New Partnership Between Two LA Youth Organizations Expand Arts Education Opportunities to Underserved Communities

Los Angeles, CA, October 15, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Inner-City Arts, a leading provider of quality arts education for underserved children in Los Angeles has partnered with Children’s Institute, Inc. (CII), one of the largest and most comprehensive child welfare agencies in the city, to offer creative studio classes for children living in areas neighboring CII’s headquarters – the Otis Booth campus just west of Downtown Los Angeles.

Inner-City Arts’ current Downtown LA one-acre campus is located at the intersection of Skid Row and the Arts District and has welcomed and provided arts education service for more than 200,000 students, 10,000 educators and countless community members since its start in 1989. As the organization approaches its 30-year anniversary, Inner-City Arts is looking at new ways to grow and extend its impact while remaining committed to broadening access in communities that would benefit from its arts education model.

Children’s Institute has been providing supportive services for children and families in Los Angeles for more than 110 years. The organization serves more than 22,000 children and families a year, offering a unique blend of clinical treatment, early childhood education, family support and youth development services at three campuses, four community centers and 30 early childhood centers across the county.

“We are excited to partner with Inner City Arts to expand access to high-quality arts education to youth in our community,” said CII’s President and CEO Martine Singer. “Access to an arts education is linked to positive educational outcomes, increased civic engagement, and higher career goals in youth. This partnership will enable both of our organizations to collectively impact hundreds of children in our area.”

“We are committed to working in collaboration with others who share our values and are proud to partner with Children’s Institute, Inc.,” said Inner-City Arts’ President and CEO Bob Smiland. “We have seen that the arts and creativity are transformational. Thanks to this new partnership with CII, we are able to expand access to arts education to more students in our city and, as a result, continue to build a more creative, productive, inclusive and empowered society.”

At the start of the Fall session in August, Inner-City Arts teaching artists and staff members launched four new visual and media art studio classes in the Teen Center and The Big Room of the Otis Booth campus, serving students from Dr. Sammy Lee Medical and Health Science Magnet Elementary School and Commonwealth Avenue Elementary School.

This Fall, Inner-City Arts will serve 248 new students at the CII site as an extension of the organization’s current in-school day program Learning and Achieving Through the Arts. The satellite program will serve an additional 375 students in Winter 2018 and 496 students in Spring 2018, extending its impact to more than 1,000 new students within the first year of the partnership.

About Inner-City Arts

Founded in 1989, Inner-City Arts is a learning oasis in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Under the guidance of professional teaching artists, Inner-City Arts’ students are immersed in a safe and supportive environment where they engage in a variety of visual and performing art forms in studio and theater settings. Services include classes during the instructional day for elementary students, after-school, weekend and summer workshops for teens and creativity-based professional development for educators.

Children who attend Inner-City Arts develop skills that are highly valued in the 21st-century workforce such as collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. We have also found consistent and significant gains in student proficiency in English language arts— a 15% average increase among English language learners and a 10% average increase among whole school populations where we provide services, as well as a 6.5% average gain in mathematics. More information available at: www.inner-cityarts.org

About Children’s Institute, Inc.

Children’s Institute, Inc. (CII) helps children in Los Angeles’ most challenged communities heal from the trauma of family and community violence, build the confidence and skills to break through the barriers of poverty, and grow up to lead healthy, productive lives. Founded in 1906, CII serves more than 22,000 children and families each year through treatment, youth development, early childhood and family support services. For more information, visit our website: www.ChildrensInstitute.org
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Inner-City Arts
Vy Pham
213-627-9621 x 133
inner-cityarts.org
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