Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form

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Organization Name: Performing Arts Center Trust, Inc.
Legal Name (if Different): Performing Arts Center Trust, Inc.
Also Known As: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
Mailing Address: 1300 Biscayne Blvd.
City: Miami
State: FL
Postal Code: 33132
Main Phone: 786-468-2000
Main Fax: 786-468-2007
Organization Website: www.arshtcenter.org
Employer ID Number: 65-0353695
Organization Tax Status: 513(c)(3)

Proposal Information

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Today’s Date: 03/21/2017
Requested Amount: $6,500

Project Title: Story Pirates
Project Description:

Deploying the power of drama and story-telling to boost literacy, the Center will partner with New York-based Story Pirates to pilot a new arts education program that aims to improve reading and writing skills among third-graders in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) by bringing the imaginations of young storytellers to life. Aligned with state learning standards, the program will be piloted with 70-80 students at two Title 1 public elementary schools. The Center will create a team of teaching artists and M-DCPS teachers to spend 16-20 hours per semester with third-graders in these schools, focusing on vocabulary development, story structure, revision, persuasive writing and self-expression. Stories written by students will be acted out, improv-style, by the artists and children – bringing to life the unfiltered world of kids’ imaginations. By the end of the program, each student will have written and revised his or her own original story. The culminating New Story Show at the Center will celebrate writing and feature new stories by the children. This project will occur between October and May of the 2017-18 school year. Testing conducted in 2016 show that just 46% of M-DCPS third-graders read below grade level. Third grade is a critical time for children because it’s the first year they can be held back if they fail the Florida Standards Assessments reading test. Last year, almost 20% of third-graders in Florida failed the exam, 6,000 of them in Miami-Dade. Black, Hispanic and poor students are disproportionately affected, with close to 1 in 3 black students failing the reading test. The project also is timed to address writing skills a year before students take their first state writing test. Last year, only 53% of Florida fourth-graders passed the writing exam.

Total Project Budget: $26,881

Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): Miami-Dade County, State of Florida Department of Cultural Affairs, Miller Family Foundation

Project Duration: 1 School Year (Oct. 2017- May 2018)
Geographical Area Served: Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Age Group To Be Served: Third Graders

Contact Information

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Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
Contact First Name: Elaine
Contact Last Name: Cox
Contact Title: Manager, Foundation Relations and Research
Contact Phone: 786-468-2069
Contact Email: ecox@arshtcenter.org