The School Board of Broward County, Florida
Meeting: Regular School Board Meeting :  F. Curriculum and Instruction Student Support  
F-9. Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS)
June 19, 2007
Status: 
 
 

Quick Summary / Abstract
Approve the 2007-08 SEAS program at schools and at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

On March 6, 1990, the School Board initiated a program designed to support and fund enrichment activities for the students of The School Board of Broward County, Florida (SBBC).  The Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) provides students the opportunity to participate in artistic and cultural activities, which supplement the core curriculum.  Approximately 251 total shows at schools and at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts will be performed serving 116,562 students during the 2007-08 school year.

Broward County was selected as a National Magna Awards 2001 winner for the SEAS Program.  Presented by the American School Board Journal, the Magna Awards recognize local school boards that are placing student achievement and community engagement at the center of their work.  This is the second national award presented to SBBC on behalf of the SEAS program.  The School Board was the recipient of the Ninth Annual Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network and National School Board Association Award.

Broward County’s program was also awarded the “Arts Collaboration Award” at the 11th Annual Encore Awards.  This award recognizes outstanding innovation and collaboration efforts that benefit the community through strategic partnerships with art and culture.

The School Board allocated $2,029,291 to serve as the Student Enrichment Trust Fund principal.  The annual accrual of interest assists in funding cultural enrichment activities.  Based on interest earning projections and departmental budget funds, approximately $150,849 is estimated to fund enrichment projects for the 2007-2008 school year.  This funding will provide enrichment activities to over 116,562 students attending over 251 performances at the Broward Center and in-school residences.  Exhibit 1 contains the following information:  Companies recommended for funding, project title, project type, grade level targeted, a summary of the project, number of shows, location, estimated attendance of students to benefit and artistic costs.

SEAS is the cornerstone program for the School Board’s partnership with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA).  The BCPA received a $7.5 million PECO grant initiated by the School Board to fund the construction of The Broward Center for the Performing Arts complex.  Through an inter-local agreement, the School Board has a forty-year, rent-free lease of the 550-seat Amaturo Theater.  Under the inter-local agreement, the School Board has exclusive use of the theater during school year daytime hours.  In addition, the school system’s partnership with BCPA allows usage of the world-class 2,500 seat Au-Rene Theater and 1,040 seat Parker Playhouse.  All students attend the performances free of charge, ensuring that the arts are accessible to all regardless of economic standing.  

SEAS programming for this school year is targeted to support the following school system major system goals:  “All students will achieve at their highest potential” and “All operations of the school system will demonstrate best practices while supporting student achievement.”  This year’s season of productions are targeted to emphasize and support reading and diversity.  The following are a few of the shows designed to promote reading and diversity through the arts:

TRES VIDAS (Three Lives) – The Core Ensemble, September 17-21, 2007, School Based
A 50-minute program hosted by the Core Ensemble (cello, piano and percussion), with vignettes from the lives of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peasant and activist Rufina Amaya, and Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni.  Includes Latin American popular music and folk songs, and tangos from Argentina.  The program draws on both Hispanic Heritage and Women’s History.  A question and answer period with actre ss Georgina Corbo and the Ensemble concludes the program.

SESAME STREET LIVE – VEE Corporation, September 28, 2007, Au-Rene Theater
Mark your calendar for this once-in-a lifetime event – monsters becoming musicians!  The Count, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie and all their friends are taking to the stage to share the magical world of music with your children.  When Jenny, the new Sesame Street music teacher, moves to town, her instruments get lost.  Jenny’s new friends quickly come to her rescue and they all discover “instruments” that they never knew existed…rubber duckies, trashcan lids and even their own laps!  The characters teach children, and themselves that everyone has the ability to make beautiful music, whether they realize it or not.  Don’t miss this opportunity to count along with The Count, visit Elmo’s World and do the Crumb-A-Rumba with Rosita and Cookie Monster.

ANNE FRANK – Ballet Florida, December 4, 2007, Amaturo Theater
Maruicio Wainrot’s Anne Frank is one of the most profound and powerful works in Ballet Florida’s repertoire.  This compelling story, as told through dance, is consistent with and will compliment the Holocaust curriculum taught in Broward County Public Schools.  It is a poignant ballet developed by Ballet Florida to teach Holocaust history in a creative, nonviolent way.

