001good morning my name is Dawn wise and I'm the executive director of the Lynchberg City Schools Education Foundation and welcome to the 19th annual breakfast with the superintendent this yeah wo what a good-looking group all right this year's breakfast theme is inspiring achievement through the Arts and we have a great presentation in store for you today I always like to start off any remarks by talking a bit about the Education Foundation who we are why we are here and how we are an incredible asset to our Public School Division the Education Foundation was established in 1985 and this year we are celebrating our 40th anniversary yay we are separate from Lynchburg City schools and are a 501c3 nonprofit organization that goes above and beyond what public revenues allow essentially standing in the gap between what
002is funded by federal state and local tax dollars for the Lynchburg City School's budget and what is not we are solely donor funded and rely on the donations of private individuals corporations and Grant making foundations to implement the impactful programs and opportunities we provide to our lynchb city schools community and to fund our operating cost nobody likes talking about operating costs but including the salaries of our three employees ways and a stien for our new paid intern so no we are not volunteers and the Lynchburg city school's breakfast with the superintendent is one of these opportunities it not only gives the community an informative way to learn more about Lynchburg City Schools but it is also our biggest fundraiser and we could not do the work we do without its sponsors thank you all for
003so generously supporting the mission of the Education Foundation including this year's lead sponsors Bergland Toyota Sentra and you can cheer for yourselves if you want Dominion 7 Architects Fleet Laboratories greater Lynchberg Community Foundation Hur and profit Liberty University yeah Lynchberg Beacon of Hope MH masonry Moren Giles University of Lynchburg next time we have a cheering competition and US pipe yeah we also thank our 27 table sponsors for investing in this breakfast and supporting our initiatives along with the other businesses organizations and individuals joining us today please take a few moments to read through our list of sponsors in the program and they will also be scrolling through the slideshow during the breakfast and consider securing the services of these organizations who were work hard to support public education in so many ways our work would
004also not be possible without the support of the education foundation's Board of Trustees in my 20 plus years in the nonprofit world this volunteer board see y'all can make me this volunteer board is a working board like I have never before witnessed they're always ready to serve and give countless hours to our work going above and beyond merely attending quarterly board meetings at this time with the Lynchburg City School's Education Foundation Board of Trustees please stand to be recognized thank you thank you for all you do before we start with our program I would like to us to all thank take a moment to recognize Dr Crystal Edwards for her six years of tremendous leadership as the 13th superintendent of Lynchburg City schools and the first woman to hold position in the 150e history of
005the division [Music] she is not here so don't look for her she is retired um she retired in October after 38 years in education has spend more time with her family and particular her 80-year-old mother if you were the breakfast in 2023 you may have had the privilege of meeting this incredible woman her mother who was indeed a very special soul and I applaud Dr Edward's decision to begin spending more time as possible with her family thank you Dr Edwards for your time with us and congratulations on your retirement and Dr copelan yes and Dr copelan thank you for your heart and service to our Lynchburg City Schools Community as well during this time your work has been everything but that of an enum thank you now on with the Arts first I would I
006also like to point out that if you've been at the breakfast before you may have noticed we are missing some art centerpieces we usually have centerpieces made by art students that are in the that you could take home with you um we usually ask the art teachers across the division to provide these takeaways but when we started having snow in December and that didn't stop until probably last week um we thought it was best not to ask them to do anything extra for us so you all have little magnets in front that you can all take with you we have EXT that you can have those are all artwork that was made by students the art students and there's inspirational quotes on there as well that was um also created by our class renovation grants
007feel free to take one or more and there's lots of little empty seats you can take as many as you want um thank you to our wonderful marketing consultant Misty Vincent Spitzer where are you Misty yeah there's a woo yeah there wo for curating those beautiful pieces with inspirational quotes you'll hear more about missan in a little bit next I hope you also took a moment to pause and listen to the music in the lobby as you arrive this morning a big thank you to Scott stalcup Orchestra teacher woohoo at Heritage High School and his students are bringing some culture to us this morning in the form of a string quartet thank you for being here also in the lobby if you did notice the incredible display of artwork when you walk through the doors
008to registration art teacher Kayla Jones from sandeski middle brought that in yesterday we asked her for some art to display and she brought 300 pieces with her so those are for her middle school art students I was able to witness firstand during rehearsal yesterday Kayla's dedication and passion to our students and I cannot wait for you to hear more as she talks about the importance of this Medium as part of our presentation as I mentioned we have a wonderful program and I look forward to sharing the morning with you as we present inspiring achievement through the Arts [Music] uh well good morning everybody I appreciate you all being here uh this is one of those nice events that when you work for Lynchburg City Schools you get to go to throughout the room with you
009this morning our building principles and administrators and folks that are out there helping kids every day so if you happen to be sitting at a table with one of them thank [Applause] [Music] them your continued support of the Lynchburg City Schools Education Foundation is one of the things that makes this city special um before we begin I'd like to recognize a few folks that are here uh we have our school board members if you we're just going to do the wave thing we're not going to do the sand up thing because everybody's still eating we've got folks from the city manager's office and city council I think are down in this area winter called me on my way in and said he wasn't going to to make it um because of a previous engagement we've
