Out of this World

Madeline L'engle wrote the science fiction novel A Wrinkle in Time; which is a science fiction novel about love and quantum physics.

The protagonist is an intelligent little girl who has to fight an unspeakable evil to survive.

Also: Do you know about The Lower East Side Girls Club?

Their mission statement will blow your mind:

The Lower Eastside Girls Club provides a place where girls and young women 8-23 can grow, learn, have fun, and develop confidence in themselves and their ability to make a difference in the world. By delivering strong arts, literacy, science, health and leadership programs we provide girls with the vision to plan – and the tools to build – their future. All Girls Club programs develop environmental, entrepreneurial and ethical leadership in the girls we serve.

Seek Help

One of my most favorite stops on the tour is the Actors Fund. The organization serves everyone in the entertainment industry; which may include you, or one of a zillion people who are still waiting for healthcare reform to actually arrive.

The Actors Fund maintains the Actors Health Insurance Resource Center. 

Their motto?

Get insured. Get Health Care. Get Creative.

Also: David Bowie - Heroes

The Lessons of the Marketplace

The National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts is the national service organization for a diverse constituency of non-profit organizations providing arts education. 

On their useful site, in an otherwise excellent article written before the current ECONOMIC APOCALYPSE, we get introduced to the facts of life regarding Program Evaluation. It's tough love for us, buddy, and we should all take our cues from Wall Street:

"Our culture is increasingly interested in outcomes and accountability. From Wall Street to the school board, leaders demand information about the effectiveness and efficiency of all aspects of work. "Funders, in particular, now require assurance that their investment in a venture is yielding results and that the parties involved have responsibly deployed financial and human resources. In response, nonprofit organization and school administrators have scrambled to learn how to develop, design, and implement program evaluations, or to find the funds to engage an outside evaluator."

I am laughing so hard right now through my tears.

Plus: Edith Piaf never submitted a reflection sheet and I bet she could teach you a thing or two. (youtube)

The Answers, My Friend

What are the qualities of quality?

What are the markers of excellence?

How do a programs' decisions impact the pursuit and achievement of quality?

On December 17th, Steve Seidel of Project Zero will present the results of a Wallace Foundation study that promises to clear this up once and for all. 

December 17, 2008
The Qualities of Quality: Excellence in Arts Education and How to Achieve It
Presenter: Steve Seidel, Director, Harvard Project Zero, and Director, Arts in Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

If you want the answers, it's $85.00 for Americans for the Arts Members and $125.00 for Non-members. 

I told you to join.