Part II
Program activities include classes for all ages in visual and performing arts, art and creative writing camps for kids, and outreach activities with schools and community organizations who work with our target populations. All activities will be appropriate for a range of physical and mental abilities and financially accessible to those with hardships.
Outcomes:
- 9% increase in the number of students participating in art education classes and experiences by individuals who are living in poverty and/or have special needs.
- 80% of students participating in visual arts education classes will demonstrate an increase in fine motor skill ability upon completion of a multi week/day visual arts class.
- During the 2018-2019 programming year, 90% of all students will be able to express an increase in understanding and acceptance of others' differences
The Accessibility Expansion program will assist Emergent Arts in reaching more artists in our community who are in financial hardship and those with special needs.
Program activities within the Art Education Program at Emergent Arts include ongoing visual, literary, and performing art classes, one-time visual art workshops, multi-day art camps, and community open studio time. A Teaching Artist leads each group of students in the area of focus for that class. These activities take place at the Emergent Arts studio.
Each class or workshop is first proposed to the Emergent Arts Programming Committee by a teaching artist. By inviting teaching artists to propose classes, we are creating a learning environment where students have access to artists who are sharing what they do well. This supports programmatic diversity and a highly creative classroom. Because of this model, the specific activities vary greatly each programming semester. Currently, we offer drawing, painting, and ceramics for students under 15. In addition, we offer adult-level classes in painting, ceramics, book making, belly dance, tai-chi, herbalism, and guided writing. Previous class offerings have included figurative sculpture, comic books, jewelry making, sculpture, ballet, tap, music theory, and book making. Students in these classes have ranged from three years old in Early Childhood Music to 84 years old in tap dance class and the specific skills addressed are age appropriate.
The Accessibility Expansion program targets successful participation by students with special needs and those living in financial hardship through direct marketing, scholarship opportunities, and teaching artist training.
A need statement provides documentation of the nature and extent of the need within a given population.
According to recent census numbers, over 13,900 individuals, or 14.3% of the population of Garland County is disabled, and there is little creative programming available for these individuals.
Our courses offer individualized instruction that is differentiated for each student. Since opening the Studio in September 2013, approximately 30% of our school-age students experience a developmental, learning disability or were referred by a counselor. These students have come to us in the same way as other students with no specific marketing efforts to target the special needs community.
Additionally, each year Emergent Arts continues to provide numerous scholarships to both kids and adults who otherwise would not be able to participate in programming. Census data indicates that approximately 20% of the households and 26% of children in Garland County live below the poverty level, often making extracurricular activities less feasible. Scholarships enable students of all income levels to express themselves creatively at Emergent Arts
The Education Programming at Emergent Arts provides an individual taking one class approximately 1.5 hours per week of visual arts education experiences or 1 hour of performance, dance, or written expression experiences for students of all abilities and income levels. All of these courses, for kids and adults, are available with sliding scale scholarships ranging from 75-25 % of course costs. This also program provides outreach activities by visiting schools and community events which make the same experiences available to kids of all abilities and income levels for no charge.
Emergent Arts is requesting $23,800 from United Way in support of the Accessibility Expansion Program for their Arts Education Program. These funds will be allocated in the following manner:
$19,000 Salary part-time Art Education Program Administrator + part of Executive Director
$2,470 Employer FICA contribution and benefits
$400 Professional learning and training for Teaching Artists and staff
$1,430 Direct marketing, advertising, and printing for Accessibility Expansion Program
$500 Purchase of adaptive art supplies and class materials
$300 Charity Tracker Software as per United Way of Garland County
The plan for programmatic sustainability includes the increase and diversification of funding sources, an increase in the hours worked and responsibilities of the Art Education Program Manager, expanded marketing efforts, and an increase in participation from the target audience.
Part III
Example: Staffing, Volunteers, Building, Equipment
Inputs that support the Accessibility Expansion program include the Art Education Program Manager, Executive Director, studio facility at 341-A Whittington, tools and equipment, art supplies, marketing efforts, and volunteer time.
Objectives will answer: The program will do what, under what conditions, for what time frame & to what extent.
Example:
The Expansion program's objective is to expand the number of individuals served by the program by 80% in 12 months. Creative programming offers a range of benefits, including increased understanding of other groups' differences and the confidence associated with self expression. In addition, involvement in arts programming correlates with improved academic performance for school-aged children. It is the increased availability of these benefits to underserved communities which is the key purpose of the program.
Describe what staff and participants actually did.
