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The Rhode Island State Arts Council has designated an initial $20,000 from its federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to help schools with the cost of hiring buses to transport students to arts and cultural events and programs. This new program, based on successful programs in Iowa and Massachusetts, will help school students attend concerts at the Providence Performing Arts Center and Veterans Memorial Auditorium, plays at Trinity Rep and the Gamm Theatre, museum exhibitions at the RISD Museum and the Newport Art Museum, and countless other arts opportunities that are currently unavailable to Rhode Island school students because of lack of funding for buses and coverage for classroom teachers.
Under the terms of this new program, schools can apply for up to $400 per trip, with each school eligible to receive support for one trip per year in order to ensure that as many schools as possible can participate in this program. Applications will be funded until the money runs out, but it is the Arts Council’s intention to evaluate this program and continue to support it – contingent on availability of sufficient funds -- into the foreseeable future.
Applicants will have access to a webpage with links to a simple application form and contact information for their school district’s state senators and representatives. In addition, applicants will be able to see how much money remains in the program budget, as well as descriptions of other school’s trips to arts and cultural events.
This program is scheduled to begin on Monday, January 25, 2010 with no application deadline. Applicants are required to submit applications at least 45 days in advance of the cultural event or activity. The program is available to Rhode Island K-12 tax-exempt public or private schools with 501c(3) educational status, or a tax-exempt parent-teacher organizations (PTO) associated with a school.
