Jennifer Nathan Memorial Arts Fund

jenarts.org

Transforming Lives Through Arts Education

Our Mission

The Jennifer Nathan Memorial Arts Fund (JNMAF) is dedicated to transforming the lives of students at the Cleveland Street Elementary School (Orange, NJ) through enriched arts education: immersive after school clubs, arts-related field trips, and school-wide assemblies.

All clubs will have culminating events in the form of either a performance on stage or an exhibition of their artwork. In addition, all club members will have opportunities to reflect on the skills they’ve learned and will be encouraged to share their insights with live audiences or exhibition goers.

Clubs include:

A movement & dance group for Kindergarten
Jr. and Sr. dance clubs
A film club
A music club
A visual arts club
A podcast club
A drama club
A step club

Why Fund Arts Education?

Enriched and enhanced (after school) Arts education (that goes beyond curriculum standards and the daily classroom experience) is an important component in preparing our scholars for the 21st Century by giving them the tools for success in our rapidly changing world.

Arts education is crucial because it fosters creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills, while also promoting cultural awareness and emotional intelligence. It enhances academic performance, builds confidence, and prepares students for diverse career paths by developing valuable life and career skills. Furthermore, arts education strengthens community engagement and provides space for self-expression and emotional development.

Inspiring Creativity

Why Arts Education Matters

(Excerpt from the The National Endowment for the Arts Report – February 2025, by Sunil Iyengar) – Arts.gov

“A new report from the NEA reaffirms what we have learned from many other previous studies – namely, that arts education is closely linked with positive academic outcomes and social and emotional development. The report appears in the wake of new data from the National Center for Educational Services (NCES), based on survey questions that researchers from the NEA and the NCES co-designed in 2024.”

The survey highlights that – a) there are “varying degrees of access to arts learning opportunities (in public schools) that America’s children enjoy, and b) that there are measurable benefits of AE for children of different ages and backgrounds.”

The report underscored the positive impact of AE on children (K – 5th grade) and indicated that: “children’s participation in out-of-school (e.g. after school programs; attending a concert, play or show) was associated with the following social-emotional attributes as reported by teachers:

positive approaches to learning;
greater interpersonal skills;
and lower rates of exhibiting internalized or externalized problem behaviors.

In addition, such programming was positively linked to increases in reading , math and science scores for 3rd through 5th graders.”

What's Our Story

This story begins in 2001 when I drive north on the New Jersey Turnpike for a blind date and meet a girl named Jennifer at Starbucks on Route 4 East in Englewood, NJ. We fall in love and get married on November 4th of that year. Our journey together lasted 23 years and wound its way around many twists and turns. Yet we always found time to enjoy sweet music, great movies, plays and musicals, and good books among many other aesthetic pleasures.

My beloved Jennifer loved the arts: from pop music to Broadway musicals; from movies to PBS dramas about British kings and queens; from highbrow British murder mysteries to songs by Mr. Rogers; from art museums to Shakespeare; from playing her electric piano to singing songs from shows such as Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables. While we didn’t go to many Broadway shows, musical scores could be heard in our house frequently. Jen would belt out hits such as “Popular” from Wicked, “Look Down” from Les Miserables, and “Angel of Music” from Phantom of the Opera. And while we didn’t watch Mr. Rogers on TV, Jennifer’s angelic voice carried his messages of love and acceptance and evoked notes of kindness with tunes like: “It’s Such a Good Feeling,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” and “It’s You I Like.”

Several months after Jennifer left this earth on January 18, 2024, I wanted to honor her memory and donated her electric piano to the Cleveland Street Elementary School (CSS) where I have worked for nearly 20 years. Then in 2025, I decided I wanted to do more and the idea for The Jennifer Nathan Memorial Arts Fund (JNMAF) was born with the goal of bringing enhanced and enriched arts education to students at our school. With the support and help of colleagues and friends at CSS, this vision has come to fruition. Through opportunities for transformative arts education – after school clubs, arts-related field trips and school-wide assemblies – we strive to empower and inspire student creativity and to leave an everlasting tribute to Jennifer’s love of the arts.

When I was preparing for our inaugural Drama Club (where students will write and perform their own original dramatic piece – under the tutelage of a Teaching Artist from Lunastage, a local theater) scheduled for the Fall of 2025, I asked a group of students in Ms. Keshner’s drama class “What’s your story?” I then modeled for them how I might construct a narrative. Prompting them to begin thinking about what story they want to tell, I challenged them to develop their own plots and characters. Finally, I gave each student a brand new spiral notebook with a cover that read: What’s My Story? – My journal, Scrap book, Sketch book, and/or Writer’s notebook. I encouraged them to use the notebook as a place to record their creative musings.

This is the essence of what we are trying to do with The Jennifer Nathan Memorial Arts Fund. It is for kids at CSS to find and honor their own voices (feelings, thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, etc); to write, paint, sing, choreograph, film and/or speak about their “their stories”; and to know deeply that their artistic creations are important and meaningful and deserve to be heard and seen. We want each student at Cleveland to be the author of her own story, the choreographer of his own dance, the composer of their own song, the playwright of her own drama, the molder of his own shapes and sculptures, the voice of their own podcast, and the painter of their own masterpiece!!

