The Quinan Street Project’s primary objective is to bring high quality arts education to public elementary school classrooms in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. With lessons addressing both the California Visual and Performing Arts Standards, as well as Common Core English Language Arts Standards, students use their bodies, voices, and imaginations to actively engage with text and stories as well as their own emotions and feelings.

Curricula are diverse and able to be utilized in special day classes as well as general education classrooms and can range in grade level from Transitional Kindergarten to 6th Grade. Since 2013 QSP has been able to reach thousands of children annually and has seen exponential growth in the learners’ confidence, communication skills, and love of storytelling.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, QSP has begun producing “The Folklorists: A Multilingual Podcast of the Strange and Unusual” to bring the joy of storytelling and history to more children, families, and classrooms near and far. Each episode is crafted with care for academic relevance and includes a free curriculum supplement that is easy for families or classrooms to use to dig deeper into the content.

As an extension of this work, The Quinan Street Project also offers summer camps and workshops to all interested learners so that they may pursue a deeper knowledge of the craft of theatre and storytelling if they choose.