010also have uh folks from the police department the fire department the Sheriff's Office economic developments here somewhere in some aspects there's Marette over there and I'd like to acknowledge our state leaders in in here this morning Senator Mark Peak thank you for being here and delegate Wendell Walker now finally I want to give a big shout out to the Lynchberg City School's teacher of the year Miss Ayan stamps [Applause] Glover this morning you're going to hear from some amazing people about some incredible things that are happening at Lynchberg City Schools so as you've heard today's theme is inspiring iring achievement through the Arts the Arts are a critical role in the lives of our students they enrich learning spark creativity help students discover their voices at LCS we're committing to providing a wide range of
011access to truly amazing artistic opportunities both in the classroom and out of the classroom through our Performing Arts programs and those are things like theater choir band Orchestra we give students the opportunity to shine on stage and on the field on Friday nights and in Saturdays at band competitions we have courses in painting drawing photography and other Visual Arts helping students develop their talents and express themselves in meaningful ways Arts education not only helps develop the artistic skills refine those but it Fosters confidence teamwork discipline and it engages students and when students are engaged they thrive the Arts not only support and enrich the school they support our entire city and community so I want to go through a little exercise this morning if you are or have ever been an arts teacher raise your
012hand okay keep those up okay if you've ever taken an arts class drawing drama orchestra band as a student keep raise your hand wow okay okay I think we've got everybody at that point but the last part was going to be if you've ever attended a school concert a theater event or something like that I would ask you to raise your hands but I think we've got a 100% participation here and that the Arts have touched everybody in this room at some point either individually you've supported your child you've supported your neighbor's child you support your friend I'm deeply passionate about the Arts but it's not just a Prep Professional passion it's a personal passion as a proud parent I had the joy of witnessing fir ha firsthand the impact of the Arts on my
013daughter Sarah I knew she had a gift at an early age but it really took Middle School and High School teachers to get her to shine it was under their tutelage that we started to see some of the things that you see on the screen here during her time at Heritage High School Mr John roor Champion Arts projects most every year and I think he did it through Education Foundation grants one of those he did was called the juneth celebration and that's the Genesis of these works that you see many of these pieces were in Exhibition at the Legacy Museum there Sarah had one portrait that was uh there's Tim right there Sarah had one portrait that hung in the gallery here in the Dora museum for a showing this amazing project at Heritage High
014School connected our students to the community and the history through ART it it was an amazing an amazing thing uh to do this passion she had for art led to her collaborating with Pioneer theater her Junior and Senior year and helping with sets what you see on the screen now are one of those sets for the competition piece that they did um that's that set is contained of five or six different panels at the mountain are wrong and then the sky is a canvas that's flipped up over some supports in the back the students had to take that set on and off stage at every performance as part of the theater competition that they did not only with VTA but with vhsl all right here's the twist here's the part where my passion for the
015Arts really came to be in the 201819 school year I was working with Dr Edwards on a strategic plan and we had one of those Community engagements sessions at Heritage High School at the end of that session I was ensuring a a junior student got to her car safely at the end of the night because it was fairly late for a high school student well I thought it was late for a high school student probably not her parent had to leave early and said hey I need you to make sure she gets to her car safe so we're walking down the main street at Heritage High School and for those of you that haven't been in Heritage High School the main street if you walk into the building you know it even though you don't
016know it because it's this big long hallway that stretches at least a football field and a half it's wide enough to have track practice in and it's two stories tall okay it's affectionately called Main Street so we're walking down Main Street and uh she says hey I need to ask you something would you consider being in the upcoming production at pioner theater for South Pacific now I was 2 years old at the time and if you didn't pick up on the fact I was a retired Marine so my early career path had nothing to do with theater nothing I think I stopped breathing but I at least got out a nervous chuckle and said I would consider it but here's how she softened the shock she said well sergeant major Eldridge who's the head of
017the Marine Corps junor Roc at Heritage High School has already agreed to participate and play the other part and I was like okay at least there's some safety and that if I fall out and collapse in the middle of the show he's going to grab me by my shirt and he's going to pull me off cuz Marines don't leave Marines behind so at least I wouldn't be left on the stage now the role that she asked me to play was that of commander harberson who was the executive officer in South Pacific for those of you that haven't seen it well I told her I'd think about it uh and I reached out to Larry Hart who's in here somewhere back over on that side there he is a theater teacher at Heritage and I said
018okay I've been asked to do this part can I at least get a script so I know what I'm getting into so a couple of days later I walk into Heritage High School main office and Jackie Hoffman who was the office manager for Heritage for a very long time um was there and I said hey Mr Hart was supposed to leave something for me I'm here to get it right on Q and I've got to read this to make sure I got it right she handed it to me and she said I just have to share how much I love the musical South Pacific it just happened to be the most favored musical from a dearly departed mother folks that's new when I'd been snookered this had been a setup since the beginning but they