THE NUTCRACKER – Miami City Ballet, December 21, 2007, Au-Rene Theater
Enjoying a performance of The Nutcracker has been a holiday tradition for over 100 years.  This is a lavish spectacle of spectacular dancing, beautiful sets, magical special effects, colorful costumes and glorious music.  The famous ballet, based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s fairy tale is about a young girl named Marie who receives a nutcracker doll from her mysterious godfather at a Christmas family gathering.  After an exciting evening of gift giving and dancing, Marie falls asleep on the couch and dreams of a magical winter wonderland.  The ballet moves the audience through each exciting dream sequence including the Land of the Sweets where she encounters the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Title I Reading Residencies – Charlotte’s Web and Stone Soup

Reading is the fundamental building block to all learning.  Without the ability to read, successful academic achievement is not possible.  Research shows a strong link between reading comprehension skills and the dramatic enactment of stories.  Additional research confirms that learning in the arts is especially beneficial for young children, students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, for those needing remedial instruction and for those developing proficiency in English.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts recognizes that the performing arts must be linked to the School Board of Broward County, Florida’s mission to “meet the educational needs of students.  Through the nationally recognized Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) program, we support and compliment the Broward County School Board’s goal that all student will achieve at their highest potential.”

This past school year, the Broward Center and the School Board partnered to continue a program designed to excite, encourage and foster a learning environment through reading.  The Reading Residency program provides all second and fourth grade students at Title One elementary schools a unique and innovative reading program, using the performing arts as a learning tool for teaching FCAT reading strategies.  After reviewing FCAT Reading Scores, it was determined by the Core Curriculum Department that the weakest areas in reading fell into the categories of:

- Plot Development
- Story Sequencing
- Inference

Therefore, it was decided that these particular areas would be the focus of the Reading Residencies.

Broward County Public Schools reading curriculum specialists selected two books from the Basal Reading Curriculum for grades two and four, Stone Soup by M arsha Brown and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.  The Broward Center selected two professional theater companies to perform each story on stage at the Amaturo Theater.  All second and fourth grade Title One students, approximately 19,000, will attend the performances.

The total financial impact of this item is $150,849.  The source of funds is the Student Enrichment Trust Fund and Department of Athletics and Student Activities budget.  There is no additional financial impact to the district.


Requested Action
Approve the 2007-08 SEAS program at schools and at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.


Summary
On March 6, 1990, the School Board initiated a program designed to support and fund enrichment activities for the students of The School Board of Broward County, Florida (SBBC).  The Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) provides students the opportunity to participate in artistic and cultural activities, which supplement the core curriculum.  Approximately 251 total shows at schools and at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts will be performed serving 116,562 students during the 2007-08 school year.

Broward County was selected as a National Magna Awards 2001 winner for the SEAS Program.  Presented by the American School Board Journal, the Magna Awards recognize local school boards that are placing student achievement and community engagement at the center of their work.  This is the second national award presented to SBBC on behalf of the SEAS program.  The School Board was the recipient of the Ninth Annual Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network and National School Board Association Award.

Broward County’s program was also awarded the “Arts Collaboration Award” at the 11th Annual Encore Awards.  This award recognizes outstanding innovation and collaboration efforts that benefit the community through strategic partnerships with art and culture.

The School Board allocated $2,029,291 to serve as the Student Enrichment Trust Fund principal.  The annual accrual of interest assists in funding cultural enrichment activities.  Based on interest earning projections and departmental budget funds, approximately $150,849 is estimated to fund enrichment projects for the 2007-2008 school year.  This funding will provide enrichment activities to over 116,562 students attending over 251 performances at the Broward Center and in-school residences.  Exhibit 1 contains the following information:  Companies recommended for funding, project title, project type, grade level targeted, a summary of the project, number of shows, location, estimated attendance of students to benefit and artistic costs.

SEAS is the cornerstone program for the School Board’s partnership with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA).  The BCPA received a $7.5 million PECO grant initiated by the School Board to fund the construction of The Broward Center for the Performing Arts complex.  Through an inter-local agreement, the School Board has a forty-year, rent-free lease of the 550-seat Amaturo Theater.  Under the inter-local agreement, the School Board has exclusive use of the theater during school year daytime hours.  In addition, the school system’s partnership with BCPA allows usage of the world-class 2,500 seat Au-Rene Theater and 1,040 seat Parker Playhouse.  All students attend the performances free of charge, ensuring that the arts are accessible to all regardless of economic standing.  

