November, 2015- Meeting Highlights Kravis Center’s Commitment to Supporting Education Through the Arts
Kravis Center’s Education Committee Hosts Dr. Robert Avossa,
Superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County
(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 welcomed Dr. Robert Avossa, the Superintendent of the School District of Palm Beach County.
More than 20 members of the committee, chaired by Dr. Barbara Golden, gathered in the Kravis Center’s Shapiro Founders’ Room to meet Dr. Avossa. Kravis Center CEO Judy Mitchell welcomed the group and shared some powerful statistics which highlighted the strength and diversity of the Center’s education and community engagement programming. Dr. Avossa provided an overview of his professional experience improving schools in Fulton County, Georgia, and discussed the goals that he has set for our school district beginning this academic year. Committee members were engaged by his personal messages of innovation.
“It’s an honor to have Dr. Avossa share his thoughts on ways we as a community can come together to improve the quality of education for the children in Palm Beach County,” Mitchell said. “The Kravis Center partners with the School District of Palm Beach County on many initiatives that allow the arts to enhance education, and we look forward to working with Dr. Avossa to continue building that relationship.”
Avossa, who was born in Naples, Italy, shared his story of coming to the United States as a boy and personally experiencing how America’s value of public education gave him the opportunity to succeed. Creative programming in schools, including arts education, is one of the best aspects of American education and should be valued, he said.
“There’s solid research that shows when children play music or are involved in the arts, they do better in school,” said Avossa. “What I’m hearing is that there’s long waiting lists for Dreyfoos and Bak (Schools of the Arts), so we want to look at other opportunities to expose our students to the arts. At the end of the day, education is about more than teaching, it’s about partnering with the community and advocacy.”
The Education Committee plans to hold two more events during the school year:
On December 11, guest speaker Barbara Shepherd, Director of National Partnerships at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., will address the committee regarding national trends in equity in arts education.
On February 9, 2016, guest speaker Paul McEneaney, Artistic Director of Northern Ireland’s Cahoots Children’s Theatre Company and the cast of its production Egg will hold a pre-performance Creative Conversation in Persson Hall.
Did You Know?
More than 2 million students have come through the doors at the Kravis Center since the program started.
Kravis Center, a non-profit organization, provides $100,000 in field trip bus transportation for students each year.
70 percent of students who attend productions at the Kravis Center receive Admission waivers.
60,000 students per year see an average of 30 productions.
More than 900 teachers in Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie Counties participate in the Kravis Center’s S*T*A*R Series.
Last season, 6,000 students saw Kravis-On-The-Road Series.
Last season, 3,000 Kravis Center patrons attended the various ArtSmart classes and lectures.
Last season, more than 7,000 students participated in 79 Student Arts Enrichment events, which include various Master Classes, Beyond the Stage performances and various training opportunities such as The De George Academy for Performing Arts, The Broadway Artists Intensive and ArtsCamp.