019executed it flawlessly okay and the interesting thing is to this date I don't know who all was in on it now I know I know the student was and I figured the student parent was and I obviously Mr Hart was but it's got to go deeper than that but needless to say I accepted the role that's where I learned my first lesson about what I affectionately my first lesson about what I affectionately call theater kids okay they are some of the most accepting group of students you will ever interact with [Applause] [Music] so here's a 52 52-year-old Deputy superintendent and retired marine trying to memorize lines at 52 years old they give you they give you hints like write them on index cards so you've got the q line on one side and your line
020on the other and when you write it supposedly it's going to stick in your brain it didn't work so on top of having to memorize lines I had to learn this thing called blocking and I'm thinking okay I've seen football I can do this then you have to not get in the line of sight of the other actors as you turn on stage and you have to turn the correct way because you never want to show your backside to the audience with all of that combined my whole goal was not panic run off the stage screaming and just get through the show closer we got to opening night the more nervous I got now at this point a student stepped in and said hey I'd love to run lines with you it'll it'll help you
021out and that's where two people get together and they're playing both parts of the scene they're playing Another Part and they're helping you I was so relieved when she did that and then I found out that the director Larry Hart was very concerned I was going to screw it up so he told this poor sophomore girl please go sit with him and help him so my first role in theater ended I survived and I gained a new respect for students in the Performing Arts my daughter's senior year I became that supportive theater parent I helped build sets I drove the the set and prop truck to VTA and to vhsl competitions I even helped shaer room on the summer team building trip to West Virginia when we did a whitewater rafting uh Excursion down the
022New River and then called a play afterwards it was a great weekend while on that trip the seniors invited me or asked me are you going to be in any future shows we've got Scrooge the Musical coming up well I thought about that one long and hard but since I knew Larry very well he gave me a little bit of executive privilege and he allowed me to select the part that I wanted and I chose to be Jacob Marley one of the ghost and Scrooge okay now then I realized that Jacob Marley had a song to sing with a little coaching I did okay I'm still working my way towards American Idol but I did okay as you can see I even learned how to do my own makeup uh of course somebody had to
023teach me Laura I had to teach me how to do that but by the end of the show I was doing it myself one thing to note about this production is that three of the four ghosts in the in the show are played by adults so here are the four ghosts in the show of course there's me then there's Tim Bey the principal and he played he played that part every night and then the one on the far left as you look at the screen uh is Ron profit he was at that time the principal of Lorn middle school and had been the associate principal at uh Heritage High School and that role changed every night a different adult took on that role because it was non-speaking they had a mask on they were hooded
024um so uh it was it was reassuring to see other adults coming into shows during that show is when I had the pleasure of of meeting Jeff CR uh he played a part of Mr fezy wig uh and had to dance in the show and sing a song um but that has led to a long-term friendship and Business Partnership because we we're the owners of trident services so at the conclusion of Scrooge Jeff said hey Renaissance theater is going to do a production of mash and I looked at him and I'm like really uhhuh and and then he then he got Larry and said hey Renaissance theater's going to do a production of mash so like Saturday night when the show closed we're all sitting there we're like well I'm going if you're going well
025I'm not going if you're not going well I guess we're all going are we going Sunday or Monday well we all auditioned uh and uh for Mash at Renaissance Theater Larry got the part of Henry Blake okay if you've seen Mash now this will shock you if you know Jeff Jeff got the part of Frank Burns A fitting part for Jeff and they typ cast me they made me the general so I'm playing a commander in one show a general in the next I'm thinking my niche in theater is going to be very very narrow it's going to be military Parts it was a great show it was fun to do community theater I got to meet uh a great director in Valerie dalry at that point um and that was the last show on
026stage we closed the week before the World closed in March of 2020 okay so that was really one of the last live performances for a very long time in Lynchburg but theater became an escape for me from The Daily Grind you know I I met people uh unbeknownst to me uh there's this little critter that runs around in in theaters all over the place and i' got bitten by it it's called The Theater bug okay it's like once you do one then you want to do another one and then you want to do another one um so um next came a show called couples uh this was an interesting show in that it was actually written during the the pandemic I think we got a shot of that one if we can get there yeah
027it was written during the pandemic in the upper left but it was written folks this show was written to be done via Zoom so if you think about doing a show and all the audience just logs into Zoom to watch it well the director took it and broke it up and made it that Hollywood Squares thing you see in the in the top Corner um and everybody's in their own little box but we're all focused on the screens there's no side to side interaction so we performed it like we were looking at at Zoom but we did it live uh I think that was one of the first Productions to be back on stage uh and that was like you could only see that was back in the dark days when you go sit people
028every other seat when they were together and everybody had to wear a mask and uh you know we wore mask during rehearsals it's really hard to talk when you have this thing on and mumbles everything you're saying um I got invited to to play a role in Sister Act uh and I thought that one was pretty nice cuz I was going to play the gangster he's going to come in on the first I'm going to utter a few lines I'm going to get shot and then I'm out the door you know I was busy I I was I was I think I was at VES and super busy with the job out there and building a building and everything else so I went to one of the rehearsals learned about my part my role and
