccafusco, Program Operations Administrator
has worked with the Team since 1980 as a drama workshop leader. He attended the New School for Social Research in 1976 where he studied Television Production and Acting for the stage and screen. In 1981 he received a BA in English/Theatre from Jersey City State College and in 1983 his MA in Educational Theatre from NYU. For twenty five years Dom worked as a theatre adjunct instructor for New Jersey City University for the Department of Music, Dance & Theatre. His directorial work includes a wide arrange of theatrical genres including plays, musicals, and opera.
Dina Ciborowski, Drama Specialist
has been teaching for over 10 years in and out of schools in both New York and New Jersey. She also works as an actress in the theatre with an emphasis on Improvisational Performances. Dina's credits include off off-Broadway, cabaret theatre, and a number of independent films. She has also toured with theatre companies performing in NYC, Toronto, and Massachusetts.
Danny Bacher, Drama Specialist
has had over a decade of professional experience as an actor, writer, comedian, musician, and teaching artist. He graduated with a degree in Theater and Music from NJCU. He's worked with the Irondale Ensemble Project, who, in addition to their theatrical productions are noted for their educational outreach work in New York City. Danny has enjoyed his work and contributions at the Educational Arts Team. Mr. Bacher is a proud member of Actor's Equity, Screen Actor's Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, as well as being a member of the legendary Friars Club.
Dani Kopoulos, Drama Specialist
is an award-winning solo performance artist and writer of creative non-fiction. She hails from Chicago, where she received a BFA in multi-media performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Dani has been a teaching artist for over 15 years, leading drama, writing, movement and video workshops and residencies for youth of all ages. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from New School University. She joined Educational Arts Team in 2011, and in the last year, has taught Theater Integration workshops in Jersey City schools, as well as an after-school drama program at the Boys and Girls Clubs, and a teen video program at Camp Liberty.
Robert Albrecht, Music Supervisor
has worked with the Team since 1982 as a musician and workshop leader. Albrecht has also been an Associate Professor in the Media Arts Department at New Jersey City University since 1997. Dr. Albrecht is the author of numerous articles on the relationship of media, the arts and culture including "Teaching as a Creative Activity: Seven Ideas About Creativity and the Experience of Education," and "Mars Invades the Classroom: A Workshop in Language Learning," (with Carmine Tabone).
Josh Bacher, Drama Specialist
like his brother and comedy partner Danny, Josh is a workshop leader and teaching artist at the Educational Arts Team. He likes to bring his unique brand of humor and art to the work he does here at the team. Josh is a graduate of NJCU with a degree in English and Theater, and has had years of professional experience as an actor, writer, comedian and puppeteer. Josh really enjoys the Educational Arts Team and stands behind it's mission. Mr. Bacher is a proud member of Actor's Equity, Screen Actor's Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, as well as being a member of the legendary Friars Club.
Kelly B. Darr, Art Specialist
has been a visual artist and teaching arts specialist in schools and Camp Liberty for the past 20 years. Her goal is to help young people joyfully express the inner world of the imagination.

Some of Kelly's projects include: The Goldman Sachs Waterfront Banner Project; the 21st Century after school and Saturday morning Art workshops; and Drug Prevention workshops.

Kelly received her BFA degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Recent showings include William Patterson University and the Slater Memorial Museum.

She designed the children's labyrinth to honor Lorenzo during the summer of 2011.
Peter LaBrusciano, Drama Specialist
originally from Vermont, Peter graduated from New York University's Steinhardt School of Education with a Master's Degree in Educational Theatre. He also received a Bachelor's Degree from The University of Iowa. For eleven years Peter was an actor in professional theatre in Vermont and Iowa. He is currently the Artistic Director of The Simpleton Circus, a Theatre Company focused on creating original mask and puppet productions.
Mary Graham-Aiken, Music Specialist
is an artist and singer extraordinaire who began working with the Educational Arts Team in 1977. Her focus has been on developing outstanding workshops for younger children that incorporate songs, art and stories.
Nico Victorino, Special Education Specialist
A teacher from September to June, Nico looks forward to coming back to Camp Liberty every year! Nico was raised in Jersey City and currently resides in New York City, where he works as a special education teacher of students with autism. Aside from lesson planning and grading, Nico is trying to master the intricacies of his extremely unreliable oven and the ukulele.

Our Journey So Far...

1974: A team of Jersey City artists carry out art and drama workshops in city sponsored youth centers and at a summer day camp.

1975 to 1978: In response to a request from principals concerned about racial tensions in their high schools, Carmine Tabone develops a youth theater program that develops tolerance and respect for others. The youth Theatre Company produces a series of original musical comedies at the Little Theater in downtown Jersey City.

1979 to 1985: Several elementary schools invite the team to develop a program to celebrate cultural diversity and mutual respect. The team develops a program called Children of the World, in which stories from different countries were presented in large assembly programs

Early 1980s: The Team developed a program called Children of the World, in which stories from different countries are presented in large assembly programs. Students learn songs, make costumes, and present dances as part of the stories. Carmine writes an article for the Youth Theatre Journal, Vol. 5, No. 4, 1991 about the project. Please Click Here for the article.

1981: The team of artists incorporates as the Educational Arts Team, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

1983: The Team receives an award from Save the Children Foundation for the Camp Liberty summer program.

1985 to 1990: The Team presents a series of puppet plays for housing projects, schools, libraries and day care centers throughout Jersey City.

1986: The Team receives a Special Achievement citation from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education.

Late 1980s and early 1990s: The Team invites a number of British and Irish drama educators and theater companies to visit Jersey City. Among these is the internationally known Gavin Bolton who worked side by side with Dorothy Heathcote to develop a new style of drama in education. This collaboration leads to the development of the Bringing Literature to Life program.

1995: The Educational Arts Team joins The American Alliance for Theatre Educators (AATE), a national association of children's theater companies, university theater programs, and teaching artists.

1996: CTN's Classroom Close-Up, affiliated with the New Jersey Educational Association, features our Bringing Literature to Life Project on its cable television show.

1998 to 2008: Carmine is interviewed about different aspects of the program on Comcast Cable's Meet the Newsmakers.

1999 to 2002: The team presents Pop-Up Puppet Theater in every 3rd grade classroom in the Jersey City Public Schools. Student test results rise dramatically as a result of the program. Carmine documents the project by writing an article for the Youth Theatre Journal, Vol. 18, 2004. Please Click Here for the article.

2000 to 2008: The team develops Television Productions to deal with violence and substance abuse in middle schools. The program includes the creation of short videos on these topics featuring students in the project

2001: The team does a series of a series of professional development workshops for teachers in the East Orange public elementary schools.

2005: The team partners with the Jersey City Public Schools Department of Visual and Performing Arts on a three-year theatre arts and literacy integration program for fourth and fifth grade teachers and students funded by the United States Department of Education Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination program. Evaluators from Seton Hall University report significant academic, pro-cognitive and pro-social improvement for 550 participating students in contrast to a control group of the same number. Some highlights from the report are as follows:

Approximately 90% of 5th grade students who were in the Theater Infusion Project in the 4th and 5th grades passed the language arts section of NJASK 5, in contrast to only 71% of students who were never exposed to the project.

17% of 5th graders who were part of the Theater Infusion Projects as 4th graders were advance proficient in language arts, only 2% of 5th graders who were not in the Theater Infusion Project when they were in the 4th grade had performance levels that fell in the advance proficient category. For more information on this program Click Here.

The team produces a handbook for fourth and fifth grade teachers, the Magic Circle of Drama, and a training DVD to mark the completion of the three-year project.

2008 to 2011: The team continues its partnership with the Jersey City Public Schools by developing and implementing a second arts integration three-year project, this one for 6th and 7th grade students. The results on standardized test scores in language arts and math for participating students is significantly higher than for the control group. For more information please Click Here

2010 to 2013: the Jersey City Public Schools receives a third arts integration grant to partner with the Educational Arts Team to improve teaching methods and increase student literacy in the second and third grades.