The Wallace Foundation’s Post

New episode of “A Hot Time for Summer Learning” is here! Hear how two districts from the District Summer Learning Network led by FHI 360 have transformed their #summerlearning programs to combat student learning loss: https://bit.ly/4aGfeS7

What if aspiring teachers could earn their credentials while teaching in their local school district at no cost? That’s the concept behind the “grow your own” programs that the National Center for Grow Your Own helps cultivate. https://bit.ly/4eaEwLe

#Summerlearning has gained momentum across the country, but some districts–particularly urban districts and high-poverty districts–anticipate funding decreases. A new RAND study digs into this and how districts approached summer programming in 2023. https://bit.ly/3WTUnaF

Through several focus groups with young people, the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) found that young people were not attending performances because they thought ballet was elitist and boring. This market research gave PNB the chance to revamp its external communications and make it a strategic priority to produce online videos that showed different sides of the company and its artists. Read more examples of arts organizations who put audience building practices into use: https://bit.ly/4auylhR

Early planning and positive, engaging environments are crucial components of high-quality #summerlearning programs. In this video, Akron, OH & Woodward, OK school districts show how two communities can take different paths to successful results: https://bit.ly/47Ai7Cp

Change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It takes a foundation of trust, a sense of responsibility, and a collaborative spirit to see desired results. In a new article, Wallace staff and grantees break down the Advancing Well-Being in the Arts initiative: its beginnings, the values it’s built on, and ongoing work in local communities. https://lnkd.in/eMNupARE

Interviews with arts organizations. Audience surveys. Data from ticket sales. Francie Ostrower and her team from the University of Texas at Austin left no stone unturned to find out what worked and what didn’t in the Wallace Foundation’s “Building Audiences for Sustainability” initiative, a four-year, $41 million dollar initiative to help 25 large nonprofit performing arts organizations build new audiences for the arts and see if these efforts contribute to their financial health. What did the team learn? And what does it mean for nonprofit arts organizations in a post-pandemic world? https://bit.ly/49lDtoF

What does it take to run a high-quality #summerlearning program that young people want to attend? Communities in Woodward, OK, and Akron, OH, are working to find out. https://bit.ly/47Ai7Cp

How can principals work more effectively to help support students, teachers, and everyone else at their school? These principals, district and state leaders, and university officials have thoughts. https://bit.ly/3T6K3Zm

A new report found that #OST leaders advocated alongside city, school district, and private funders for program accessibility, increased responsiveness to young people’s evolving needs during the pandemic, and for federal COVID relief funding for OST practitioners. https://bit.ly/4eDeIYo