029then uh the director Jeff crant uh said hey I've got this other part uh I need a I need a pimp in the back of the bar it's a non-speaking part uh that's one of the smaller pictures on the bottom with the velvet velvet suit on and the hat with the big feasant feathers in it whispering back and I was like okay great that's still the First Act I can get in and out I don't have to stay for the closing and all the you know have to be there the whole night so I go to another rehearsal and he's like hey I really need you to play the bomb on a park bench and a scene in the second act like well hell I'm here for the whole thing now first time I'd played
030three roles in one show uh and uh going from the pimp to the guy on the Park Bench was very very tight and a costum changed so you had to lay out everything ahead of time um I was blessed to take a lead role uh in a show called the games of foot and this one is is kind of unique twist for me uh the the actor that I was playing was called William Gillette so my daughter refers to it as I'm the actor playing the actor who played Sherlock Holmes because William Gillette is the actor that brought Sherlock Holmes to stage in the early 1900s and did 1300 Sherlock Holmes performances very famous actor uh has a has a home in Connecticut called Gillette Castle so it was interesting to learn a lot about
031the individual that you're playing but folks this thing had over 300 lines in it now you remember back to my first show when I'm worried about memorizing things and I talked about putting stuff on index cards act one was a stack of index cards that was 2 inches thick act two was an inch and a half thick um it was a lot of work to to learn those lines uh but it was a fun play to do uh and it just more connections with great people latest shows I've been in have been second Samuel that's uh a show that Mr Hart did for Renaissance Theater that he did in 2018 uh and took to uh what we call the national championships of high school competition so it was great to work with him and then
032It's a Wonderful Life uh this last fall since 2019 if you haven't been keeping count I've been in eight different Productions and it all started walking down Main Street I've even been Santa at Riverside Riverside Park for Holiday lighting a couple of times I've done Santa gigs all over town um but these are these are some of the Renaissance Theater people with me uh the the Weird elf looking guy that's Jeff so but when I look back on it I think you know not bad for for a retired marine and educator that got into to the theater in his 50s I enjoy it it is an escape uh it is it is that piece of me that many people in this room may not know some of you may have seen me on stage for
033the rest of the morning you're going to hear from amazing speakers they're going to bring you their unique perspective on their role in the Arts first Taylor whis kirchen [Applause] [Music] [Applause] folks she's the person that asked me to be in South Pacific okay so hold on a second hold on a second so Taylor was a theater student that now is back as the technical director at Pioneer theater okay so it's come full circle for her after Taylor we'll hear from Kayla Jones who's an art teacher at sanduski middle school and then Micheline Hall from the academy center of the Arts will highlight the uh thing the incredible opportunities the academy brings so first Taylor and then we'll move on from there to the others and I'll be back up here for the closing at
034the end thank you Taylor it's all [Music] yours good morning my name is Taylor wichen and I am incredibly honored to speak to you today it is my pleasure to say that I am a product of Lynchberg City Schools I am the great granddaughter daughter and niece of LCS Educators a graduate of Heritage High School class of 2020 and I'm presently the technical theater teacher at my alma moer today as I have the privilege of speaking before you I find myself reflective of the many experiences teachers and mentors from LCS that have been so influential in shaping the person who stands before you while there are many Educators who have influenced my life there remains an old ad that still Rings true there's no greater teacher than experience and Lynchburg City Schools afforded me many
035experiences February 2016 my 8th grade year in Pioneer theater was presenting Ragtime the musical numerous faculty members including my mom were cast as the immigrants and other Ensemble members as well as Heritage High School's very own principal Mr Tim Bey who is cast as Booker T Washington I had the privilege of supporting my mom backstage and one evening when the grip who operated the curtain was was out sick I got to step in and as I opened the curtain I experienced the magic of theater firsthand from that moment on I was hooked my experiences only grew when I was in high school as a freshman I had the pleasure of being in Mr Hart's introduction to theater class on the first day of school he introduced himself as ludicrous Larry but he quickly became Biff
036and I found myself spending more time in the theater than at home during the course of my high school career Pioneer theater uh produced nearly 30 shows providing students the opportunity to learn from many guest directors and professional technicians working in the Arts opportunities were never ending including attending the Southeastern Theater Conference in Mobile Alabama my sophomore year after placing first at the Virginia Theater association's Conference I witnessed the Lynchberg Arts Community rally for us to help raise funds for the trip a documentary style video Austin Journey created for this experience still brings tears to my eyes remembering the profound impact our show second Samuel had on our audiences even the show's playwright herself Pamela Parker traveled from Atlanta Georgia all the way to Lynchberg to see our show now that was an empowering experience
037experiences continued as Mr Hart led a student trip to New York City where we saw three Broadway shows toward Radio City Music Hall and immersed ourselves in the city's energy that experience ignited a passion in me to bring that same energy and creativity back to our stage with many teachers and staff including Dr Ben Copeland shap burning the trip I remember feeling supported in my Big Dreams a defining moment for me during my junior year was when I was given the opportunity to student direct Nevermore working in the theater in this capacity with the mentorship of Mr Hart opened my eyes to the possibilities After High School and solidified my desire to continue working in the Arts other experiences with Lynchberg City Schools certainly helped shape me as well outside of the theater I was
