Founded in 2005 by storyteller Jennifer Jacobson, When Children Save the Day (WCSD) celebrates the power of children to make a difference in the world.

WCSD programs offer an interdisciplinary approach to storytelling and social action. Using world folktales along with narratives about real children who have made a difference in their communities, youngsters hear about many ways to help others. They learn that throughout history children in every culture have been heroes both large and small. By working on a social action campaign, your children have an opportunity to act with compassion, to demonstrate problem-solving abilities, to be heroes themselves.

In January 2005 Jacobson received the National Storytelling Network’s Brimstone Award for Applied Storytelling. The Award recognized service-oriented models that increase understanding of ways that storytelling promote change in individuals and communities. It is designed to inspire excellence and to communicate to new audiences the humanitarian possibilities of storytelling. The Brimstone Award supported Jacobson’s work at Crocker Farm Elementary School in Amherst, Massachusetts where she collaborated with educator Elaine Stinson and was able to test a When Children Save the Day Residency in Stinson’s third grade classroom.

Crocker Farm Assistant Principal, Susan Kennedy Marx, described the program as, “Collective education founded in relationships, cultural relevancy, and creativity. Exceptional multicultural education at its best. Thank you for working with our school—for guiding our children and building community with our staff. Fabulous!”

The enthusiastic support for WCSD in the educational and storytelling communities encouraged Jacobson to incorporate as a not-for-profit in 2005. The WCSD Board of Directors is dedicated to four main program goals:

1) To focus on young people and foster a culture of social action based on curricular standards as well as the ideals of compassion, stewardship and social responsibility.

2) Through grants and innovative community partnerships, to provide access for all communities interested in the project--not just those with the most resources.

3) To develop curricula and program assessment tools to facilitate integration with academic frameworks and encourage successful replication of our programs.

4) Creating opportunities to train educators, storytellers and other stakeholders in this dynamic model.

In 2007 the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) selected Jacobson as a Creative Teaching Partner based on the WCSD Residency. Reviewers for this competitive initiative describe the combination of storytelling and social action as “great” with high praise for WCSD’s “clearly developed pedagogy.” They find the “stories age-appropriate and user-friendly” and considered the “variety of assessment tools for students and teachers commendable,” with a “meaningful, high-quality rubric used.”

In 2008 MCC recognized Jacobson and four other teaching artists for their exceptional work with Creative Teaching Fellowships. This program, the first of its kind in the nation, supports master teaching artists in schools as part of the MCC’s Creative Minds initiative to promote arts education and creative learning in Massachusetts.

“Teaching artists and interpretive scientists play a critical role in education by reinforcing creative thinking, animating learning, introducing students to new ways of seeing the world, and providing important role models,” said MCC Executive Director Anita Walker about the new initiative.

Jacobson’s Creative Teaching Fellowship will help create and implement a Curriculum and Assessment Portfolio for the WCSD after-school program. The Curriculum is based on her work with schools in Western Mass: Wildwood, Crocker Farm, Smith College Campus School and most recently, Orange Elementary, where she was part of their 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant.

For more information about WCSD Contact us.