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From the arts schools and theaters that give life to the Avenue of the Arts, to the galleries that crowd the streets of Old City and Northern Liberties, Philadelphia has long provided a home to a thriving arts community. Now a Grays Ferry high school has been given the chance to take part in this tradition with the addition of a talent center, which aims to improve student interest in — and access to — the arts.
The South Philadelphia Talent Center officially opened its doors at the new central location at Audenried High School, 32nd and Tasker Streets, Sept. 23. Students from neighboring schools, along with parents in the community, were given the opportunity to sample demonstrations of the various programs available. High School for Creative and Performing Arts, 901 S. Broad St., created on-the-spot caricatures of audience members while bucket drumming and karaoke provided musical entertainment.
The center, which is free and open to local public, parochial and charter school students from grades six to 12, will provide programs in theater, dance, visual arts, academics, and health and fitness. Furthermore, it will provide technological resources so that students may gain experience in a variety of disciplines, including music technology, digital photography, and video production.
“Kids [will] have opportunities to experience state-of-the-art equipment and resources, with highly qualified, enthusiastic teachers,” Virginia Lam, the district’s regional talent centers project manager, said.
Instructors will be culled from among school district teachers with a background in dance, music and the visual arts, as well as teaching artists provided by the Philadelphia Arts and Education Partnership and Universal Companies.
The talent center is open 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. It has been more than a month since the center celebrated its opening, yet Lam regrets that the program is still under-enrolled.
Currently, about 60 students from Audenried feeder schools have signed up at the center. In the meantime, the district is also reaching out to students from St. Gabriel School, 2917 Dickinson St., and Universal Institute Charter School, 801 S. 15th St. Via telephone, mail, and short television promotion campaigns, the district hopes to enroll 210 students.
“We’re looking for students who will take advantage of a free after-school program,” Lam said.
The center, a result of a partnership between the School District of Philadelphia, Universal Companies and PAEP, was first conceived by Dr. Arlene Ackerman, the district’s superintendent. The idea for the facility emerged as a part of the “Imagine 2014” initiative, Ackerman’s five-year plan to improve the city’s school system.
The venture was funded through the “Imagine 2014” program, as well as with district operating funds and the Pennsylvania Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, which is federally funded, Lam said. The process for building the center began in March when the state accepted the application for the grant. The competitive award will support the program for four years, with $500,000 a year being allocated to the Audenried site, as well as a second talent center at Germantown’s Martin Luther King High School.
“We were planning for talent centers early on last year,” she said. “And then with the generous funding we began to plan; develop a program.”
A pilot program was held at King for 11 weeks last year where nearly 100 students attended its two-and-a-half month test run. The district now hopes to replicate the success of the program in Grays Ferry.
A large part of the center’s implementation was Universal Companies, a non-profit that focuses on community development, that worked on marketing the new center as well as recruiting teaching artists. John Frangipani, the district’s chief of school operations, invited Universal to participate because of its history in community involvement and revitalization.
“A talent center of this sort offers an after-school safe haven for our youth, particularly adolescent youth, during the non-school hours,” Lauryn Douthit, Universal’s vice president of education and academic planning, said. “The performing arts, a safe haven and cultural enrichment activities … are something that Universal definitely believes in.”
While Audenried has experienced difficulties with safety in the past, Lam said that steps are being taken to ensure that the center will maintain a secure environment for all students partaking in the program. The school district has secured “additional school police officers, non-teaching assistants from Audenried and the support of the city police,” she said. The school district also hopes that the program may reduce truancy and improve school attendance, as well as increase parental engagement.
An advisory council made up of administrators, teachers, parents, students and community partners will hold its first meeting next month. The council will work on mapping out a plan to facilitate student safety and success. Each site will host at least three advisory council meetings per year.
The primary focus of the talent center, Lam said, is “to reach underserved students in areas where they have not been successful — in math, reading and science — and to use the approach of arts integration to promote academic achievement.” A secondary goal will be to familiarize the students of feeder schools like James Alcorn School, 1500 S. 32nd St.; Chester A. Arthur Elementary School, 2000 Catharine St.; and Edwin H. Vare Junior High School, 2100 S. 24th St., with the atmosphere and facilities of Audenried.
The Point Breeze Performing Arts Center, 1717-21 Point Breeze Ave., has had a relationship with Audenried for several years, and through the intercession of Audenried Principal Terry Pearsall-Hargett, it played a crucial role in letting community members know the kinds of opportunities the talent center provides.
“It’s an opportunity to bring a community together … and to get young people across the board involved in something extremely positive,” Al Brown, the center’s senior vice president, said.
At 5 p.m. Dec. 15, the talent center will host a holiday show and open house to give community members a chance to witness student performances and exhibitions of artwork as well as to provide information on enrolling in the program. SPR
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