038a student in the early uh early college program at cbcc earning my associates degree before graduating high school I also participated in the teachers for tomorrow program and completed a six-week internship at Sheffield Elementary School I swam on the girls swim team was a member of the National Honor Society coached a Girls on the Run team at TC Miller and had the privilege of working alongside countless teachers and mentors who helped me prepare for Life Beyond High School all of these experiences have supported my journey to becoming a teacher after graduating from Heritage in 2020 I became an instructional assistant at perrymont elementary while earning my bachelor's degree online from Old Dominion University finding old books with my great-grandmother's name in them from when she taught at perrymont made it extra special in the winter
039of 2022 I started an after school theater program um for 25 students at perrymont Mr Hart invited us that year to perform in pioner theaters production of The Wizard of Oz it was nothing short of magical seeing those Elementary School students take the stage for the first time in 2023 I was hired full-time at Heritage as the technical theater teacher stepping out of the Elementary School classrooms I wanted to find a way to continue to inspire our LCS youth I started an annual week-long Theater Camp for LCS 3rd through fifth graders our high school students serve as counselors directors choreographers technicians and more to lead our elementary students in producing a show last spring our students produced honk JR this summer they will be presenting Finding Nemo kids I encourage you to come see the
040magic they create in June as a teacher my goal is to encourage students to try something new during my time as a teacher at Heritage Mr Hart and I have strived to find ways to inspire and engage our students we have performed at satc in Mobile Alabama The Animation Festival at the Academy center of the Arts and for all LCS 8th graders on our annual theater day they have attended Randol College to take workshops and learn about opportunities to further their education ation After High School in a few weeks the Lynchberg Education Foundation is sponsoring a combined trip um with Heritage and glass students to the American Shakespeare center to see The Comedy of Errors Mr Hart's favorite vocabulary word is drama I often hear him telling students that drama means to do Lynchberg City
041School's Arts are the epitome of drama and that there is an endless stream of opportunities for students to do the teachers and leaders of Heritage High School provided me with countless opport unities to grow Chief among them is Dr copelan or Dr Ben as we affectionately called him I first met Dr Ben in the summer before my freshman year of high school when he was the deputy superintendent my mom was serving on the school Improvement team with him as he was overseeing the construction of the new Heritage High School I love to brag that I was the first freshman to enter the new HHS having toured the building with Dr Ben that summer ever since that day Dr Ben has been one of my greatest mentors as I graduated from Heritage he gifted me a
042pen that he had made as one uh as a thank you for my contributions to the theater program at Heritage that pen has since traveled with me to every job interview serving as a constant reminder of the love guidance and support I felt as a student and heritage's theater program I want to take a moment to thank Dr Ben for all he's done for me your leadership and support have made all the difference in my life I'm sorry thank you for believing in me and for helping me become who I am today I strive every day to be the kind of educator you have modeled for me the Arts programs in Lynchberg City Schools helped shape me into the individual I am today just as my family members modeled for me I strive to give
043back to our community and provide opportunities for the students in our community to thrive in the Arts gain confidence in new skills and explore the world of theater Dr Ben the staff of Heritage mentors in the theater department and the other count Educators that have poured into me over the years have guided my decisions encouraged me to keep pushing the limits and have been the support system I needed to keep striving for greatness our Lynchberg Community is special our students Thrive when presented with opportunities to become their best selves Pablo Picasso once quipped that every child is an artist the problem is how to remain an artist once the child has grown up but through a wealth of experiences and opportunities along with the guidance of Exemplar teachers and mentors I'm thankful that Lynchberg City
044Schools resolved that problem for me thank you for having me today now please welcome Miss Kayla Jones to the [Applause] stage aren't they sweet good morning good morning everyone my name is Kayla Jones and I am the proud art teacher at sandeski middle school I'm here this morning to speak about something I believe is integral to the education of our students studio art studio art has the unique power to connect with students in ways that few other subjects can it Fosters expression creativity and provides an outlet for some of our most vulnerable students to engage in education I want to take this opportunity to share how art can be a transformative experience um in Lynchberg City Schools we focus on accessibility inclusion career exploration and Community presence we all know that education is not one-
045siiz fits-all and our students come to us with diverse needs and challenges and different learning styles I speak this morning not as just an advocate for the art Arts but as someone with personal experience on how art can bridge the gap between students who might otherwise feel disconnected as someone with dyslexia and an individualized educational plan I understand the hurdles that some students Face In traditional academic settings however art provides an opportunity to engage in a learning that feels natural and empowering at sandeski we meet our students where they are this means going through the extra space and pulling the student when they can't move the studio art or excuse me the art studio is a vital part of this process it gives students a safe non-judgmental space to explore not only their personal posos
046but who they want to become as a human being in my own experience creating art what allowed me to use my hands to think visually and express myself in ways that sometimes other subjects could not capture for many students especially those with learning differences this can be the difference between feeling successful and feeling like you're falling behind art allows students to explore ideas in non-verbal ways to express emotions that may be difficult to articulate sometimes and to feel a sense of pride in creating something from nothing this is vital for students with learning challenges and differences and it gives them a way to think outside and Excel Beyond reading and writing tasks also art opens doors to vulnerability a critical aspect of personal growth students are often or excuse me students are often asked to
