INTEGRATING THE POWER OF THE ARTS WITH A RIGOROUS ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

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Snow Pond Arts Academy, a 501(C)3 non-profit organization, received approval on November 17, 2015 to open a public charter school for grades 9-12, beginning in the fall of 2016.

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This data dramatically indicates that even though our young people are graduating from high school, many are not fully engaged in learning. While improving proficiency scores is absolutely necessary, that alone is not adequate. More than anything, we want each of our children to reach their full potential. When less than1 in 3 of our students (and less than 1 in 5 in lower income groups) earn any type of advanced degree, we know we have fallen well short of what is possible.

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Maine’s Challenge
• Only 30% of  Maine’s students graduate from college with a two or four year degree.  (Source: Educate Maine)
• These percentages are significantly lower in low-to-modern income brackets.

The rest of the story:
• Less than 50% of Maine students are proficient in math and reading when they graduate from high school. (Source: Educate Maine)
• There is no measurement being conducted on the skills that graduates will need to be successful in college and in the 21st century job market.

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Visible Leadership for Maine

One of the biggest challenges for Snow Pond Arts Academy is reaching, and engaging parents on the importance of a complete and balanced education and on the transforming nature of the arts, especially those families with low and moderate incomes. Almost 60% of our population fits in this category.

Arts education in Maine has unfortunately not been thought of as an essential component of helping each student reach his or her full potential. The Snow Pond Arts Academy will raise awareness that arts-based education program will cultivate all of the essential skills and traits needed for success and will significantly close the performance gap between income groups.

The combination of this well known campus with its 80 year history and this charter high school provides the optimal platform to:

• Provide visible leadership and be that “tipping point” for high quality balanced learning in Maine while yielding a proficiency-based standard of excellence model for regional schools across the US.

• Attract the very best educators and performing artists to teach and engage our students’ academic and personal growth.

• Teach students how to effectively use virtual learning.

• Allow high school students to be role models for younger students, their families and in their communities.

• Build strong relationships with all of our local colleges, University of Maine at Augusta, and Thomas, Kennebec Valley Community, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin and Unity Colleges.

• Build a strong foundation of support by engaging the entire community and philanthropic foundations, while leveraging state and federal grant programs.

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Where We Need Assistance

Maine charter schools are tuition-free to any Maine student that applies. The charter school is operated under the terms of a contract between the Maine Charter School Commission and the school’s governing board. Charter Schools are new to Maine and are given quite a bit of latitude to be creative and innovative, while being held accountable for advancing student achievement.

Over the last two years, we have developed good relationships and support with the public school music educators, the local superintendents, and all seven local colleges. Collectively this creates a unique opportunity to work collaboratively with all area schools in building a regional school system that produces better outcomes for each student. Ideally, we hope to provide a leadership model for all other small town/rural communities, many of which have large percentages of undeserved students with needs that are quite different from urban schools.

Now that SPAA is operational as a Maine charter school, it will receive public funds directly from the State of Maine. Unfortunately, for most charter schools, this funding is nowhere near adequate. Specifically for us, public funding provides less than 70% of our needed revenue in the first year and nothing for the rigorous application and start-up expenses, or for capital improvements. Our needs are three-fold:

• Increasing awareness that Snow Pond Arts Academy is part of an overall engaged learning community for students of all ages and that arts education cultivates the traits needed for our youth to be successful.

Your voice of support has an impact…

• Increasing connections to educators, artists, potential students, civic leaders, business leaders and philanthropists. Your referrals are vital to assure we are reaching all of the people we need to connect with.

• To ensure that this innovative school meets and exceeds expectations, we need additional operational funding over the next 18 months to cover start-up expenses and to balance the first year’s budget. Ideally this support would come from a very broad range of Maine residents, businesses, and foundations. Additionally, we will need capital funding to expand our classroom and performance facilities as all of our programs continue to grow.

 

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Final Thought

“We know that the arts will be even more important to the economics of our country, especially in the industries that we cannot even imagine yet, just as they have been central to the development of technological innovations of today. Leaders of businesses, academic organizations, and government will depend more and more on emotional intelligence, listening skills, empathy, and the ability to articulate change and to motivate others – the very skills and traits that the arts cultivate.”

Ben Cameron – Doris Duke Foundation 2010

Especially now, we must embrace and celebrate the power of the arts to shape the character of Maine’s youth, and it is now that we must reach our population of lower-income underserved students and provide this opportunity for each of them to reach their full potential. Snow Pond Arts Academy is deeply committed to transforming these students as well as working closely with our partners in building an engaged, vibrant and economically strong learning community.

Arts Matter . . .

Please join us on this exciting journey . . . We ask for your advice and support.

With sincere appreciation,

Anne Hammond

Former President, Snow Pond Arts Academy Board of Directors

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