Concord International Elementary: Poetry and Song 2026
In the 2025-2026 school year, 2nd graders at Concord International Elementary School worked with Jack Straw writer and teaching artist Vicky Edmonds to write original poems about their feelings, emotions, and what they’re like deep inside. Jack Straw musician Abel Rocha wrote songs inspired by the students’ poems, and joined the students in class along with engineers Daniel Guenther and Ayesha Ubayatilaka to teach them the songs and record them singing together.
Listen: 2nd Grade Songs
Photo Gallery: 2nd Grade Poetry and Song
Concord Poetry and Song 2026 was produced by Concord International Elementary School students and Jack Straw Cultural Center with the generous support of the Washington State Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtsFund, and individual donors.
The Jack Straw team included lead writer Vicky Edmonds, musician Abel Rocha, engineers Daniel Guenther and Ayesha Ubayatilaka, designer Levi Fuller, photographer Sherwin Eng, and Executive Director Joan Rabinowitz. Special thanks to the second graders of Concord International Elementary, Principal Surojit Pierce, and Concord staff. We especially want to thank teachers Rebecca Adams and Cristina Vargas, who helped make this project possible.
Artists
Vicky Edmonds
Jack Straw teaching artist Vicky Edmonds is a poet and a teacher who uses the written and spoken word to bring the deepest and most authentic parts of ourselves to…
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Abel Rocha
Abel Rocha is a Mexico City-born folklorist, singer and multi-instrumentalist who performs music of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Argentina. He is a foundational member of groups including…
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