From the desk of the Executive Director, Robert Warren
As the saying goes, a lot can
happen in one year, and such a saying serves as an understatement when Hartford
Performs looked back at our 2013-2014 year. While enjoying our new home in the City
Arts on Pearl building in downtown Hartford, Hartford Performs served over
12,000 students through our Arts Integration programs. We received new funding,
were selected to participate in the Partners in Education program of The John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and started a high school arts workgroup.
Program Performance
Hartford Performs’ crew of more
than 100 Arts providers were able to integrate the arts into 26 schools this
year. Not only are kids taking to these
arts infused academic programs and performances with increased interest and
excitement, but their teachers are also enthusiastic about the programs and are
seeing improvement in their students’ test scores. Hartford Performs is
recognized as an influential and inspirational program for Hartford Public
School students.
Hartford Performs’ impact on HPS
students was a key component of our presentation to the Hartford Board of
Education in December which resulted in a unanimous vote to renew our contract
with the district for another three years. Additionally, Hartford Performs
received 501(c)3 status from the IRS officially recognizing us as a tax exempt,
nonprofit organization.
The Kennedy Center’s Partners in
Education program will allow us to strengthen our Professional Development for
teachers and arts providers. This year we will bring Kennedy Center teaching
artists to Hartford to provide deepened arts integration workshops for teachers
in our participating schools. While here,
they will also work with some of our own arts providers to help them create
deepened arts integration workshops of their own which will be available to
Hartford Performs schools and other districts in future years.
As we continue to grow, we
acknowledge that grades PK-8 are not the only grades that can benefit from our
programs. Therefore we started a high school arts workgroup to see what arts
integration can look like at the high school level.
Thanking our New Funders
- BeFoundation
- Knox Foundation
- The Fund for Greater Hartford
- The Ritter Family Fund
The BeFoundation is invested in the
educational outcomes of disadvantaged students and their grant is allowing us
to develop a brand new database for our arts programs in partnership with the
Connecticut Center of Advanced Technology (CCAT). The Knox Foundation helps nonprofits that are
working to address Hartford’s most pressing needs in the community and their
funds will supplement the training required for the new system. The Fund for
Greater Hartford aligns with two of our values of arts and education and is
providing much needed operational support.
The Ritter Family Fund supported a teaching artist pilot program at Noah
Webster School. We were thoroughly pleased to receive this new local support
from these generous, community-minded organizations.
We truly appreciate when funders
see the effect we are having and want to help our efforts. None of what we do
would be possible without the ongoing support we receive from Hartford Public
Schools, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the Prudential Foundation and
Travelers. Our efforts to improve the education of students could not be made possible
without you.
To Another Great Year
This year there was a lot to be
thankful for and we are happy to see the positive results. Next year we look
forward to another strong year with continued growth by adding two more
schools, enhancing professional development with the Kennedy Center’s program model,
and beginning to pilot programs at the high school level. If you enjoyed
reading our year in review, please share it on Facebook or Twitter! Don’t
forget to like Hartford Performs on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/HartfordPerforms?ref_type=bookmark.
