Kravis Center’s Education Committee Hosts Speakers’ Series
Visit by Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Donald Fennoy Highlights Series Showcasing Kravis Center’s Commitment to Supporting Education Through the Arts
(West Palm Beach, FL) – The Education Committee of the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, a standing committee of the Kravis Center’s Board of Directors, recently hosted Dr. Donald Fennoy, Superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County, during the first of four meetings the committee will hold in the 2018-2019 season.
Dr. Fennoy shared highlights from the district’s 2016-2021 Strategic 5-Year Plan, including how the district met its goal to increase the county’s high school graduation rate from 88.3 to 90 percent three years ahead of schedule. He also noted the district’s commitment to arts education through grant-writing and long-range capital planning.
Fennoy also touched on how his personal experiences as a young student reflect research showing that providing for arts education in schools enhances learning. Growing up with a father in the military, Fennoy spent his early years in England, where drama classes were a mandatory part of the curriculum.
“I realized that level of training – memorizing lines, collaborating with others – helped me in school,” he said. “And I firmly believe my participation in the fine arts, as well as sports, helped prepare me to be superintendent.”
There will be three other meetings of the Education Committee. In January, David 
Kilpatrick, Director of the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour will give a pre-performance talk about Me … Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall, which chronicles the early life of the famous primate scientist through her interactions with her toy chimpanzee, Jubilee.
In February, Dr. Susan Gay Wemette, Program Evaluator, and Niki Fridh, De George Academy Acting Instructor will discuss the Kravis Center’s De George Academy for the Performing Arts, which since 2012 has supported Palm Beach County’s economically-disadvantaged third- through eighth-grade students’ efforts to attend Bak Middle School of the Arts, Dreyfoos School of the Arts or a performing arts college, or to embark on a career in the performing arts.
In March, Maureen Gardella, Kravis Center Director of Guest Services and Tracy Butler, Director of Education will give a presentation about the many ways in which the Center serves our students with disabilities throughout the season. The Education Committee’s events will conclude in April with a focus group meeting to review Kravis Center arts education programs.
For more than 26 seasons, the Kravis Center has helped students of all ages fuel their imaginations and expand their lives through comprehensive arts education programs. Since 1992, 2.5 million schoolchildren from Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties have visited the Kravis Center, attending performances through the S*T*A*R Series and participating in a wide variety of educational programming. To learn more, please visit kravis.org/education.