047expose themselves in ways that can be intimidating but in studio art vulnerability is not something to fear it's something to embrace whether they're trying out new techniques exploring ing personal themes or simply experimenting with New Media student students are made to step outside their comfort zones and take risks this process in creating something creates resilience self-confidence and an understanding of their own emotions and experiences as young adults our students are constantly told how to dress what to eat how to talk where to be and when who they should be what name to go by and even have little opportunities to make their own choices art provides the opportunity for students to be free in a way that can help digest the requirements that's asked of them daily also excuse me art is also one of
048the few subjects where inclus inclusivity is naturally woven into the experience it's a subject that can be adapted for all Learners whether they have an IAP participate in special education or are part of a mixed AB class in art class all students can succeed at their own pace in their own way at their own ability by using adaptive tools different learning strategies and varying fors of media students of all backgrounds and challenges can create and feel validated in my time working with adaptive students I've seen firsthand how art students communicate in a way that trans transcend spoken word and traditional assessments whether through tactile materials visual cues or structured exercises every student has the opportunity to express themselves build confidence and see their own potential as we focus on preparing our students for Success we
049recognize that art can play an important role in career and college readiness many students leave High School unsure of what they want to do where they want to be exposed and where they want to move on to in the world but exposure to Art related careers opens new avenues whether through ART education graphic design or visual communication art provides both a skill set and a mindset that are essential in today's rapidly evolving world at sandeski our students participate in a business project where they design promotional material for local events and collaborate with the Lynchberg Humane Society to create graphic design to advertise their adoption efforts this kind of experience connects students with real world applications for their skills while also teaching them about collaboration marketing and Entrepreneurship students gain exposure to career opportunities they may
050not have considered and learn how art can become a viable source of income beyond the classroom the art program provides invaluable opportunities for students to connect and contribute with our local community art gives students the chance to Showcase their work in a variety of settings from school events to community F fundraisers to art shows for instance events like the cultural arts night and Studio Art Auction fundraiser students have artwork auctioned this gives them a tangible sense of how their artwork has value and can impact their Community moreover our students have the opportunity to participate in professional experiences such as the academy center of the arts art show which happened last night we have zoom meetings with artists from Disney who educated students on the process of becoming a storyboard artist students from University of Lynchberg
051have met with our students and spoken not only of the process of being accepted into a Collegiate art program but how College prepares students to be successful professionally and in their art community our students have volunteered to make Creations for veteran ceremonies recital gifts for Wood School of Dance these experiences are not only a Showcase of their talent but they are about students stepping out of the com AR their comfort zone and into the world with confidence receiving feedback from experts and being part of the cultural fabric of Arc City I'd also like to highlight some of our wonderful examples of how sandusky's art programs have already impacted our students we have five preps venturing from introduction to drawing which is sixth grade all the way to Advanced art Explorations which is our Advanced 8th
052grade art class these students have been involved in Creative projects like face painting for local festivals at perrymont elementary and Camp Kumbaya and creating painted rocks with positive affirmations for a kindness Garden at sandes elementary school fostering a sense of pride in their work and in their Community is pivotal for their success as a student and as a community member additionally inberg Water Resources has partnered with students to create art that promotes environmental awareness and the YWCA has collaborated with students designing meaning meaningful visual content highlighting social justice issues such as domestic violence in the past three years sandeski art program has ventured to the mayor museum at Randolph art alley downtown St Paul's Cathedral the academy and this spring will be going to Washington DC to experience the National Gallery of Art and the
053National Portrait Gallery all of these experiences not only deep in a students connection to their Community but encourages them to think about how their artistic talents can contribute for the greater good no matter how much time I'm given to speak to you today there will be never enough time to tell you how amazing our students are they are so incredible and to Bear Witness to their story is a privilege I'm incredibly proud to be their teacher but to conclude I'll say this the power of Studio Art in Lynchberg City Schools is undeniable it is a powerful tool for engagement self-expression inclusion career expl exploration and Community presence art is not just a class or an extracurricular activity it's an essential part of a student's educational Journey by investing in and supporting studio art programs we
054are not just teaching students how to draw paint or sculpt we are teaching them how to engage in the world around them how to take risks and how to embrace their vulnerability and how to contribute to their community in meaningful ways I urge you to continue your progression in supporting the Arts our our schools and every student regardless of their ability need to experience the transformative power of creativity by name and by need thank [Applause] [Music] you I would now like to introduce and welcome Michelin Hall from the academy center of the Arts [Applause] well good morning y'all good morning I mean good morning okay that's much better because y'all got to talk to me so I'm Michelin Hall I'm the chief programming officer here at the Academy center of the Arts let me first
