Narrative
Olubayo Jackson, a native New Yorker, an educator, dancer, and filmmaker. She holds a Bachelors degree in International Education with a concentration in African Politics and a Master degree in Curriculum in Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition, she was awarded the Ennis Cosby Scholar certificate in Teaching Literacy to Struggling Readers. Olubayo has also mentored teachers at Peki College of Education in Ghana as well literacy teachers at Fordham University. She has studied African and Caribbean dance for over 20 years and currently teaches Multi-Cultural Dance Education to Kindergarten through Fifth-grade students at P.S. 87 located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Currently, Olubayo is researching African Cultural retentions in the Caribbean, Latin and American dance, which began as a sabbatical to develop a curriculum and study the effects of Multi-cultural dance education on student’s empathy, compassion, and interest in other cultures. She has since created a curriculum that merges the theme of Social Studies, Dance, and Cultural Anthropology to trace the impact of African Dance on the countries where African people were brought to during the Triangular Slave Trade.
While doing sabbatical research for the New York City Department of Education (DOE) she traveled through West Africa, Central America, the Caribbean and the Southern United States. This resulted in a number of short films that she is currently turning into full-length documentaries.
Upon returning back to P.S. 87 Olubayo taught parent and student workshops, forged partnerships with community organizations, and organized student performances and community dance workshops at P.S. 87 Spring Fair and the Superintendent’s Multi-Cultural Arts Fair.
Olubayo is interested in sharing her work through speaking engagements, film, dance, teaching classes, and advising students. She is open to building a partnership with schools to strengthen or create a summer abroad program with African Universities.