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TRW and Wolf Trap Institute Set the Stage for Innovative Learning

29 September 1998

TRW and Wolf Trap Institute Set the Stage for Innovative Learning at San Bernardino Preschools


    SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.--Sept. 28, 1998--The classrooms at three San Bernardino preschools today become the stage where performing arts and early childhood education meet. Funding from TRW is enabling approximately 60 children to spend the next five days learning that education can be fun through the stART smART program of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts.
    Each day this week, Wolf Trap Artist Gary Lapow, a professional singer and songwriter, will lead children, ages 3 to 5 years, at Cornerstone Christian Preschool, Smart Start Child Development Center, and Teddy Bear Tymes Child Care Center in a 45-minute session of song, dance, and story telling. To prepare children to enter primary school ready to learn, stART smART uses the performing arts to teach language, numbers, colors, and motor skills while fostering social and emotional growth. The program also trains teachers to integrate the arts into their curriculum and parents to conduct performing arts lessons at home.
    Lapow has recorded four albums for adults and seven albums for children, two of which were selected as Parent's Choice Honor Recordings. Lapow's "Kaleidoscope" concert has been featured on the Disney Channel since 1988. His work with children has been recognized with several awards by the American Society of Composers and Publishers.
    "Thousands of children nationwide have already benefited from this program, and teachers have noticed a marked increase in classroom participation and understanding," said Miriam Flaherty, director of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts. "Through active participation in arts-based curriculum activities, the children are experiencing the joy of learning while improving their confidence and problem-solving skills."
    Under a $250,000 grant for 1998, TRW is sponsoring the stART smART program in more than 30 U.S. and foreign communities where it has operations. Since 1995, TRW has provided nearly $1 million in funding for the program - more than any other contributor.
    "By sponsoring this program in San Bernardino, TRW is pleased to be able to help foster an interest in learning that will have a lasting impact on our community's youngest students," said Dr. Joseph Mason, vice president and general manager, TRW Strategic Systems, San Bernardino.
    Founded in 1981, the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts is a program of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts of Vienna, Va. Wolf Trap is an internationally renowned cultural organization based at Wolf Trap Farm Park, the United States' first and only national park for the performing arts.
    TRW Inc. provides advanced technology products and services for the automotive, space and defense, and information technology markets worldwide. The company's sales in 1997 were approximately $12 billion (including the BDM acquisition). The company's news releases are available through TRW's corporate web site (http://www.trw.com/).