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Warren school district first in Ohio chosen for Kennedy Center program
By Denise Dick
WARREN
Warren is the first Ohio school district selected for a Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts program.
Warren schools Superintendent Steve Chiaro said he was approached about Any Given Child, the Kennedy Center program, by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and Anita Lin, former executive director of Ballet Western Reserve who is a member of the center’s advisory board, and Becky Keck, executive director of Students Motivated by the Arts.
“We thought it would be a really great opportunity to provide access and equity for our kids in the arts,” he said.
The program will combine the resources of the center, the school system and the community to develop an arts education plan for kindergarten through eighth-graders that is specific to the city.
“We look forward to seeing the students of Warren be inspired and excited by increased arts learning experiences,” Mario Rossero, Kennedy Center vice president of education, said in a news release.
While many schools have slashed arts programs in these days of standardized tests and shrinking budgets, Chiaro said Warren has worked to keep its arts offerings strong.
Chiaro said that’s because he and other district officials understand the importance of arts programming for children.
“Our kids from an urban environment need many outlets from which to be well-rounded individuals,” he said. “A student who struggles with reading but is successful in art, or they struggle in math but they might be a phenomenal musician – it helps develop a balanced child.”
The program also offers professional development for educators.
SMARTS is the local coordinator for the Kennedy Center program.
“It’s about access and equity,” Keck said. “That’s what SMARTS is about. The opportunity to work with the Kennedy Center and to be the first community in the state of Ohio is really an incredible honor for the school district.”
She emphasized the significance of Warren schools’ selection.
“This is big,” Keck said. “This is transformative for a community.”
Although SMARTS is Youngstown-based, she said Warren is one of its biggest participants.
She referred to outcomes cited by schools where the program was in place. Those include increased student access, a foundation of data, a shared community vision, improved ability to leverage support and increased capacity.
Any Given Child is implemented in phases. While the Kennedy Center covers the bulk of the costs, it does require $25,000 from the selected sites over the course of four years.
Chiaro said a group of community, arts and business people has been established, and those individuals have committed to soliciting donations and support for the program.
The first phase involves a comprehensive audit by the community of arts education and a needs assessment facilitated by center staff and consultants along with data collection. That will determine where the community’s arts education gaps are.
That information is used to develop a plan. During the second phase, the community group makes recommendations to the schools and local arts groups on the best ways to implement the plan.
“The goal of this second phase is to provide a tapestry of arts education, strategically weaving together existing arts resources within the schools with those available from community providers and the Kennedy Center in order to reach every child,” the center’s news release said.