HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
The Comic Book Project was founded in 2001 by Dr. Michael Bitz, Ed.D, senior
research associate at Center for Educational Pathways in New York City.
Dr. Bitz first identified the arts as a pathway to learning at the Center for
Arts Education Research (CAER), which was responsible for Learning In and
Through the Arts, a landmark study in education. In partnership with Dark
Horse Comics (the largest publisher of creator-owned comic books), the idea of
connecting art, literacy, and community through comic books became a
reality. In 2003, The Comic Book Project became hosted by Teachers College,
Columbia University and then became independent again in 2008 through the
nonprofit Center for Educational Pathways.
The Comic Book Project began as a grassroots movement in the after-school education community of New York City.
In 2002, the project was piloted with over 700 children at 33 after-school sites
with the help of three important advocates for urban education: The After-School
Corporation, Partnership for After-School Education, and the Youth Development
Institute at the Fund for the City of New York. The results of the pilot
were published in two peer-reviewed journals:
Bitz, M. (2004). The Comic Book Project: Forging Alternative Pathways to
Literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47 (7), 574-588.
Bitz, M. (2004). The Comic Book Project: The Lives of Urban Youth. Art
Education, 57 (2), 33-39.
GRANT PROGRAMS
In the 2003-2004 school year, The Comic Book Project received a grant from
the Cleveland Foundation for a citywide implementation in Cleveland on the
theme of conflict resolution. In that same year, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency awarded a grant for the citywide implementation in New York
City on the theme of urban environmentalism. These projects impacted over
20,000 inner-city youths.
The 2004-2005 school year marked the national launch of the project. Thousands
of students in the following ten cities were involved: NYC, Cleveland,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, Chicago, Hartford, St. Louis, Bridgeport
(CT), and New Brunswick (NJ). The theme was "leadership," and the project
resulted in a national publication and a touring exhibit of the students' comic
books.
In the 2005-2006 school year, The Comic Book Project
experienced further expansion. A national implementation on theme of
"community" was underway. Additionally, thousands of youths in
after-school programs across NYC worked on a citywide project on the theme
of financial literacy. This project, titled the
Art of Money, was funded by the New York State Banking
Department.
The Comic Book Project forges on, bringing on new schools and partners each
year. We've had amazing projects in Hawaii, Tucson, San Francisco, and on and
on...
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