A summer morning where 200 kids take the stage, the lobby is filled with student-made art, and the price of admission is literally “a smile” sounds almost made up, but it’s real at Olean City School District’s STAR Program. We’re joined by Steve Ahl, Olean High alum, district French teacher, and executive director of the Olean Theater Workshop, to break down how this free summer program becomes a month-long engine for learning, confidence, and community pride.

We talk about Seussical Jr, the junior musical that blends multiple Dr Seuss stories into one show, and how students from pre-K through seventh grade pull it off in just 19 rehearsals, even when many start with zero stage experience. Steve shares the “roots and wings” philosophy: the early weeks build skills and courage, and the final weeks let kids soar with real ownership. Along the way, we dig into why theater education is bigger than singing and dancing, and how it helps kids speak up, take risks, and feel like they belong.

The STAR Program also shines because the academics are real. Teachers build curriculum around the musical instead of using a boxed program, turning Seuss themes into reading, writing, math manipulatives, hands-on science, and even big questions about the solar system. We also preview the 250-book reading challenge, the student displays you’ll see in the lobby, and a pre-show that might be the cutest thing on a school stage: the youngest students playing small violins.

If you care about summer learning, arts integration, and what a strong school-community partnership looks like, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves local schools and the arts, and leave a review with the moment that made you smile most.