EdVestors, an urban education initiative focused on accelerating school improvement, recently announced the 2016 BPS Arts Expansion Fund Grants, a commitment of $680,000 in grants to schools working with nonprofits and/or teaching artists to expand, sustain or deepen access to arts education for BPS students.
The grants have been awarded to 65 elementary, middle and high schools and 34 arts partners to continue to expand arts learning opportunities in schools, and to nonprofit arts organizations to provide professional development for BPS arts teachers.
South End and Back Bay Schools that have received funding include:
? McKinley South End Academy, South End
? Blackstone Elementary School, South End
? Snowden International School, Back Bay
The BPS Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors facilitates partnerships between individual Boston public schools and local artists and arts organizations to develop arts programming in schools. The Fund is part of the broader BPS Arts Expansion initiative, a citywide effort to increase access to high-quality arts opportunities for BPS students. Schools partner with local artists and arts organizations to provide theater, visual arts, dance, choral and instrumental instruction, media arts and more to students.
"We are proud to support schools across the city as they work to improve access to quality arts education for their students," said Laura Perille, President and CEO of EdVestors. "As we've known for many years, these programs offer invaluable opportunities for students to learn, engage and thrive in their schools.
Since 2009, the BPS Arts Expansion initiative has focused on increasing equitable access, to quality arts instruction. Today 17,000 more students have arts education opportunities during the school day as compared with the start of the initiative. Over $12M in philanthropy to date has leveraged significant increases in public funding via the Boston Public Schools budget. Lead funders of the BPS Arts Expansion Fund include the Barr Foundation, The Boston Foundation, The Klarman Family Foundation, and the Linde Family Foundation. For a complete look at the success of BPS Arts Expansion visit EdVestors' website at http://www.edvestors.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/BPS-Arts-Expansion-Case-Study.pdf.
The grants announcement comes in tandem with the City of Boston's release of its cultural plan, Boston Creates, a ten-year cultural plan for the City of Boston that will align public and private resources to strengthen cultural vitality over the long term and weave arts and culture into the fabric of everyday life.
"BPS Arts Expansion has increased Boston's youth access to quality arts learning exponentially since 2009," said Julie Burros, ?Chief of Arts and Culture at City of Boston. "These grants have leveraged an impressive increase in public funding via the Boston Public Schools. This initiative is a model of effective partnerships that move the needle. Under the Boston Creates cultural plan we intend to build on this wonderful work and support even more access to the arts for the city's young people."