For the first time since 2020, Moorhead Area Public Schools first through fifth graders participated in the Learning Bank program in-person during the 2022-23 school year. Learning Bank is a program “focused on delivering new and innovative approaches of quality arts experiences” to students in the Red River Valley. Along with students from Fargo Public Schools and West Fargo Public Schools, Moorhead students attend arts performances throughout the Red River Valley area.
“After a three-year break from live Learning Bank performances, it was fantastic to see the high energy and positive perspective from the students,” said Jess Rheault, Moorhead Area Public Schools Community Education Programs Coordinator and district liaison for the Learning Bank. “I think we forget the magnitude of good old-fashioned field trips and the excitement that builds when students get to get on a bus and go to an alternate learning location with their friends and experience things they may not have the chance to experience otherwise.”
Moorhead teachers were struck by how engaged their students were at their Learning Bank shows.
“My class really enjoyed the Learning Bank experience; the first question I was asked when the performance ended was ‘why is it already over?’,” said S.G. Reinertsen Elementary first grade teacher McKenzie Peck. “It was fun to see them come out of their shells a bit to clap and dance to the music—without even being asked to join in!”
Each grade level attended different fine arts performances over the course of the school year:
First graders saw a musical performance by MSUM Poco Fuego Steel Drum Band at MSU-Moorhead
Second graders went to a performance of Native American music and dance by the Buffalo River Singers and Dancers at Fargo South High School
Third graders traveled to Concordia College for a musical show from the Concordia Percussion Ensemble
Fourth graders attended the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra’s Young People’s Concert at the NDSU Festival Concert Hall
Fifth graders gathered at Horizon Middle School for the history of jazz performance by the FM KICKS Band
These large-scale, multi-district field trips came together as a result of extensive planning and cooperation.
“So many areas need to be carefully maneuvered with each school to provide students with these opportunities,” explained Rheault, “lunch times, school start times, school end times, bus drivers, classroom teacher preparation, transportation needs, special student accommodations—and that’s just within one school district. To get everyone on the same page is the result of hundreds of flexible, hardworking and patient individuals.”
An estimated 12,900 area students from 35 schools took part in the Learning Bank during the 2022-23 school year. In addition to partnering with the involved school districts, the Learning Bank also works closely with the venues and artists to be able to provide students with new fine arts experiences.
Fourth Graders in attendance for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra