SCF Virtual Academy
Registration Is Open!
Registration for October has been extended through October 17th
Virtual Academy is sponsored in part by the Helen G. Gifford Foundation, the Richard and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust, and the Howard W. & Katherine L. Gwaltney Foundation.
The Sandler Center Foundation’s Virtual Academy is a digital hub for arts-educational videos. We invite educators to register for our FREE, virtual programming tailored for students, K-8. Choose from a different selection of videos which vary in length each month, all centered around keeping the A in STEAM with a variety of topics.
You may sign up for this month's Virtual Academy now. Expect to hear from us within three business days upon receiving your completed application. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Check back with us soon for new programming options.
Have a question? Email education@sandlercenterfoundation.org.
Registration is required.
Programs vary in length.
Confirmed Registrants will receive access links and study guides within 3 business days.
ACCESS TO THE FOLLOWING SCF VIRTUAL ACADEMY PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE BY REGISTRATION ONLY
The HI Way: Weather
Grades: K - 4th
Themes: STEM, Environmental Awareness, Weather
Keoki visits meteorologist, Jennifer Robbins, and the team learns all about the weather. This episode of the Emmy award winning show The HI Way combines songs, puppets, interviews, and information on weather events and how to be prepared for extreme weather. Built from over ten years of Drama Education work in Hawaii classrooms, the show was entirely created by Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s team of theatrical artists and educators. It’s designed to help students and teachers explore the outdoors with curiosity, using fun and age-appropriate material.
Produced by Honolulu Theatre for Youth
USA to Z
Grades: 4th - 8th
Themes: History and Social Studies
Join Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam as they take audiences on a journey through America. Students will learn how the political process works, the differences between the various branches of government and what it means to live and vote in a democracy. At various points during the show, your audience will take part in a live-action game show component featuring patriotic prizes while our hosts entertain them with their hilarious antics. From the Constitution to the Declaration of Independence to the electoral college, this show will leave no political stone unturned. This special show is designed to encourage citizenship by teaching audiences how they can contribute to their own communities.
*This show references election season. Please note for your students that November of 2025 is not a presidential election year.
Produced by Bright Star Touring Theatre
Little Red and the Big Bully Wolf
Grades: K—5th
Themes: Bully Prevention and Character Education
The woods are scary enough without having to worry about a big bully howling in the shadows! Follow Little Red and meet her friends – the three little pigs, the Gingerbread Man, and more – as they learn to face their fears and stand up to the Big Bully Wolf! Learn to identify, report and resist bullying as we follow Little Red on her journey to grandma’s house. Funny, dramatic, and highly entertaining!
Produced by Bright Star Touring Theatre
Sandler Virtual Academy was developed when local educators and school administration expressed a need for performance-based, educational opportunities to address the widening gap in children’s literacy learning losses after the peak of the pandemic. The program provides digital access to curriculum-based arts performances aligned with Virginia standards of learning for K-8th grade levels.
Throughout the academic year, we offer digital performances by resident companies and other performing arts organizations across the nation. Topics range from literature and literacy, history and social studies, music and dance, bullying, character education, to STEM subjects and more. Each video is accompanied by a professionally crafted study guide to maximize learning opportunities in- and outside of the classroom. Teachers are asked to complete a brief application and follow-up survey to gain access to Virtual Academy; they provide information critical to the development of the program.
SCF’s Virtual Academy has grown to become the largest children’s literacy-focused digital arts education initiative in Virginia and has served more than 55,000 children, their teachers, and families since 2021.
WHAT REGISTERED SCHOOLS SAY
"The performances will enhance VBCPS's language arts and social studies curriculums content. It will also enhance listening skills. I am always looking for unique ways to engage with our curriculum, and I believe these performances will provide just that for my students. Many of my students have never attended a play or performance, so this program is the next best thing!"
Thalia Elementary School, Virginia Beach
“Students learn about plants and animals and the cycles of the seasons. They also learn to work in cooperative groups and make friends. These lessons support those skills."
Birdneck Elementary School, Virginia Beach
“The historic information will benefit our students. Learning about important people who represent part of our student population will give them a sense of pride and determination. Some of the important people discussed are part of the social studies curriculum.”
Lynnhaven Elementary, Virginia Beach
“We would love for our kindergarten students to experience a program that ties into our learning curriculum for Earth Day.”
Three Oaks Elementary, Virginia Beach
We would like to extend a special thanks to this year’s partners.
Innovation is born of necessity. When pandemic restrictions made gathering at the Sandler Center a risk, SCF developed new ways to accomplish our mission, including the development of our Virtual Academy for students.
Alleviating health, transportation and staffing concerns, our Virtual Academy takes the action directly to children in their schools, either in live performances or online.
Since 2021, the Sandler Center Foundation has reached more than 55,000 students and teachers.
Because academic test scores plummeted after the pandemic, your support for this critical programming is more important than ever. Can we count on you to give today to support the development of children’s hearts and minds in this post-pandemic world?