055before we get started I'm going to let you know that I promise I'm very professional but I'm also very laidback and I just like to just talk to you guys like we are friends in my living room all right so first of all can I I just want to give a shout out to my awesome boss the CEO Jeff kersner because he's the [Applause] bomb I also want to shout out Christina Davis is in the building Christina is here and you're going to see why that's important in my in the presentation here so you know we're going to talk about brush strokes and Bright Futures all right all right going roll to the next slide so y'all know I Michelin I work as the chief programming officer you might be like what is a chief
056programming officer well let me tell you it's a whole lot it's a whole lot but it's all awesome so what that really means is that I'm the person that oversees like all of our like engagement that we do on our campus and off our campus I weigh in on our ticketed program because I know I've seen some of y'all come to our shows and concerts and things in that historic theater and the historic theater is thebomb.com however sometimes people forget that the academy center of the Arts is beyond our actual historic theater go on to the next slide so we are actually a very vibrant integral Arts Community like a cultural Hub here in Central Virginia that connects all kinds of things from our historic theater to multiple venues to our multiple galleries to honestly
057our art bus or students we bring creativity and culture together to allow our community to thrive and this is for community members of every level and every age but right now we're going to focus on the kids right so you see here y'all raise your hand if you've ever seen our art bus out in the wild so great so y'all if you've seen the art bus that probably means you've also seen stepen kle who's featured here just giving instruction so our art bus is a way that we interact with folks that we be were able to take our Arts engagement beyond the four walls and the campus that we have um we go to school events Community things all kinds of cool stuff next so y'all I'm going let this we do field trips so
058that's when we get to bring like the students into us especially with the student MAA and we do historic so a line historic field trips but then we also get to do National touring field trips where the kids get to do like either a Q&A or special sneak peek of or a specialized performance right on their grade level so I'm going to let this video play so y'all can understand how great of a time they have [Music] [Applause] you're right now here at Africa we like to spice things up a little you know love yes brothers and sisters yes brothers and sisters [Applause] [Music] you guys so that was if you didn't know that was um sanduski at TC Miller we had their I think third through fifth graders come for that particular one in
059February y'all when these kids come it is the highlight of my day the the buses coming in the glint lined up to come into our facility because it means that they recognize the facility they recognize the academy is their home and it's a part of their community and some of them will tell me stuff like we were just here and we did we were in susal with youth theater or we did this thing thank you for letting us come to your place I'm like well thank you for coming to your place so it's so important that kids get to see and meet like real living breathing artists right so another way that we're allowing kids to see real living breathing artists is through our artists and residence program this year we featured Christina Davis as
060an artist teacher and muralist so she went into to the schools and I'm going to let her go and play that beautiful intro hi I'm Christina Davis I am the resident artist at the Academy center of the Arts downtown Lynchburg and I just finished up a project with bass elementary school so I'm going to highlight right now her work that she did um you might like what is the Artisan residence program well basically it is where we connect students with professional living breathing artists connecting them with immersive Hands-On line Arts education and through this initiative we're able to like support self-expression we Foster collaboration through community- based projects and then we also get to integrate the Arts with academic learning goals right so while we were at Bass we got to be there for four
061weeks when I say we I'm using the Royal Wei because Christina was out there for four weeks um and it was the best four weeks of our life because we had snow days we had school delays it was awesome but you know what it actually was awesome because we were able to create and complete this really neat project um go ahead and play the video so she can tell you in our own so at the bass Elementary School we were able to do an entire Workshop where we finished one mural together with a group of 22 students all 22 of the students came up with the idea for a mural they learned different techniques for painting and then as a team put the mural together and not only that they were able to install their
062project inside of their Library so that way their work would be on display for all their peers to see as well and the best part about the entire process with this Workshop is that the students actually got to finish a project but they also got to create a meaningful project that said something about their community and why they were there learning about art and why public art is so important inside their City most of the students were already aware of other public art projects and seen murals before and so it had a very meaningful and impactful way of using art in more than just a way to just say a message about yourself but also a message as an entire student body so the reason why this matters it is so helpful to eliminate inequities
063and access to project and process based learning sometimes the cool thing about the Arts is it provides us a safe space to just not be excellent to get our hands dirty to Jack something up royally and then after you jack it up you get to learn how to do it better and you get to walk away with something very tangible as a result of I saw where I started on week one but I see where I am now at week four and the Arts are a fun safe expressive way that allows us to do that also just feel like it's good for humans to do some art classes every now and then to step outside of your comfort zone to learn how to throw clay and pottery and mess it up with everybody else around
