Lawrence Arts Center Arts Outreach Programs: ARTSreach

The Lawrence Arts Center is committed to providing art and arts education to all children, teens, and adults. In addition to the partnerships detailed below, ARTSreach extends to providing financial aid to children, teens, and adults who take Arts Center classes as individuals. Approximately 14% of our students received financial aid in 2009-2010.

ARTSreach for Children
Head Start @ LAC--16 children weekly Sept-May Little Nations @ Little Nations--10-12 bi-weekly Sept-May

Kansas Pre-K Project: The Arts Center is a site for this project designed to equalize the prekindergarten experience across programs by setting uniform standards for delivery of the educational experience. The Arts Center provides the arts program intended to enhance learning skills and brain development.

As part of this ARTSreach project, the Arts Center offers:

1. Theater and dance performances attended by 915 children (and their teachers) from Head Start, Little Nations, the Children’s Learning Center, and the Ballard Center.

2. Preschool Arts classes attended by
Head Start @LAC: 32 children weekly Sept-May
At Ballard: 12 children weekly Sept-May
At Children's Learning Center: 16 children weekly Sept-May
At Sunshine Acres: 16 children weekly Sept-May
Total 76 weekly

Arts Center dance, visual arts, and theater instructors taught one class a week at two Boys and Girls Club sites for eight weeks this summer, serving 100 children.

ARTSreach for Teens
The Arts Center provides weekly arts programming to teens at the Juvenile Detention Center and the county Day School. Arts Center art instructor Laura Ramberg serves approximately 30 teenagers a week. In 2009, the Arts Center provided arts education to 381 students in JDC and 54 in the Day School.
To date in 2010, 197 JDC students have taken arts classes provided by the Arts Center.

ARTSreach for Adults and Families

Susan Rieger, licensed clinical social worker, provides a weekly creative movement group to women at First Step House. The group consists of a warm up and group bonding exercises, then culminates in an activity that asks the women to create movement, which reflects some facet of their inner work. Approximately 175 residents, 5 staff and 75 family members benefit annually from the direct services of this particular ARTSreach program.