The Hope Project

The Hope Project, our mindful arts healing and education program, serves over 900 children (98% economically disadvantaged) and adults in their schools and facilities through classes in music (drumming, eurhythmics, guitar, keyboard, vocal), theater/spoken word, dance (creative movement, modern, ballet, ethnic), photography, digital arts, fashion design/sewing, and creative emotional intelligence.

Jane Weiner, Hope Stone’s Founder and President, began The Hope Project with 40 children. It had been her dream to bring passionate working artists into the classroom as she herself combines a professional dance career with a degree in deaf/elementary education. Through her commitment to the organization’s vision of “Art for All,” the program has solidified its place as a significant arts education program in Houston that reaches beyond the traditional school-age population to also serve homeless youth, the elderly, and adults with intellectual disabilities.

2024-2025 Community Partners

Early Learning (18 mos–6 yrs)

Small Steps Nurturing Center provides early childhood education to economically at-risk children living in the inner-city of Houston, specifically at two schools in the Fifth Ward and Gulfton communities. In our eleventh year of partnership with Small Steps, we share the belief that all students are deserving of art, regardless of their socioeconomic status. We serve all students ages 2-6 with creative movement classes.

Elementary (pre-K–5th grades)

Clemente Martinez Elementary School (Houston ISD) is a six-year community partner and serves a predominately Hispanic and African American student body, with 100% from economically disadvantaged homes. All students receive a weekly arts class in music, dance, theater, spoken word, or digital arts. And all students receive our creative emotional intelligence curriculum, where our teaching artists help students learn self-regulation, impulse control, and problem solving.

Looscan Elementary School (Houston ISD) is a first-year community partner and serves a predominately Hispanic student body, with 96% from economically disadvantaged homes. Each week, Pre-K and Kindergarten students receive creative movement classes.

Middle SchooL (6th–8th Grades)

Marshall Middle School (Houston ISD), is in the feeder pattern for Clemente Martinez and Looscan Elementary students. Serving a predominately Hispanic and African American student body with 96% from economically disadvantaged homes, we provide their students ballet, Indian dance, digital design, and sewing/fashion design classes. All 6th & 7th grade students receive our creative emotional intelligence classes.

ADULT ARTS CLASSES

With our vision of “Art for All,” we serve two elderly community partners, and often make them multi-generational, inviting our youth community partners to collaborate:

Brookdale Senior Living Solutions senior citizen residents participate in a weekly drumming class.

Village of River Oaks senior citizen memory care residents participate in a monthly music class where they create improvisational music and sing songs from their past.

Service Learning Schools

Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts junior and senior dance students visit Clemente Martinez Elementary to participate in a 10-week workshop with the 5th grade modern dance class. The elementary and high school students will perform together at the 2025 HSPVA Dance Spring Concert.

College Collaborators

University of Houston Dance Department provides an intern each semester to work directly with Hope Stone’s administration and teaching artist staff. 

Texas A&M University Dance Department Teaching Education students are involved in Hope Stone residencies where they learn through site visit and master class observation the tools they need to become effective teaching artists.