[CharterSchools] Plessy School selected as Louisiana Turnaround Arts School

[charterschools at LACharter.org]

May20, 2014
For Release after 1PM Central Time
Contact: BenMcLeish, 337-284-0060
 
HOMER A. PLESSY COMMUNITYSCHOOL SELECTED AS LOUISIANA TURNAROUND ARTS SCHOOL, A PROGRAM OF THEPRESIDENT’S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
NEW ORLEANS, LA—The Homer A. Plessy Community School is thrilledto announce that, through its partnership with the George Rodrigue Foundationof the Arts, it has been selected as one of three Louisiana schools toparticipate in the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities’ (PCAH) TurnaroundArts initiative – a program designed to narrow the achievement gap and increasestudent engagement in the arts. The program is in six states this year,including three Louisiana schools. PCAH has also announced that Turnaround Artists Alfre Woodard andTrombone Shorty will “adopt” the Plessy School and work directly with studentsto support their arts education. 
Plessy’s Head of School Joan Reilly is in Washington DC todayfor the live announcement of this exciting initiative. The George RodrigueFoundation is the local program partner for Turnaround Arts, working directlywith the Plessy School and other Louisiana Turnaround Arts schools. It will beimplemented through Louisiana A+ Schools, an initiative of the George RodrigueFoundation of the Arts, which is a research-based whole school program with amission of nurturing creativity in every learner through an arts integratedschool network. The Plessy School will receive arts education training andresources, including art supplies, music instruments, teacher training andfunding for partnerships with community arts education and culturalorganizations. Turnaround Artists Alfre Woodard and Trombone Shorty will workwith Plessy for the duration of the program, working with students andhighlighting the school’s successes. 
“The Plessy School is honored to be a part of a nationalcohort of schools working to provide a top quality arts-integrated education totheir students. Our partnership with the George Rodrigue Foundation for theArts and Louisiana A+ Schools has been so essential to our school’sdevelopment, and we look forward to deepening our work together, and to shininga light on our amazing students at Plessy,” said Joan Reilly, Head of School atthe Homer A Plessy Community School. 
Jacques Rodrigue, Executive Director of the George RodrigueFoundation for the Arts said, “This initiative began before Dad [Artist GeorgeRodrigue] got sick and my family and I are so excited to form this newpartnership so that we can continue to improve schools in the state that Dadloved so much. This investment from the President’s Committee on the Arts andHumanities is a major step forward for our organization as we prove that aholistic, whole school approach to arts-integration directly impacts studentachievement and school environment.
Turnaround Arts is funded through a public-privatepartnership, receiving more than $5 million over the next three years from theUS Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, the FordFoundation and other private foundations and companies to bring arts educationinto the schools that need it the most. Local program partners will provide anadditional $12 million to hire new arts and music teachers; bring teachingartists, art supplies and music instruments into schools; and support artsintegration into other core subject areas such as reading, math and science. 
First Lady Michelle Obama, Honorary Chair of the President’sCommittee said, “The Turnaround Arts program has exceeded not just our expectations,but our wildest hopes and dreams. With the help of this program and some SchoolImprovement Grants, math and reading scores have gone up in theseschools…attendance is up, enrollment is up…parent engagement is up…suspensionshave plummeted…and today, the students in these schools are engaged in theireducation like never before.”
The Homer A. Plessy Community School is thrilled to embark ona partnership that will further its arts-integrated, Reggio-inspired academicvision, furthering its mission of building students who think critically andact responsibly as citizens. 
 








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Jackson Knowles
Director of Community Development
The NOCCA Institute
504.940.2809
www.noccainstitute.com
www.plessyproject.com


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