In September 2001, after two decades of teaching and integrating Process Drama into early childhood curricula, Victoria Brown founded Lucy School to showcase the benefits of this methodology. Victoria’s experiences, combined with her colleagues’ work in dance and music, revealed the arts’ profound impact on childhood development. Teachers, inspired by these benefits, adopted these practices, engaging their students in meaningful ways.

Determined to contribute to the arts integration movement and to demonstrate the impact of daily arts integration, Victoria opened Lucy School on a 17-acre farm in Middletown, MD. Starting with fifteen three- and four-year-olds, the school served as a demonstration program and training center for teachers and caregivers.

Lucy School quickly became a place of joyful, curious learners, skilled problem-solvers, and empathetic individuals. Academically, students excelled, often performing one to four grade levels above in reading and math. In the 2022-2023 school year, Victoria Brown and Chris Zachariadis donated the school to a nonprofit that continues to operate it, demonstrating best practices in arts-infused education.

Now, Lucy School serves more than 160 students from preschool through 8th grade.