Risa Beth Cohen, M.S.Ed. is an educator, singer/songwriter, speaker, and storyteller. She works with people of all ages and abilities, leading music circles and storytelling workshops. As the Founder and Creative Director of Sing into Reading, Risa is passionate about teaching literacy through music and movement. Risa holds a B.F.A. in acting from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education from Bank Street College. In 2016, she was the Featured Teller at “Tellebration” in Toledo, Ohio. She is able to craft music and movement classes to align with any topic, ensuring that they are developmentally appropriate and fun. After a music circle, Risa emails relevant resources and songbooks to participants. The text in songbooks is color-coded with red consonants and blue vowels to help teach letter differentiation.

Thanks to TeachArtsOhio grants from the Ohio Arts Council, Risa has fulfilled 100-day residencies at West Side Montessori’s Toledo campus, teaching the Little House students (aged 13 months – 3 years) and the Children’s House students (aged 3-6 years old). Another TeachArtsOhio grant from the Ohio Arts Council funded a 32-day residency at Northpoint Educational Service Center in Graytown where she worked with K-12 grade students with emotional disturbances. “Oh Friends We Love You,” her debut album, partially funded by an Artist Opportunities grant from the Ohio Arts Council, was released on June 12, 2024. (Click here to see her sing a song from the album on WTVG.)

In addition to teaching children, Risa is a sought-after speaker at edu-events of all sorts. Risa is an approved Core Knowledge & Competencies (CKC) Instructor, and Sing into Reading is an approved training organization recognized by the Ohio Professional Registry of the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association (OCCRRA). She frequently presents and performs for children, educators, and families at schools, libraries, and museums. Risa has presented nationwide, and internationally in many countries, including Egypt, Australia, England, and South Korea. Risa and her program, Sing into Reading, have been featured on WTOL Channel 11, NBC Channel 24, 13abc, and in the Toledo Blade. You can see televised interviews and find out more on the Sing into Reading website: https://www.singintoreading.com/

Risa has been called a literacy teacher “in disguise.” Her students think they just make music and have fun – and they do!

RECENT PROJECTS: TeachArtsOhio Artist in Residence at Graytown School, North Point Educational Service Center (Graytown), Grades K – 12, 32-day residency in Music: K-12 ED students of Graytown studied an arts-integrated curriculum of music and literacy. Empowered at the end of the residency, they shared songs and games for invited family members and the school community at a “Music Share Day.”

TeachArtsOhio “Music/ Literacy” residency at West Side Montessori Toledo Campus (Toledo), 13 months – 6 years-old, 100-day annual residency teaching music and literacy. 180 students studied an arts-integrated curriculum of music, movement, and literacy. Students sang with families at the Thanks and Giving Celebration benefitting Toledo Helps Ukraine and with senior residents of Oakleaf Village on MLK Day. At the end of the year, kindergarten students performed “Spring Sing.”

“Oh Friends We Love You,” a children’s album available on Bandcamp, released June 12, 2024. Thanks to an Artists Opportunities grant from the Ohio Arts Council, Risa professionally recorded and released her debut album.

Availability

Upon Request

Risa in-residence (photos courtesy of West Side Montessori, Toledo)