064you and laugh about it together and be able to track your growth because you get to see that I think humans n one were made to create things but two there's something about creating with your hands building Community inside of theater it's something about hearing the stories and experiences of others or you playing a character that is nothing like yourself to help you understand your neighbor better and the Arts have a power to do that and that's why this Arts matter so much like I love the SOS that hit on things like you know learning how to demonstrate skills needing to work collaboratively because even as adults we still need to learn to work collaboratively it was challenging for those students to come together to create one focused idea for one art project that also
065recognize and exemplify their culture at William bass and use their school colors and also still very felt very personal to them yet was executed well so when you put all of that together those are life skills that we need to have Beyond I think a classroom when it comes to working together as a group and saying who do we represent how do we represent ourselves and how do we interpret that visually so now going to the so what looking ahead I first of all I want to can we give a hand clap to these other speakers that came before me because you guys fire so we got to talk about the youth art uh bwxt youth Art Gallery we have on our campus and we talked about the art show that we have one of
066the things that's coming up next is we're going to do a Showcase of some of the work that Christina has done with not just the William Marvin bass students but other students that she's been working with throughout her residency which will be really fun we're also really excited to let you guys know about a momix that is happening on April 7th I know some of you uh principls and administrators probably got an email about our next student mat so hopefully if you can come or send some students and some of you already have responded Yes and we cannot wait to see you but know that that's available to you and y'all can just come see moments as adults anyway Z can come to the Regular Show on Sunday but we have the special mattin on
067that Monday I want to say that the next next slide I have to say thank you I mean first and foremost can we I have to show some love to Don wise and Whitney boy can we show them some love this morning I I want to thank the Lynchberg City Schools Education Foundation without your support and vision some of these projects like and our programs like um the Artis and residence program would not be able to reach this hype of students and the mass of students were able to I want to also give a special thank you to miss Hendrick who's the principal at William Marvin bass as well as Miss Sydney and Kenny who is their art teacher for helping to coordinate with us um I want you guys to know that your dedication
068to the Arts and how it impacts students who become adults who become leaders in the community and families of their own is so important and we are so deeply grateful profoundly grateful for the way that you've supported this community and the Arts in it thank you so much for your [Music] [Applause] time all right some quick closing comments you heard some amazing speakers this morning about aspiring inspiring achievement through the art but folks it's about the passion the passion they have for the work that they do every day and their interaction with students it's a calling for artists many instances uh Taylor's gone from being a student to a teacher that shows us the full circle impact of the Arts on students Kayla and what she does with her students at sanduski middle is just
069nothing short of amazing to be able to connect with that many students and the opportunity she's giving them I mean they're going to watch Washington DC as middle school students and they're going to the National Gallery that's an amazing trip and then what goes on at the Academy and connecting with our schools uh those stories are what are part of what makes this city such a great thing now if you're looking for something to do in the coming weeks or tonight at 5 o'clock RS pay fifth grade will be doing a concert featuring The Dragon drummers drum line that's at 5:00 at rspan uh the Lynchburg City youth art show is currently at the academy uh Heritage High School will will be uh doing Peter and the star catcher it opens April 4th and EC
070Glass on May the 1st will open Foot Loose uh I think there's something about five degrees of Kevin Bacon and he was in foot loose so we'll see how that comes out in the show um but those are some of the things that are coming up just just between now in the end of the year that I wanted to highlight but there are amazing things that occur every day uh I want to thank you all for being here I want to thank the supporters of the Education Foundation this concludes the program have a great day wait she's got something to say so it's not here in my book than I'm gonna be really quick so thank you so much um I'm gonna cut all my remarks really quick um I just want to say thank
071you to Dr copelan to Taylor to Kayla to Michelin for their incredible presentations today I'm going to skip all my think because you know I love you and I'll give you a big hug later um I want a couple announcements really quick so we're like 10 minutes over tomorrow is Pi Day 34 we are once again partnering with Texas n and Heritage High School uh Heritage High School grad Dave Saunders now owns all the Texas ends so go to t-o get some pie and if you want to get something else later that's fine um get some pie every piece of pie purchased all the money comes back to the Education Foundation so go get some pie we're also proud proud to be the presenting sponsor of the Lynch Breg Symphony orchestra's homecoming Virgil Moore concert
072on May 17th there's posters out there you can also where's aa aa go see aola and get tickets for that we're the presenting sponsor we're excited Virgil Moore is a product of Lynchburg City schools and is currently at juliard so we are excited to be part of that and we are also launching a pencil Drive where's Tracy Baker Tracy Baker she is our director of operations if you would like to do a pencil Drive your business please do so we have our tools School tools for school's Warehouse where teachers get to shop for no cost school supplies and we have those donations that we um we raise money for and physical donations as well so pencil Drive see Tracy Baker about that um like and follow us on social media grab some literature if you
073want to donate Tracy Baker will also take your money there's also a QR code on your program and your insert so you can also just easily donate from your phone and I leave you with this quote from Picasso art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life and we hope it washed a bit of dust from your soul today until next time friends thank you again and thank you for all the way you invest in Lynchburg City schools and have a great day [Applause] [Music]