Dawn Panebianco has been a NYC Public School educator since 2004, but she has been teaching at P.S./I.S. 276 Battery Park City School since 2010, when their then brand-new school building first opened to the community. For most of these years, she has been a 5th-grade English Language Arts teacher—happily working with her favorite grade.
Panebianco’s fifth graders began working with the Anne Frank Center USA in the spring of 2018 as a complement to their new Holocaust studies unit, which they began teaching in 2017. Their Holocaust study has grown into a comprehensive unit and an important and beloved part of their 5th-grade curriculum.
P.S./I.S. 276 Battery Park City School has had the opportunity to incorporate both AFC USA’s residencies, the Art of Self-Discovery and From Bystander to Ally. In the Art of Self-Discovery, students use their own artwork to reflect on their connections to Anne and her story. In Bystander to Ally, students engage in tableaus and drama work to explore practical strategies for how they can move from the role of a bystander to an ally when witnessing an injustice in their school or in their world.
Panebianco says, “For many students, their first interaction with the important topic of the Holocaust is an introduction to Anne Frank and her story. Some students have heard of Anne Frank or the Holocaust but don’t yet know much about the topic. Our work with the Anne Frank Center residency program helps students build content knowledge about Anne’s impactful life and the events of the Holocaust in a way that helps students feel personally connected to the stories of the Holocaust.”
The residencies culminate in a performance of “Conversations with Anne”, an interactive performance where students engage with an actor playing Anne Frank and ask questions while the actor remains in character. Panebianco adds, “Over the years, hundreds of our students and their families have broadened their knowledge about Anne Frank and expanded their expressions of empathy as a result of our ongoing partnership with the Anne Frank Center. Our collaboration impacts our students by reminding us to embrace the power of hope for a better future, encouraging us to appreciate small joys, even during times of hardship, and being ever vigilant to the dangers of prejudice and discrimination.”
For more information on our in school residencies visit Workshops – Anne Frank Center USA