Example: Participants did (XYZ). Staff did (XYZ).
Arts Education Program Schedule and Activities
The majority of Art Education programming takes place on a seasonal schedule, following the public school calendar, and is divided into Fall, Spring, and Summer sessions. Enrollment for each session opens no less than one month prior to the start of classes, (September, February, and June, respectively) and ends once the class has started. A class can take place in a little as a single hour or in weekly classes across an entire season. Classes offered in the community at schools or other organizations vary throughout the year.
The schedule allows maximum of 22 contact hours with students per week, when scheduling both visual and performing arts studio classrooms. Teaching artists will be supervised by the Art Education Program Manager during these times.
- Fall classes: September to Mid- December
- Spring classes: February to May
- After-School: Tuesday through Thursday, 4:00 to 6:00 and targets school-age students.
- Evening classes: Tuesday through Thursday, 6:00 to 9:00 and target adults.
- Weekend classes: Saturday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.
- Special Programs: Tuesday through Friday, between 9:00 am and 4:00
These include early childhood, home school, additional adult, and school field trip classes and adds 35 hours for additional programming.
Spring Break Camp and Summer Art Camps: Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and are offered for school-age students.
Although these hours and days are available, the actual schedule is determined by the class proposals and when minimum enrollment is reached for the class. Currently, we offer 12 hours of visual arts classes, 3.5 hours of performing arts classes, and 2 hours of creative writing per week.
The Accessibility Expansion Program is set to continue in July 2018. Summer duties for the Art Education Program Manager and Executive director will include the purchase of additional accessible and adaptive art supplies to continue to support the participation of students with special needs. Summer planning will also include collaborating with administrators in the Hot Springs area school districts in order to reach qualifying students interested in participating in our programs. As a result, education administrators will be made aware of the programmatic and scholarships opportunities available to their students.
During the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semester programming, the Art Education Program Manager will again provide professional learning opportunities for all Teaching Artists related specifically to supporting students in their classes who many have special needs. Additionally, the Art Education Program Manager will continue to inform the Hot Springs community of our commitment to those with special needs and those living in poverty situations with regard to our programming activities. This will be done through online marketing and targeted collaboration with community organizations.
Outreach events prepared for, coordinated, and run by the Executive Director and Art Education Program Manager include but are not limited to
- Valley of the Vapors Music Festival educational workshops in music and art
- Arts in the Park with Hot Springs Cultural Area Alliance visiting artist workshops and free make-and-take activities at Arts in the Park Fair
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Educational Programming around featured films, free, families
- Hot Springs Youth Market at Hot Springs Farmers and Artisan's Market once per month May- October
(Program services) provided (X) clients in the activity.
Example: Daily fitness program engaged 20 clients
Through data collection during the 2018-2019 school year, Emergent Arts will collect and report data in the following areas:
- Total enrollment via number of student registrations (projected 150)
- Percentage enrollment of students with disabilities (projected 25)
- Percentage enrollment of students receive need-based scholarships (projected 20)
(How you know the participants achieved outcome)
1) 9% increase in the number of students participating in art education classes and experiences by individuals who are living in poverty and/or have special needs.
The Accessibility Expansion Program seeks to increase the number of individuals participating in classes at Emergent Arts who fall into two underserved groups: those living in poverty situations and those with special needs. Emergent Arts has access to increased student scholarship participation once a fuller outreach program has been established. Through the Accessibility Expansion Program the Art Education Program Manager will target those who may qualify for scholarships in order to increase participation. This targeted outreach will be done in several ways including, but not limited to, partnerships with arts teachers and administrators in local public schools.
During the Spring 2016 – Fall 2017 programming semesters Emergent Arts had approximately 135 students participating in classes. Therefore, a 9% increase in participation by individuals in our targeted populations would be approximately 12 students over the two semesters. This is a reasonable and achievable goal based on funds and in-class supports available through the Accessibility Expansion Program. The Art Education Program Manager will be responsible for measuring this outcome at the end of each programming semester through the enrollment procedures currently in place. The outcome will be measured and presented in this manner as it will be the clearest way to see an increase in participation by individuals in the two targeted populations.
2) 80% of students participating in visual arts education classes will demonstrate an increase in fine motor skill ability upon completion of a multi week/day visual arts class.
