BLDG 360

BACKGROUND

Research shows that the arts help children build basic and advanced thinking skills and instruct children in diverse modes of thinking and learning. The knowledge and skills that students develop in learning to respond to, perform and create works of art constitute a basic form of literacy students must have if they are to communicate successfully and function in today’s new media and information society. A quality arts education can help students develop the four C’s:

Cognition: The arts expand our knowledge and contribute to intellectual comprehension. Studies have shown that the arts teach children to think critically, solve problems, analyze and synthesize information, and evaluate and make decisions.

Culture: The arts help us understand people and the traditions and symbols that have meaning for them. The arts are international and transcend the limits of different languages, and help to bridge the gaps in a diverse and complicated world.

Communication: The arts help us send and receive messages in various media that are their form of literacy. The arts use sights, sounds, and movement to convey meaning beyond the power of words. Arts education develops the ability to interpret and understand complex symbols like language and mathematics.

Creativity: The arts teach the skills associated with imagination, invention, and innovation skills. Creativity learned through the arts is linked to the processes of scientific discovery, business planning, and negotiation. Because an arts education develops a diverse range of cognitive abilities, it helps promote achievement across disciplines, as well as in an arts discipline, fostering the development of spatial, mathematical, logical, and physical abilities.

GOALS

The goal of 360 is to inspire youth to become healthier, self-sufficient young adults ready to play a positive and productive role in the community while motivating them to achieve their dreams. By providing youth with the life skills needed for setting and attaining measurable career and personal goals in a stable, educational, and creative environment. Building 360 will provide:

  • Individual & Group Activities
  • One on One Counseling
  • Community Service
  • Job Training
  • Employment
  • Creativity through Cultural and Media Arts

360 strives to improve the quality and quantity of programs for youth by advocating on behalf of youth and the organizations that serve them, providing support for school activities and making resources available to educational institutions, youth, business sectors, community centers, museums, the arts, youth service providers, and parents.

  • 360 is committed to creating collaborations and advocating for increased awareness programs that make a difference in the lives of youth and their communities.
  • 360 will work to develop resources and networking opportunities for youth initiatives and will engage in substantive discussions with decision-makers about these issues and encourage new policy recommendations that positively impact Delaware’s youth.
  • 360 will advocate for skills-building self-respect, motivation, role models, and support systems to help youth become responsible adults. As research has shown, participation in the visual and performing arts is among the most potent forms of prevention, working to redirect the energies of at-risk youth successfully.

Youth arts programs have been found to:

  • Reduce truancy and improve academic performance;
  • Enhance the ability to communicate effectively and resolve conflict;
  • Improve the ability to work on and finish tasks and to work in teams;
  • Improve self-esteem and individuals’ attitudes about their futures; and
  • Decrease the frequency of delinquent behavior.
  • Engage students not being reached;
  • Maximize students’ learning abilities;
  • Connect students to themselves and each other;
  • Transform the learning environment;
  • Provide learning opportunities for parents and caretakers;
  • Present new challenges for students already considered successful; and
  • Connect learning experiences to the world of real work.

360 will also:

  • Redefine entrenched perceptions about youth through collaborations between the arts and community organizations across geographic and demographic boundaries;
  • Advocate to business, corporate and foundation leaders, and elected officials the importance of continued funding for youth arts and education programs;
  • Conduct and disseminate research findings specific to Florida about the impact of the arts on youth, families, and communities;
  • Offer tools, resources, and links to private sector support for children, and artists/teachers, and providers;
  • Advocate for adequate spending on the arts and after-school cultural enrichment programs at all levels of government;
  • Create formalized structures and opportunities to bring artists, cultural and media arts professionals into community-based programs;
  • Implement new and aggressive outreach strategies for recruiting undeserved youth, including youth with physical and/or mental disabilities;
  • Encourage parents to actively participate with their children in art programs and develop opportunities for them to celebrate their children’s accomplishments in the arts; and continue to provide networking opportunities for people and organizations.