Valley Youth Theatre’s Literacy and the Arts (LTA) program gives students from Title 1 schools a page-to-stage experience by effectively combining the power of in-school learning with the magic of experiencing live theatre. Books related to the production and accompanying study guides prepare children for a production that helps them learn. Last season, 3,308 Title 1 school students benefitted from this program.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by Thunderbirds Charities for the work we are doing on behalf of the young people of Arizona,” says Bobb Cooper, Valley Youth Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director. “This grant will help ensure that this crucial program continues and moves us closer to our goal of reaching 3,600 at-risk youth, this year.” VYT created the LTA program in 1993 to supplement diminishing arts funding for K-8 students from two inner city school districts – Roosevelt and Phoenix Elementary. Every year since, 3,000 to 5,000 students have had the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of this program, free of charge. Added Cooper, “LTA has been proven to increase students’ reading comprehension and literacy skills. In fact, all participating schools now integrate LTA into their regular curriculum as an essential arts-based learning experience and our feedback from school officials and teachers consistently tells us that LTA is making a difference in improving those core competencies, as well as sparking new-found interest in the arts.”
This grant is part of the Fall 2019 cycle. View a list of all Recent Grantees.