What People Say About Us

"I have always admired what many are doing at Urban Improv. It's a brilliant effort."
Senator John Kerry

"The only way we can prevent violence is by activating the imagination. Urban Improv fosters kids' imaginations through action. And action is the way the brain learns to create new patterns and new responses to violent situations."
Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D.
Medical Director
The Trauma Center
Boston University School of Medicine

"Exciting . . . dynamic . . . intriguing . . . and healing."
Deborah Prothrow-Stith
Director of the Division of Public Health Practice
Harvard School of Public Health

"An essential resource for educators and community leaders who want to tap the moral voices of their students as they explore issues of identity, self esteem, and non-violence. We as adults have a lot to learn from them."
Margot Strom
Executive Director and President
Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation

"Urban Improv is the best program I have been associated with in my 36 years in the Boston Public Schools."
Charles F. Ray, former Principal
Boston Public Schools

"You continue to foster good decision making to students at risk. You open doors to creativity. You empower them. You allow them the right to be children with imagination. The energy of these students has been channeled in positive directions."
Gerrie Milgroom, Arts Coordinator
Tobin Public School, Boston, MA.

"I was thrilled to see our students taking part in a program designed to provoke thought, inspire actions, and raise awareness about good decision-making and the equitable treatment of others."
Wanda Holland, Upper School Head
The Park School, Brookline, MA.

"You can preach nonviolence and racial harmony 'til the cows come home, but when kids see it in action week after week, that is the deciding factor in their lives, not any abstract classroom lesson! Hats off to you, Improv!"
Elizabeth Tedoldi, Grade 4 Teacher
Farragut Public School, Boston, MA

"Through music and dance [the Urban Improv actors] tell stories about children's lives, crafting dilemmas that raise up the tough and painful themes of violence, loyalty, deception, love, pride, greed, and much more."
"It is provocative, energetic, truth-telling, often funny, but always deeply respectful...respectful of the children's intellect, respectful of their ability to reason, respectful of their right to give voice to their ideas, respectful of their confusions, and respectful of their vulnerability."
"As I sit and watch the children and their teachers in Urban Improv...I feel the fusion and expression of all of these powerful and poignant dimensions of respect...a respect that is generative, empathic, attentive, and empowering...a respect that supports inquiry, curiosity, and a growing self-confidence."
"I know that the weekly accumulation of these respectful lessons at Urban Improv will take hold of the children's souls and imaginations. I am pleased, but not surprised when Yellah, a fifth-grade girl in the program, offers her heartfelt evaluation. Say Yellah, 'At Urban Improv I learned to respect myself and everyone else.' Hallelujah!"
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
Professor of Education
Harvard University


Boston Public Schools 1

Boston Public Schools 2

Burlington High School Guidance Department

Facing History and Ourselves

League of Women Voters of Chemung County

Mission Hill School

The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center