A free arts education program run out of Bass Performance Hall has now served 2 million participants, Performing Arts Fort Worth leaders announced at a student matinee downtown on Oct. 15, the Fort Worth Report said.
The Children's Education Program reached its first million 14 years ago. It began in 1998, and arts education has been part of the hall's mission for nearly three decades, according to the report. The program offers student matinees, literacy programs, summer camps, virtual programming and chances for students to meet performers, all at no charge to students or educators.
The milestone was marked before a matinee of "Ellis Island: The Dream of America," performed by artists from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and TCU's theater department.
A yearly visit for Fort Worth ISD's younger grades
Fort Worth ISD has been part of the program from the start. Jennifer Giddings Brooks, who chairs Performing Arts Fort Worth's education and engagement committee, told the Report that every district student in first through fifth grade goes to a performance at the hall each year as part of the curriculum, and that middle and high school students have other programs open to them.
Board chair Elaine Agather thanked the district for its 28 years of participation. Superintendent Peter Licata, who attended with other district leaders, answered: "And we're staying with it."
Pat Linares, a board member and former longtime district leader, said many children would never set foot in the hall without the program, and that a live show lets students connect with actors in a way a screen cannot.
