Art Project Grant
ACHF Arts Education
Our teachers will implement the use of rubrics to see if the child has learned the technique being offered. The teacher provides the mechanical technique and fosters an environment where the child's individual spirit is free to express and develop itself. Setting up a rubric will help see visible signs of attempting each step. At the end of the program in May, we will ask the parents to evaluate if they believe their students' test scores in school have been elevated and if they believe the art classes helped improve their overall test scores in all subjects.The artistic goal of the project is to introduce participants to new art forms and increase their level of proficiency in the subject. Participants should enjoy the arts experience and leave the class feeling that they have a greater understanding of the art discipline. To evaluate success in meeting this goal, Hutchinson Center for the Arts will ask students to fill out exit surveys at the end of each class to gauge effectiveness of the class, determine future needs for arts education, and provide direction for future programs.
The Hutchinson Center for the Arts had just moved into its larger facility in the fall of 2012, with a new Executive Director. This was the first educational program for her, and for our new space. We learned so many things about how to run a weekly program like this. Administration and communication challenges with these young teenagers was overcome by using more Facebook messaging and text messaging. Our instructors found new tricks for how to hold the attention of our students in our large open-floor space. We had to position walls to make sure that they would not be distracted when someone would come into the gallery space or if the phone would ring. We learned that soothing music while the students worked on a project would help drowned out some of the background distractions. Outside of admin logistics we found that these young people would attend other programs at The Center, greatly increasing the impact on our organization. Our monthly Open Mic Night has grown in middle school age attendees, and we credit that to these after school art lessons. We know that the impact of having weekly young people creating and learning different art forms allowed for other visitors and participants of The Center to see the potential of our young organization. Each time someone would comment on a piece that might be out drying, they were constantly astounded that we had such a program happening...we know that we are making a difference, and growing our arts community. As we previously stated, we know that the impact of having weekly young people creating and learning different art forms allowed for other visitors and participants of The Center to see the potential of our young organization. Each time someone would walk past The Center and would see the young people in class, they would ask about other opportunities that we have available. This word or mouth marketing was and is huge for us. We know that The Center can fill a hole that exists in arts opportunities for our young people. This after school program helped to show that we are making a difference, and growing our arts community.
Other, local or private