THE CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION

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CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION AWARDS 150 NEW PARENTS AS ARTS PARTNERS GRANTS

$450,000 in Grants Supports Innovative Arts-Based Programs
For New York City Public Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 26, 2007, New York, NY – The Center for Arts Education
(CAE), the leading voice in restoring and revitalizing the arts in New York City public schools, is
pleased to announce 150 new Parents As Arts Partners grants have been awarded for the Spring 2007
semester. The grants total nearly $450,000 and have been awarded to a rich variety of New York City
public schools to implement original arts-based programs designed to suit the individual needs of each
school.

Parents and teachers from all 150 grantee schools will gather at New York University’s Helen and
Martin Kimmel Center for University Life on Thursday, February 1, 2007, for a day-long series of
workshops highlighting best practices in parent recruitment strategies, building parent advocacy for the
arts, and other essential topics as a program kick off. The Kimmel Center is located at 60 Washington
Square South.

Numerous studies indicate that parent involvement is a key factor in a child’s academic
success. These CAE-funded programs use the arts as a means of encouraging parents to take an
active role in their children’s education by participating in activities related to current curriculum units in
English, science, math and social studies, as well as arts.
Since establishing the program in 1998, The Center for Arts Education has awarded more than 1000
Parent As Arts Partners (PAAP) grants to over 400 schools, serving 50,000 parents. It is estimated
that more than 15,000 parents and more than 23,000 students will benefit from this year’s
grants, including 7400 parents who are not currently active in their children’s schools. This year,
104 different cultural organizations – ranging from major theater companies and museums to
community based poetry and cultural societies – are engaged in individually tailored partnerships with
each of the 150 grantees to help bring quality arts learning to families in all five boroughs.
Nearly every New York City public school is eligible to apply for Parents As Arts Partners grants,
including New York City Department of Education approved charter. For the 2006-2007 PAAP grant
period, 232 schools submitted applications and 150 were awarded grants (10% of NYC public schools).

These include 19 schools in The Bronx; 46 schools in Brooklyn; 26 schools in Manhattan; 41 schools in
Queens; and 18 schools in Staten Island. Of these, 10 are special education and 1 is a charter school.

Grants have been awarded to 42 schools new to the program this year.*
In addition:

• 73% of grantees have 50% or more students eligible for free lunch (110 schools)
• 56% of grantees are Title I schools (84 schools)
• 19% are Empowerment Zone schools (28 schools)
• 13% are schools have been sited as in need of improvement (SINI – 19 schools)
• 5% are in need of corrective action (8 schools)

Program summaries for all 150 funded schools are available at www.cae-nyc.org.In addition to the workshops at the February 1 event, The Honorable Kate Levin, NYC Department of
Cultural Affairs Commissioner; Dr. Sharon Dunn, Senior Instructional Manager for the Arts of the NYC
Department of Education’s Office of Arts and Special Projects; and Laurie Tisch, Chairman of The
Center for Arts Education; will offer keynote remarks to the grantees.
Major funding for the PAAP Grant Program is provided by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and
the NYC Department of Education. Additional support is provided by the Citigroup Foundation.

* Based on numbers reported by schools in the grant applications.

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The Center for Arts Education (CAE) is a not-for-profit organization committed to restoring, stimulating, and
sustaining quality arts education as an essential part of every child’s education. We create, identify, fund, and
support exemplary partnerships and programs that demonstrate how the arts contribute to learning and student
achievement. CAE is dedicated to influencing educational and fiscal policies that will support arts education in all
of the City’s public schools. Since its founding in 1996, CAE, led by Chairman Laurie M. Tisch, has awarded
nearly $40 million in private and public funding to support arts education partnerships and programs.

For more information on The Center for Arts Education, visit www.cae-nyc.org.

CONTACTS:

Heather Mangrum, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
212-971-3300

x308 heather@cae-nyc.org

Maggie Guggenheimer, Communications Associate

212 971 3300 x307 maggie@cae-nyc.org