FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

What is Connecting Kids and Culture?

Connecting Kids and Culture is a new initiative developed to provide culturally-enriching educational opportunities for kindergarten through fifth grade students in Polk and Dallas counties of Greater Des Moines.

The Connecting Kids and Culture program will fill a void created by dwindling funding for transportation to educational experiences outside the classroom. In addition to providing transportation funding, this innovative program will directly align community-based arts and cultural experiential learning to core curriculum objectives and provide opportunities for educators to bring local arts and cultural experiences into their schools.

• More than 39,000 students will benefit from Connecting Kids and Culture program including every kindergarten-5th grade student in Polk and Dallas Counties (public, private and parochial schools).
• Connecting Kids and Culture program funding will be available beginning January 2008.
• Aligned curriculum for field experiences will be available beginning February 2008.
• The website www.connectingkidsandculture.org will help educators match cultural educational field experience opportunities with their curriculum objectives and learn how to access funding.

Who is providing the funding?

Connecting Kids and Culture is made possible by contributions from the 2007 Principal Charity Classic earmarked “FORE Our Kids.” The Principal Charity Classic contributions to the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation and Bravo Greater Des Moines (Bravo) combined with financial support from a planned gift made by Kenneth P. & Helen I. MacDonald through the Community Foundation will fund the Connecting Kids and Culture program. (www.principalcharityclassic.com)

The Greater Des Moines Community Foundation is a donor-driven, charitable public foundation with a mission to improve the quality of life in Greater Des Moines through philanthropy. The Community Foundation works to foster greater giving in the community and serves as a catalyst for community betterment. www.desmoinesfoundaton.org

Bravo Greater Des Moines was formed in 2004 as a successor to the Greater Des Moines Cultural Alliance. The mission is to provide Greater Des Moines with an enriched quality of life by increasing awareness, advocacy and funding for – as well as fostering collaboration among – cultural institutions. Bravo distributes hotel/motel sales tax funding to support and sustain local arts and cultural organizations. Tax revenues are received from the following cities and Polk County: Altoona, Ankeny, Clive, Des Moines, Johnston, Urbandale, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights. www.desmoinesfoundation.org Click on Bravo Greater Des Moines.

The Kenneth P. & Helen I. MacDonald Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation was established with a planned gift from the estate of Kenneth P. and Helen I. MacDonald.

What types of information is available on the website?

The website is designed for educators and provides information on curriculum connections as well as transportation resources and a field experience planner section.

What elementary schools are eligible to receive transportation funding?

School districts and private schools serving kindergarten through fifth grade students in Dallas and Polk counties are eligible for the funding from the Connecting Kids and Culture Fund administered by the Community Foundation.

How were the school districts chosen?

Central Iowa schools were targeted to receive funding because the missions of both the Community Foundation and Bravo seek to improve the quality of life in Greater Des Moines.

Funding was narrowed to those communities currently providing financial support to Bravo Greater Des Moines organizations while the amount of funds available to impact the greatest number of kindergarten through fifth grade students was also considered.

The total number of school districts eligible for future funding will be based on sustained contributions to the program.

Why was kindergarten through fifth grade targeted for funding?

Kindergarten through fifth grade students were targeted for the following reasons:

• Public funding to pay for the transportation of students to educational experiences outside the classroom continues to decline.
• Other community and state programs that provide transportation funds are often depleted early in the school year and/or the transportation programs don’t provide access to the wide variety of arts and culture, science and history organizations as defined by Bravo.
• The schedules of elementary students are structured in such a way that allows field experiences for entire sections of students.
• Most often, cultural organizations and artists have educational programs targeted to elementary-aged students.

Are there reporting requirements for use of the funds?

In order to participate in the Connecting Kids and Culture program, schools and school districts must agree to the following:

1. Sign a grant agreement with the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, that the funds will be used to carry out the objective of the program that every K-5 student in Polk and Dallas counties will experience local arts and cultural programming a minimum of one additional time in 2008.
2. Maintain accurate financial records, supporting documents and statistical records that are pertinent to the funds received and submit a status and final report on the use of funding to the Community Foundation.

How can classroom educators access the funds?

For public schools, funds are provided directly to the local school district. Consult your field experience administrator for details.

For private schools, funds will be available directly through the school principal.

What happens when the Connecting Kids and Culture Fund runs out?

Funds are currently available for use January 2008 - December 2008. The program is already gaining local attention and attracting private funding. We are hopeful that the idea of quality, curriculum-based field experiences for all students will continue to attract financial support.

What level of curriculum information is available on the website?

The majority of learning objectives for Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Science, Art, Music, and Physical Education will be on the Connecting Kids and Culture website for kindergarten through fifth grade for each of the 15 public school districts in Polk and Dallas Counties. Arts and cultural organizations will identify which of these objectives are targeted by the learning experiences they offer. The website user will be able to search by subject area, school district, grade level, specific learning objective, arts or cultural organization, and specific learning experience.

How does the curriculum information connect to a teacher’s classroom curriculum?

The curriculum objectives on the website are the same objectives school districts have developed for use by classroom teachers. Objectives have been identified by each district for use by teachers of that district and grade level. However, there are many that are the same or similar from district to district and from grade to grade.

Which cultural institutions or “in-classroom” programs qualify for funding?

While formal curriculum alignments for 14 organizations will initially be posted on the website, transportation or in-classroom funding can be used with a large and varied number of arts and cultural institutions and individual artists. The program does require however, that the organization or individual artist have their primary office of operations located within Greater Des Moines and be, or have as their fiscal agent a 501(c)(3) organization.

For purposes of this funding, the definition of an arts and cultural organization is that their primary purpose is for the enlightenment and entertainment of the public through the production, presentation, exhibition, advancement or preservation of art, science, music, theater, dance, zoology, botany, natural history, or cultural history.

Are the arts and cultural organizations listed on the website the only organizations that have educational programs that match elementary curriculum objectives?

No. Other arts and cultural organizations, as well as individual artists, may have educational programs that match curriculum objectives. Educators should check directly with the executive director, educational coordinator, or individual artist in order to maximize the students’ learning experience.

Will there be an opportunity for additional arts and cultural organizations to be listed on the Connecting Kids and Culture website?

Only those pilot organizations that have committed to the rigorous process of aligning cultural field experiences with elementary curriculum objectives will initially have curriculum connections listed on the website. A link to the Bravo Greater Des Moines web page will be included where educators can find additional linkages to other arts and cultural organizations throughout Greater Des Moines.

Can an educator visit a cultural organization before bringing the students?

Yes, in many cases the cultural institutions welcome all educators to experience their programming first-hand and to maximize the learning of their students. Call the education coordinator listed on the organization’s information page on the Connecting Kids and Culture website to schedule a special “educators” tour.