Lincoln Center Education Receives $500,000 Gift to Fund Middle School Educational Outreach Programs

Lincoln Center Education (LCE) has received a gift of $500,000 from the Estate of Jean Dubinsky Appleton, arranged by Jonathan D. Thier, Executor of the Estate. With this gift, LCE-which is celebrating its 40th year-will be able to expand and enhance two of its middle school outreach programs, Arts in the Middle and Middle School Arts Audition Boot Camp, assisting hundreds of underserved children in New York City.

Launched in fall 2013, Arts in the Middle is a five-year pilot program providing arts education and teacher training in underserved New York City middle schools that serves as a catalyst for improved student engagement and success, teaching practice, and school and community culture. The program, designed in partnership with the New York City Department of Education as part of a larger middle school reform effort and community engagement initiative, is currently in place in 14 middle schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

Middle School Arts Audition Boot Camp is a free, annual two-week program designed to prepare rising eighth graders who attend city public schools in low-income communities to audition for competitive high school arts programs and to encourage parent involvement in that process.

The 2014 inaugural Middle School Arts Audition Boot Camp had 98 students pursuing high school placements for dance, music (vocal and instrumental), theater, and visual arts. As part of the intensive training, students received group and one-on-one coaching from teaching artists, classroom teachers and performing artists, and participated in mock auditions. Boot Camp participants were also given the opportunity to take master classes and view work by professional artists. Students and their parents were introduced to the high school application and audition process and given advice about next steps in college and career readiness. Support continued through the fall, with "brush-up" sessions offered just prior to the actual auditions, which were held in November and December. An impressive 90% of the tracked students who completed Boot Camp 2014 received an offer to their high school of choice throughout the five boroughs of New York City; sixty-four percent were offered placement in elite arts programs. Boot Camp 2015 served 149 students.

With the help of the funds from the Jean D. Appleton Estate, Lincoln Center Education is expanding its commitment to Boot Camp participants with Mentor-Linc, a free mentoring program available to Boot Camp alumni throughout the school year that will support their success through four years of high school and through the college admission process. The newly established $5,000 annual Jean Dubinsky Appleton Scholarship will be given to one Mentor-Linc rising senior who has completed the full program.