Ford Foundation Issues $300,000 Grant to Young Audiences
Grant Will Expand ArtsPartners Program to Engage Parents in the Learning Process
DALLAS, Sept. 30 -- Young Audiences of North Texas has received a $300,000 grant from the Ford Foundation for the Parent Initiative, a five-year project to create greater parental involvement in the learning process through ArtsPartners. Representatives from Young Audiences of North Texas, The Ford Foundation, DISD School Superintendent Dr. Mike Moses and Dallas City Councilmember Veletta Forsythe Lill will discuss the initiative at an official check presentation ceremony at Casa View Elementary, 2100 N. Farola Drive on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 at 9:30 a.m.
"Our schools belong to the public and are dependent upon the involvement and support of their communities," said Dr. Mike Moses, school superintendent, Dallas Independent School District. "This is a program that could become a model for parental involvement in other major metropolitan cities."
The ArtsPartners' Parent Initiative will educate and train parents on the importance of arts-in-education and encourage them to create a learning environment beyond the classroom walls. The Ford Foundation grant will sustain the research and development of the project through June 30, 2005. The official announcement will include a demonstration of a Dallas ArtsPartners program featuring third-grade students participating in an interactive dance workshop designed to develop descriptive vocabulary.
"The Ford Foundation believes that Dallas ArtsPartners is on the cutting edge of redefining what a high quality education is for all Dallas students," said Cyrus Driver, deputy officer, Ford Foundation. "By building public understanding through a grass-roots initiative, parents and other concerned citizens will learn to advocate the quality education of their children and future generations."
The Ford Foundation recently launched the grant making initiative "Integrating the Arts and Education Reform," which seeks to integrate arts content and instructional practices across the curriculum in school districts. The grant to ArtsPartners is one of the first grants under this initiative.
"Involved parents are knowledgeable and concerned parents who can make a difference," said Giselle Antoni, executive director, Young Audiences of North Texas. "Young Audiences of North Texas is honored that the Ford Foundation will help us lead what could be a profound change in the way schools engage parents."
"We are thrilled with The Ford Foundation's generosity and their endorsement of the vision of the Dallas ArtsPartners 'team,'" said Veletta Forsythe Lill, chairwoman of the Dallas City Council's Arts, Education and Libraries Committee. "This grant will allow ArtsPartners to reach deeper into the community, engaging multiple generations in quality arts-in-education programming."
FACT SHEET: Ford Foundation Issues $300,000 Grant to Young Audiences
What: $300,000 Check Presentation from Ford Foundation to
Young Audiences of North Texas
When: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003
9:30 a.m. Central Time
Where: Casa View Elementary School
2100 N. Farola Drive
Who will Attend: Young Audiences of North Texas
Cyrus Driver, Ford Foundation
Dr. Mike Moses, DISD School Superintendent
Veletta Forsythe Lill, Dallas City Councilmember
Background: About Young Audiences of North Texas
Young Audiences of North Texas, a regional center for
the national Young Audiences program, is one of the
largest providers of arts-in-education programs in the
nation and is committed to making the arts a vital part
of every child's educational experience. The
organization brings the area's finest performing and
visual artists into schools, libraries, museums,
juvenile facilities, and community centers throughout
North Texas. Young Audiences' uniquely designed
programs support Texas Education Association TEKS
Standards, integrating performing and visual arts with
mandated essential elements, a statistically proven
method for increased learning. Last year alone, Young
Audiences programs and services reached over
417,000 students, teachers and families through a wide
variety of performances, workshops, residencies,
special events and community outreach projects. Young
Audiences is located at 2501 Oak Lawn Ave., Suite
550-LB 42, Dallas, TX 75219, 214-520-0023,
www.yanorthtexas.org .
About Dallas ArtsPartners
Launched in 1998, Dallas ArtsPartners is a city-wide
partnership with the Dallas Independent School
District, the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs
and 65 arts and cultural agencies. Young Audiences of
North Texas serves as the managing partner of the
program, which impacts student learning and achievement
and provides access to the city's arts and cultural
programming -- something that was previously non-
existent in 75 percent of DISD schools. ArtsPartners
has proven to have a powerful effect in the classroom
regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic conditions or
geographic boundaries -- teaching students about math
and science; improving reading, writing and test
scores; developing understanding, problem-solving, and
critical thinking; building memory and even teaching
life skills. ArtsPartners also provides 2,000 hours of
professional development to 4,500 teachers, distributes
funds for programming, and manages all aspects of
program and delivery. Visit www.dallasartspartners.org
or call Young Audiences at 214-520-0023.
About the Ford Foundation
Founded in 1936, the Ford Foundation operated as a
local philanthropy in the state of Michigan until 1950,
when it expanded to become a national and international
foundation. Since its inception it has been an
independent, nonprofit, non-governmental organization.
It has provided more than $12 billion for grants,
projects and loans. These funds derive from an
investment portfolio that began with gifts and bequests
of Ford Motor Company stock by Henry and Edsel Ford.
The foundation no longer owns Ford Motor Company stock,
and its diversified portfolio is managed to provide a
perpetual source of support for the foundation's
programs and operations. The Ford Foundation has 13
offices in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Russia,
enabling staff to address global problems by supporting
those living and working closest to them. Their
headquarters is located at 320 E. 43rd St., New York,
NY 10017, 212-573-5000, www.fordfound.org .