Warren first Ohio district to get Kennedy Center program

WARREN

Colorful pictures line the hallways of Willard pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

The vibrant pictures reminded guests at the school Friday why they were there: to celebrate art education and the Warren school district as the first school system in Ohio to be selected for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts program.

“I think it’s going to be transformational,” said Becky Keck, executive director of Students Motivated by the Arts – SMARTS – and lead liaison for Any Given Child-Warren. “I think in the very long term we can duplicate this in other communities.”

Any Given Child is geared toward students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It uses arts programs in school districts and area arts organizations to integrate arts into the curriculum.

Keck learned about the program from Anita Lin after Lin was appointed by the White House to serve as a member of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ advisory committee.

Lin, who served as an artistic director at the Ballet Western Reserve, then its executive director, and the director emeritus, wanted to give back to the community that supported her appointment to the committee, so she called Keck two years ago to tell her about the Any Given Child program.