This outcome is carried over from previous funding years as we feel that this remains an accurate and measurable way to provide evidence of success in increasing student growth. Additionally, an 80% success rate is realistic while also demonstrating program and instructional competency. The Teaching Artist will be responsible for collecting the data while the Art Education Program Administrator will measure and report outcomes. The ultimate measure of improvement will be made at the end of the semester through the assessment documents and student portfolios. Additional observations will be made to assess the success of each project in relation to improvement of fine motor skills. The portfolio method is an established and successful method for measuring improvement over a period of projects.
3) During the 2018-2019 programming year, 90% of all students will be able to express an increase in understanding and acceptance of others' differences.
Again, the staff at Emergent Arts feels strongly that an outcome related to understanding and accepting the differences of others is critical to the overall mission of the organization. Therefore, we have included this third outcome in again for the 2018-2019 programming year.
The Teaching Artist will be responsible for collecting data while the Art Education Program Manager will create assessments, conduct measurements and report outcomes. This outcome will be measured through surveys completed by students as well as anecdotal evidence provided by both students and Teaching Artists.
Surveys will be taken at the beginning and end of class (most classes are between six and 10 weeks) and will include one or more questions pertaining to their perception of others. At the end of each class a discussion and/or critique will take place where each student will discuss their work and experience in the class as well as lend observations to the other\ students. Teaching Artists will be given prompts to encourage open dialogue. Teaching Artists will also be provided with an observational worksheet for each student in the class. This worksheet will assist the teaching artist in documenting changes in behavior, class participation, and social engagement.
This outcome is measured through surveys and discussions to capture the students' own words with regard to others' differences and to encourage students to speak positively about one another. The observations are taken to capture situations where an increase in understanding and acceptance has taken place.
Example: Survey, Test, Intake/Exit exams, Observations
We will measure the success of our program with three outcomes:
-9% increase in the number of students who are living in poverty and/or have special needs (Data will be collected at the time of registration and tracked in excel spreadsheets)
-80% of students participating in visual arts classes will demonstrate an increase in fine motor skills (Students will participate in motor skills assessments at the beginning and end of class. The teaching artist will also observe and document student progress)
-90% of students will express an increase in understanding and acceptance of others’ differences (Surveys and discussions will be presented to capture the student's' own words with regard to others' differences and to encourage positive communication about one another. Observations of situations where an increase in understanding and acceptance has taken place will be documented)
Evaluation surveys are given to students on the last day of all classes. These surveys inquire about skills learned, favorite projects, and suggestions for improvement. Surveys are stored in a binder and referenced in future program planning. The surveys have spurred new classes such as “Drawing Into a Book” after many students stated their preference for a book making project, and we incorporated calligraphy writing into summer camp after requests were made. During our first semesters in operation many students asked for pottery classes, which we were not equipped to offer, and the documented requests were used to justify the budget increase for ceramics tools and materials (clay class is now one of our most popular offerings).
This student has been able to successfully participate in class despite being confronted by some of his triggers including rambunctious and loud children and separation from his parents. This is due in part to the adjustments that Emergent Arts has made to the layout of the facility and the training that the teaching artists have received in classroom management, de-escalation, and working with students of varying abilities.
Since completing two training sessions, his teaching artist is now prepared to identify when he may be becoming agitated or need to take time to regroup. She has been able to support him and has encouraged him to communicate when he is overwhelmed. He is allowed to walk around the classroom, investigate other materials or books, and explore in order to find his inspiration and work out physical tension. The teaching artist now has the skills to identify this behavior as something other than “misbehaving” and she also is equipped with positive dialogue when other students become curious about his behavior. She does this in a way that does not bring attention to him or cause the other students to become involved in the situation. Because of this open and passive communication, he has become empowered and independent when addressing his needs. He can now subtly share his needs and excuse himself to an area of the studio that is away from the classrooms and sit alone on a couch or chair until he is ready to rejoin the group. This area is centrally located and can be seen from the front desk for safety purposes. He usually waves at anyone working at the desk and nothing else is asked of him. He is able to care for himself in a way that is not embarrassing or disruptive and has since become more social with staff and productive with his artwork. We believe that this experience is not only supporting him as an artist, it is encouraging him to take ownership of his needs in a safe place where he can be confident and successful despite functioning differently than the other students.
