In the spring of 2012, students from Natalie Pardo’s 11th grade English Language Arts class from the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering collaborated with CUP and teaching artist John Dalessi to explore the steps to build power in New York City – specifically, how to become a City Council Member.
The group interviewed Antonio Reynoso, Chief of Staff for City Council Member Diana Reyna (of Council District 34 in Bushwick). Reynoso is also a 2013 City Council candidate for the 34th District. After becoming experts in the art of creative metaphors, they took all we had learned from our interview and research and created visual metaphors for the steps that are essential to running for City Council.
The group created a booklet as an introduction to what it takes to get elected to city government. They presented their work to other 11th graders at the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering.