Preschoolers across Northern Kentucky’s six River Cities are becoming storytellers, costume designers and performers through Students Create Change, an American Legacy Theatre program designed to help children build skills for kindergarten.
Funded by the R.C. Durr Foundation, with additional support from the Bellevue Education Foundation, the effort currently reaches 169 children in 12 preschool classes across Bellevue, Covington, Dayton, Ludlow, Newport and Southgate. EducateNKY helped connect American Legacy Theatre with participating preschools, bringing the program to five school districts and two Learning Grove locations.
Through 10 weekly, 45-minute sessions, children use their voices, bodies and imaginations to bring stories to life. During the first four sessions, they explore a book or folktale and learn to retell it through theatre. In the remaining six sessions, they create an original story, make simple costumes, props and set pieces, and share their work with their community through a world premiere performance.
“Kindergarten readiness grows through experiences that give children opportunities to communicate, work together and explore their ideas,” said Dr. Jenny Watson, vice president of early learning and family power at EducateNKY. “This partnership brings those opportunities into preschool classrooms across all six River Cities, helping children build confidence and skills through the joy of creating something together.”
Programming began Sept. 21 and will continue through Dec. 15, with each participating class receiving 10 sessions.
Participating sites include:
• Grandview Elementary in Bellevue: four classes
• Learning Grove Altamont in Covington: one class
• Learning Grove River Center in Covington: one class
• Lincoln Elementary in Dayton: two classes
• Mary A. Goetz Elementary in Ludlow: two classes
• Newport Primary: one class
• Southgate Public School: one class
“This effort is incredibly meaningful for American Legacy Theatre as it embodies so much of our mission in action,” said Matthew David Gellin, Executive Artistic Director and CEO of American Legacy Theatre. “This regional and innovative theatrical effort is made up of cross-sector partnerships collaborating with families to uplift and empower our youth to maximize their incredible potential.”
The partnership also includes an evaluation to better understand how theatre participation may support kindergarten readiness. American Legacy Theatre will examine preschool assessment data already collected by participating schools, comparing students’ growth with that of nonparticipating classrooms or with the school’s historical growth, depending on the site.
Kindergarten entry assessment data will be collected in fall 2027 or fall 2028, depending on the children’s ages, to explore relationships between program participation and readiness for school.
“We most hope that the children unlock the belief in themselves that with their vision, empathy, and supportive and safe environment they can achieve just about anything,” Gellin said.
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