Part IV
- Charity Tracker Software – Provided by United Way of Garland County
- Salary & Wages – 100% of Art Education Program Administrator salary + 20% of Executive Director salary
- Benefits & Payroll Taxes – 100 % of employer FICA contributions for Art Education Program Administrator + 20% of employer FICA contributions for -
Executive Director, plus $100 holiday bonus for Art Education Program Administrator
- Consultant & Professional Fees – estimated expense for attendance to training and seminars
- Office Supplies & Materials - Program art supplies, figure based on historical data with a projected annual increase of 20% to accommodate increase in participation
- Rent/Occupancy – Figure based on 66% of fixed rent
- Utilities – Figure based on 66% of utilities, based on historical average
- Marketing – Figure based on historical data with an approximate 25% increase based on new marketing goals
- Other – Teaching artist fees, based on approximately 70% or projected program service fee income
The Board members of Emergent Arts are very engaged in the Hot Springs community as supporters and leaders and have connected our organization to many others. Board President David Reagan is the Garland County District #1 Justice of the Peace and founder of the Park Haven Community Garden. Treasurer Jean Lacefield serves many organizations including the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, University of Arkansas Sam Walton School of Business, the Gateway Community Association, and recently has joined the board of United Way of the Ouachitas. Vice-President Karen Holcomb is also an artist and is a lead market manager for the Spa City Food CoOp as well as volunteering extensively with other arts organizations. Board member Deborah Griffin is a professional graphic artist and digital media artist and has 30+ years of experience in the field, she brings to Emergent Arts her professional arts knowledge as well as many years working with nonprofit and community arts organizations in the Bay Area of California.
- Were you able to pay all regular operational expenses within 60 days of the due date?
- Have you been able to maintain your 501 (c) 3 Tax Exempt Status?
Part V
Part VI
Program Location Date/Time
January
Rollin Caristianos Oil Paintings Garland County Library Art Wall Jan 15-March15
February
"Winter Whites - The Value in the Absence of Color" Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk Friday, February 2, 5-8pm
March
Have A HeART for Art Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk Friday, March 3, 5-7pm
Sister City Student Art Competition Garland County Library Art Wall March 15-April 14
Valley of the Vapors Workshops Low Key Arts & Emergent Arts March 16 - 20
Valley of the Vapor Artist Exhibit Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery March 16 - 20
Spring Break Art Camp Emergent Arts Education March 19 - 23
April
"A Fools Journey" Exhibit of Tarot Inspired Artwork Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk Friday, April 6, 5-8pm
Community Exhibit, "Off the Beaten Path" collaboration with Arts & the Park Garland County Library Art Wall April 15 - June 15
Arts & the Park Studio Tour Emergent Arts April 28-29
Arts & the Park art workshops Art Education: Collaboration April 28 – May 5
May
Arts & the Park Workshops Art Education: Collaboration April 28 – May 5
Art Springs Festival art activities Hill Wheatley Plaza May 5-6
Youth Market at the Downtown Farmers and Artisans Market Downtown Farmer’s Market Saturday, May 26, 9am - noon
June
Community Curator Exhibit "Pink Petals" Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk Friday, April 6, 5-8pm
Downtown Farmers and Artisans Market Downtown Farmer’s Market Saturday, June 26, 9am - noon
The Artist's Guild Group Exhibit Garland County Library Art Wall June 15 - August 15
July
Summer Art Camp (3-1 week sessions) Emergent Arts Education July 10-13, 17-20, & 24-27
Youth Market at the Downtown Farmers and Artisans Market Downtown Farmer’s Market Saturday, July 28, 9am - noon
August
Youth Market at the Downtown Farmers and Artisans Market Downtown Farmer’s Market Saturday, August 25, 9am - noon
No Kids Allowed Summer Art for Adults Emergent Arts Education July-August
Community Art Exhibit: Emergent Arts Retrospective Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery August – October
September
Community Art Exhibit: Emergent Arts Retrospective Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk, Friday September 7, 5-8pm
Jazz Fest Community Festival Community Outreach 3 lead artists + approx 40 ppl will contribute to the mural
Youth Market at the Downtown Farmers and Artisans Market Community Outreach Saturday, September 8, 9am - noon
October
Community Art Exhibit: Emergent Arts Retrospective Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk, Friday October 5, 5-8pm
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Workshops Art Education: Collaboration October2018
Youth Market at the Downtown Farmers and Artisans Market Community Outreach Saturday, October 6, 9am - noon
November
Dia de los Muertos Exhibit and Fiesta Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk, Friday November 2, 5-8pm
December
Community Exhibit: "Carry on Into the Dark" Art Exhibit: Circle Gallery Gallery Walk, Friday December 7, 5-8pm
Part VII
bottle caps, art supplies, art studio tools and equipment, picnic table, shelving and cabinetry