Foundation gives largest Grant for Arts Career Cluster
Creative Florence middle and high school students will have more chances to explore careers in video, writing, music and graphics thanks to the largest grant yet given by The School Foundation, officials announced Thursday.
The $71,500 grant will help train teachers, develop curriculum and provide hardware and software in support of the “Arts, Audio Visual Technology or Communications” career cluster, one of many career clusters required by the state in last year’s Education and Economic Development Act.
The grant will affect all middle and high schools in Florence School District 1, which serves some 14,000 students around the City of Florence.
“Our students are going to be ready for jobs and be out there making money in the creative economy,” said Laura Greenway, District 1 Performing Arts Coordinator and the grant’s author. “They’re going to be the students that everybody wants, because they’ve got a broader idea of what the world’s about.”
“This grant has the potential to inspire and educate hundreds of students who have been interested in different aspects of the arts but were previously unable easily to pursue them,” said Trip DuBard, chairman of The School Foundation. “This really opens up an enormous area of study that is increasingly important to industry and to regional economies.”
The EEDA requires that districts begin clustering courses around certain subject areas so that students can begin preparing for careers earlier in their school life. The Arts, Audio Visual Technology or Communications cluster is one of 16 recognized by the state. This year’s School Foundation grant was designed to support School District 1 in implementing the EEDA.
Greenway, who wrote the winning grant, says nearly 4,000 students in middle and high school participate in arts classes. Yet less than 1% of these pursue careers in these areas.
“Many of our creative students want careers in fine arts, audio visual technology and communiations,” she said. “They want to be educated in creative arts so they can have the future they desire.”
Brian Newman, ATV plant manager for Honda of South Carolina, also serves as president of the Florence Regional Arts Alliance and sees the linkage between creativity and business success firsthand.
“Creativity drives innovation, which all companies need to grow and thrive,” Newman said. “By supporting and encouraging students to explore different creative careers, we’re giving them skills that improve their chance for success.”
The grant announcement came as The School Foundation prepared to host the Harry Carson Celebrity Golf Classic sponsored by BB&T that began with a private party Friday night at the Country Club of South Carolina, followed by golf on Saturday. Five professional football Hall of Fame players and many other top professional athletes participated.
The School Foundation was founded in 2000 to raise private donations to support the 14,000 children at 23 schools in Florence School District 1, which serves the greater Florence area.
Grants:
- Are not for operating expenses. They are intended to make good schools great.
- Target student academics and citizenship, teacher quality, school safety and district leadership.
- Are designed to have high impact across the district. Grants are to be $10,000 or more.
In 2003, The School Foundation passed the $1 million mark – the trigger that allowed it to begin making distributions. In 2004, The School Foundation made its first distribution – $37,000 to support Language Enrichment Acceleration Program labs in three elementary schools. The labs expanded intensive reading support to all first graders rather than just those having trouble. In 2005, the district was so pleased with the Foundation’s LEAP lab pilot project that it expanded the LEAP labs to all elementary schools in the district.
The School Foundation is now the largest private endowment for K-12 public education in South Carolina, with an endowment exceeding $1.4 million.
Donations supporting Florence School District 1 can be made online at the foundation's Web site, www.theschoolfoundation.org, or by mailing to the foundation, 320 W. Cheves Street, Suite 171, Florence, SC 29501. For more information, call (843) 662-9996.