Through immersive arts education at the Cleveland Street School, we hope to inspire and empower our students to cultivate and honor their unique “voice” and thereby create and tell their personal story. The goal of the JNMAF is to raise money to 1) enhance arts-related after-school clubs, 2) provide field trips to shows, museums and other cultural events and performances, and 3) arrange arts-related school-wide assemblies. In this way, we seek to build a legacy of creativity and storytelling while honoring Jennifer’s memory.…And may Jennifer’s memory always be a blessing!!

Clubs

The Podcast Club

6th and 7th grade students will produce a five minute bi-monthly podcast that will air in homerooms on a private Youtube channel. The podcast will inform students and staff about school events, student achievements, and other news including special reports. Skills focus: will be on pre-production preparation: discussion of possible story ideas, research and writing stories – followed by filming, editing and adding music, titles and credits. Some students will work behind the scenes (camera, audio, editing) and others will be “on-air” talent. Club leader – Mr. Ken Gold

Kindergarten Dance Group

will be an introduction to the fundamentals of movement, balance, and other baseline dance concepts and skills. Students will experience various dance genres. Club leader – Dance Instructor from Premier Dance Theatre, Montclair, NJ.

Jr. Dance Club

2nd – 4th graders will learn different genres of dance including jazz and ballet. Skills Focus: will be on using space, understanding rhythmic patterns and utilizing directional pathways. Club leader – Ms. Samantha Sibilia, Performing & Full Company Dancer, Extensions Dance Project.

Film/Digital Media club

5th – 7th graders will learn about the fundamentals of journalism including research, news writing, interviewing and editing. In addition, students will have an opportunity to write and film original narrative short films. Skills Focus: fundamentals of pre-production work. Club leaders – Mr. Joe Nathan and Orange High School Film student.

Music Club

4th-7th graders will explore music through singing, instruments, rhythm games, and songwriting. Students will build musical skills while collaborating on student-driven projects. Skills Focus: discover their voices, self-expression and building community through various genres of music. Club Leader: Ms. Neal-Scott – Music Teacher.

Drama Club

6th-7th graders will collaborate in creating and writing an original dramatic piece to be performed live as well as designing costumes and building sets. Club Leader – Teaching Artist from Lunastage, Regional Theater in West Orange.

Visual Arts Club

Students will explore modern art movements including abstract expressionism and pop art. Skills Focus: use of different media and creative techniques such as oil paint marbling, illustration and sculpture. Club leader – Mr. Alex Barazani, Art Teacher.

Sr. Dance Club

5th-7th grade students will explore different genres of dance including hip-hop and tap dance. Skills Focus: will be on fundamentals of hip hop dance and introduction to tap. Club Leader – Ms. LaTisha LaGrier

Step Club

4th – 7th graders will create and perform original step routines as a vehicle for self-expression . Skills focus: develop leadership skills, building teamwork, collaboration, choreography and self-discipline. Club Leader – Ms. LaTisha LaGrier

Meet Our Board Members

Brian Silvoy

Born and raised in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, Brian Silvoy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in jazz guitar performance and a master’s degree in music education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 1993. Since 1994, he has worked as a guitar teacher and performer for countless productions as a pit musician on Broadway and at the Paper Mill Playhouse as well as Plays in the Park in Edison. From 1994-2020, he taught at the Cleveland Street School in Orange Township Public Schools. He enjoys time at the beach with his wife Julie.

Julie O'Connor Silvoy

Julie O’Conner is a lifelong resident of Essex County, New Jersey. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Seton Hall University, South Orange. Julie was an English Language Arts teacher at the Cleveland Street School in Orange Township Public schools from 1986 to 2020. She also served as the Coordinator of the Arts Horizons After School program at Cleveland for many years. Arts Horizons offers after-school arts education clubs that focus on visual, performing and media arts that are designed to nurture creative, academic and social-emotional skills through hand-on activities. Julie is an avid reader and a lover of music who enjoys home decorating and crafts. She also loves gardening and spending time with family and friends.

LaTaeya Lane-Mega

LaTaeya Lane-Mega is an educator with over 25 years of experience spanning early childhood education, classroom teaching, and her current work as a Parent Specialist. She holds a master’s degree in education and has a strong background in special education. A wife, mom, and lifelong creative, Lane-Mega is passionate about theater, cinema, and storytelling. She is a movie reviewer and the author of two self-published urban fantasy novels—Swept into the Darkness and Dark Betrayal, part of her Chronicles of the Celestial series. She deeply believes in making the creative arts accessible to all and in fostering spaces where every voice can be expressed. LaTaeya loves writing, cuddling up with a good book, visiting museums and theater experiences. She also enjoys traveling with family, watching movies, drawing, and listening to her favorite EDM band. For more information about her work, visit her creative space at Lataeya.com.

Mary Teresa Burns Russo

Terri Burns Russo worked for Orange Public Schools for forty-one years. She retired as Director of Curriculum and Instruction and taught reading and English at Orange Middle School/Orange Preparatory Academy. Additionally, she was an Adjunct Professor at Essex County College and taught high school English at Solomon Schechter Day School. For the past four years, she has been a Board Member with the Orange Education Foundation. Dr. Russo earned a B.S.Ed. at Seton Hall University, MLitt (Literary Criticism) and DLitt (American Democracy) degrees from Drew University, and a M.A. (Educational Leadership) from Montclair State University. Additionally, Dr. Russo twice received the Neil Reimer Award from Drew University and two awards from Montclair State University. She is married to a former Orange science teacher and together they have four grown sons and two granddaughters.