Pparts About

WHAT DOES

PPARTS DO?

MONTHLY COLLABORATIVE MEETINGS

Monthly meetings will be opportunities for all teachers or administrators to come together and share ideas about classroom projects and find ways to grow their programs. Each month a "Special Guest" from the community will be asked to come and share on a topic that has relevant information to arts related issues and/or Private and Parochial schools.

CITY WIDE ARTS EXPOSURE

PPARTS will act as the liaison for the schools in managing a "Oklahoma City Arts Opportunities Calendar". This will have field trips, concerts, contests, etc. PPARTS will manage the booking, packet distribution, transportation, etc. This calendar will be distributed to the schools no later than April of the previous year so that schools can make provisions with their school calendars.

LONG RANGE PLANNING

STAFFING AND RESOURCE BUILDING

PPARTS will work with Professional artists of OKC and the Universities to develop part-time traveling classes or student interns to fill in gaps that schools are not able to provide. These services can be year long contracts or short term "Service Learning" opportunities. Clear objectives will be made at the beginning, middle and end of each term. Evaluations by the guest and by the school will be required.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PPARTS will seek professional development opportunities for schools each year to enhance different arts curriculum needs or bring new ideas to ars related programs. These professional development opportunities will be decided the year in advance in order to make calendar arrangements with the schools

GRANT WRITING

For those who participate in the Long-Range Planning services, PPARTS will assist in looking for funders to meet their program goals. If grants are available and there is no one available to write the grant, PPARTS would be willing to offer this service on a limited basis. Each school must understand that they must not rely on grants and sponsorships alone for their financial needs, but willingly particpate through their own operating budget and fund-raising efforts to meet these goals.

How PParts Began . . .

PParts began in 1997 as an idea for a collaborative effort to provide more arts experiences for students in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area private and parochial schools. The effort grew out of recognition of the financial challenges many private and parochial schools face in providing enrichment programs. Often these schools do not have a large enrollment, making it impossible to employ full-time staff in the arts. It appeared to be wise to pool energies and resources to share arts personnel and create more opportunities in arts education for our students. Leading in this endeavor was the Kirkpatrick Foundation, long time supporters of the arts and cultural education in Oklahoma. Through their contacts with various arts organizations and schools, the Kirkpatrick Foundation gathered together representatives from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma Alliance for Liturgy and Arts, Oklahoma City University School of Music, and the principals and headmasters from several area private and parochial schools.

PPARTS' first endeavor was to launch a band program at area parochial schools. St. Charles, Borromeo, St. John's Episcopal, Trinity, Christ the King, and St. Eugene. By sharing one band teacher and working to coordinate class and performance times, students in grades 4-8 in each of these schools were able to enjoy the benefits and excitement of an instrumental band program. The program was funded initially by a grant form the Kirkpatrick Foundation and band fees paid by the students. The band program continues to be a successful endeavor, allowing students to gain valuable expertise and enjoyment from playing a musical instrument and preparing them to move into playing in high school bands.

The next major project of PPARTS was to establish an annual arts festival for students in the area private and parochial schools. The arts festival, brainchild of Carolyn VanBebber of Christian Heritage Academy and Joe Sine of St. Charles Borromeo, would serve to showcase the stundents' talent, provide valuable feedback for performance and visual arts endeavors, and serve as an arts enrichment activity for all the spectators and participants. The first PPARTS Festival was held on April 13, 2002 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, N.W. 15th and Robinson, in Oklahoma City. Over 200 students displayed art work, gave vocal, dramatic, and instrumental performances, enjoyed several arts activities such as creating a huge paper sculpture, face painting, an instrumental petting zoo provided by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, exploring a giant map of Israel, and participated in a moving Opening Ceremony. The arts festival grew, and its success has been repeated every year since. This year's festival will take place on Saturday, March 5, 2005 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church.

VISION STATEMENT

Communication: Development of a vehicle to facilitate sharing of information about arts opportunities, personnel, methodology, and community events—i.e. Website, newsletter, monthly meetings, teacher workshops.

Advocacy: Raising the awareness of the essential nature of the arts in the development and expression of spiritual growth and educational excellence with the goal of promoting greater arts opportunities within our schools and community.

Professional Development: Recognizing the value of continued education in current practice and research through collaboration and shared resources.

Diversity: Accessible and applicable to all Oklahoma private and parochial elementary and secondary schools.

Opportunities for students to gain skill and mastery in the arts: Creating and promoting shared arts experiences, service learning and peer tutoring opportunities, and performance and exhibition venues.

CORE VALUES

We value the arts as an expression of each individual’s spirituality and creativity.

We value the ARTS as an essential component of a student’s growth and learning.

We value the collaborative process as a means to accomplish our goals.

We value sharing resources to give more opportunity to increase the capacity of each individual school.