SEAS programming for this school year is targeted to support the following school system major system goals:  “All students will achieve at their highest potential” and “All operations of the school system will demonstrate best practices while supporting student achievement.”  This year’s season of productions are targeted to emphasize and support reading and diversity.  The following are a few of the shows designed to promote reading and diversity through the arts:

TRES VIDAS (Three Lives) – The Core Ensemble, September 17-21, 2007, School Based
A 50-minute program hosted by the Core Ensemble (cello, piano and percussion), with vignettes from the lives of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peasant and activist Rufina Amaya, and Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni.  Includes Latin American popular music and folk songs, and tangos from Argentina.  The program draws on both Hispanic Heritage and Women’s History.  A question and answer period with actress Georgina Corbo and the Ensemble concludes the program.

SESAME STREET LIVE – VEE Corporat ion, September 28, 2007, Au-Rene Theater
Mark your calendar for this once-in-a lifetime event – monsters becoming musicians!  The Count, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie and all their friends are taking to the stage to share the magical world of music with your children.  When Jenny, the new Sesame Street music teacher, moves to town, her instruments get lost.  Jenny’s new friends quickly come to her rescue and they all discover “instruments” that they never knew existed…rubber duckies, trashcan lids and even their own laps!  The characters teach children, and themselves that everyone has the ability to make beautiful music, whether they realize it or not.  Don’t miss this opportunity to count along with The Count, visit Elmo’s World and do the Crumb-A-Rumba with Rosita and Cookie Monster.

ANNE FRANK – Ballet Florida, December 4, 2007, Amaturo Theater
Maruicio Wainrot’s Anne Frank is one of the most profound and powerful works in Ballet Florida’s repertoire.  This compelling story, as told through dance, is consistent with and will compliment the Holocaust curriculum taught in Broward County Public Schools.  It is a poignant ballet developed by Ballet Florida to teach Holocaust history in a creative, nonviolent way.

THE NUTCRACKER – Miami City Ballet, December 21, 2007, Au-Rene Theater
Enjoying a performance of The Nutcracker has been a holiday tradition for over 100 years.  This is a lavish spectacle of spectacular dancing, beautiful sets, magical special effects, colorful costumes and glorious music.  The famous ballet, based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s fairy tale is about a young girl named Marie who receives a nutcracker doll from her mysterious godfather at a Christmas family gathering.  After an exciting evening of gift giving and dancing, Marie falls asleep on the couch and dreams of a magical winter wonderland.  The ballet moves the audience through each exciting dream sequence including the Land of the Sweets where she encounters the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Title I Reading Residencies – Charlotte’s Web and Stone Soup

Reading is the fundamental building block to all learning.  Without the ability to read, successful academic achievement is not possible.  Research shows a strong link between reading comprehension skills and the dramatic enactment of stories.  Additional research confirms that learning in the arts is especially beneficial for young children, students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, for those needing remedial instruction and for those developing proficiency in English.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts recognizes that the performing arts must be linked to the School Board of Broward County, Florida’s mission to “meet the educational needs of students.  Through the nationally recognized Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) program, we support and compliment the Broward County School Board’s goal that all student will achieve at their highest potential.”

This past school year, the Broward Center and the School Board partnered to continue a program designed to excite, encourage and foster a learning environment through reading.  The Reading Residency program provides all second and fourth grade students at Title One elementary schools a unique and innovative reading program, using the performing arts as a learning tool for teaching FCAT reading strategies.  After reviewing FCAT Reading Scores, it was determined by the Core Curriculum Department that the weakest areas in reading fell into the categories of:

- Plot Development
- Story Sequencing
- Inference

Therefore, it was decided that these particular areas would be the focus of the Reading Residencies.

Broward County Public Schools reading curriculum specialists selected two books from the Basal Reading Curriculum for grades two and four, Stone Soup by Marsha Brown and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.  The Broward Center selected two professional th eater companies to perform each story on stage at the Amaturo Theater.  All second and fourth grade Title One students, approximately 19,000, will attend the performances.



School Board Goals
Goal 1 - All students will achieve at their highest potential
Goal 3 - All operations of the school system will demonstrate best practices while supporting student achievement.


Financial Impact
The total financial impact of this item is $150,849.  The source of funds is the Student Enrichment Trust Fund and Department of Athletics and Student Activities budget.  There is no additional financial impact to the district.


Source of Additional Information
Damian Huttenhoff 754 321-2550



Associated File Attachments
SEAS Program (Files)  
ExecutedCompleteCopy (Files)