Jennifer Wheat hopes Pike Township students and residents learn that literacy is more than reading and writing.

The Pike Township Schools literacy specialist wants people to see that singing, dancing, sketches, painting and games are part of a literary experience, too.

“You have the ability to make and express meaning in any field,” Wheat said. “That should be at the heart of any mission for the school district.”

With that goal, Wheat and Performing Arts Center technical director Jared Duymovic designed the Literacy Fair Series, which kicks off today with an evening of storytelling at the arts center.

“The school system is more than administration, teachers and students,” Duymovic said. “It also encompasses buildings, sports, gymnasiums and community events. The Pike Performing Arts Center, which is a part of the district, is an opportunity for community members to see what’s going on in the schools.”

The district is focusing on literacy this school year, and the series fits in with that programming, Wheat said.

Tonight, six storytellers from Young Audiences of Indiana will entertain at the free event called A Community of Stories. They also will visit children in school classrooms during the day.

“We’re linking education and the arts series,” Duymovic said. “The literacy thrust was already chosen. I was looking for programming for the educational series.”

The series continues with literacy night Friday at Pike High School. The open house setting will include puppet shows, singing, poetry, an Internet cafe, karaoke, dance, finger painting and games such as a huge crossword puzzle.

“I think a lot of times when people think of literacy, they think of reading and writing,” Wheat said.

The event also will help bring the community into the high school and the adjacent Pike Performing Arts Center, Duymovic said.

“It’s a chance for people to see each other and interact young and old alike,” Duymovic said.

The literacy series will continue in January and April.

Duymovic said he hopes the series continues after this school year, but it won’t necessarily have a literacy focus because he wants it to tie into the curriculum.

Kathy Sharpe, Pike director of programs and development and vice chairman of Young Audiences of Indiana, helped make the connection with the school district’s program and Young Audiences.

The group of teaching artists visits area schools to teach children about arts, but the programs also fit into school curricula.

“This is a terrific opportunity to bring arts and education into our schools,” Sharpe said. “We’ve added larger performances as part of this. We’re putting things in the arts center that one school couldn’t offer on (its) own.”