The Harlem School of the Arts’ tuition-free Opportunities for Learning in the Arts program (OLA) was established in 1977 as a response to drastic cutbacks in local government funding for arts education during the 1970’s. The challenge of limited arts training in New York City public schools continues today, particularly in impoverished communities. HSA’s OLA program currently serves 15 public schools in Harlem, the Upper West Side, Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

The OLA program embodies HSA’s historic commitment to nurturing and stimulating a lifelong interest in the arts by offering pre-K through 12th grade students interactive exposure to multicultural, flexible programming that integrates music, dance, theater and visual arts education with a core academic curriculum. OLA is offered in the following settings:

• Day/In-school program
• School-based/After-school educational enrichment program
• Day/In-center and School-based/One-day lecture performances

This partnership between the arts and academics broadens students' world view, motivates their quest for knowledge, improves their self-esteem and provides an opportunity to experience first-hand the natural, life-affirming relationship between art and everyday life.

To read more about Harlem School of the Arts, Click Here.

Student Demographics

HSA’s geographic service area is the Harlem/Upper Manhattan community as well as the greater New York City metropolitan area. Of the population directly served by OLA, 62% are of Latino background, 34% are of African-American background and 4% are of Asian, Asian American, Native American or Caucasian background. 80% of the students served are below 80% of the median income. The program serves students with special needs, including elementary through high school age students with autism.

OLA Programs for Students with Special Needs

The OLA curriculum for students classified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder is based on a Multi-sensory approach to arts instruction that supports the acquisition of skills in the areas of behavior, communication, literacy, math and social studies.  The curriculum is based on New York State's Alternative Learning Standards in the Arts and includes instruction in music, dance and the visual arts with specific workshops in ceramics, group keyboard, recorder, percussion, photography, creative movement, West African Dance and yoga.  Through funding from the Center for Arts Education's, Parents as Arts Partners program, parents and caregivers are able to participate, with their children, in music and visual arts workshops.