Rosie's Theater Kids Begin 2015 PS Broadway Program

Rosie's Theater Kids continue to spread the good word of Broadway!

New York, NY (February 20, 2015) - Rosie's Theater Kids (RTKids), a leading New York City arts education organization co-founded by Rosie O'Donnell and Lori Klinger, kicked off its 2015 PS Broadway program being held at 17 New York City public elementary schools. As a 15-week, in-school curriculum designed to introduce fifth grade students to American musical theater and performance, PS Broadway is available at no cost and provides in-depth exposure to musical theater in the heart of the city where Broadway was born. The spring semester began in February at seven schools and will run through the first week of June, while the fall semester will include ten schools.

Each week, one lead teacher, musician and assistant, will teach a 45-minute structured workshop in singing and dancing to each fifth grade class at all participating schools. At the end of the 15-week program, all participating fifth graders perform a show for their school community featuring songs they learned in the program. In addition, participating fifth graders have the opportunity to see a Broadway show - with the Tony Award Winning musical, Matilda, for this year's show - as well as meeting a Broadway performer in-person at their school.

The criteria for choosing schools for the PS Broadway program include:

· Those with the highest level of need, based on the percentage of students eligible for the Federal Free lunch program (all partner schools are Title 1 schools, and the average free lunch rate is approximately 83 percent.)

· A strong commitment and shared vision by both the principal and teaching staff.

· Ability to provide a space for weekly classes furnished with a tuned piano.

· A site visit by an RTKids staff member to determine if these criteria can be met.

Since its founding in 2003, Rosie's Theater Kids has impacted the lives of over 60,000 students and serves public schools that are most in need. RTKids reaches approximately 1,400 students per year with the PS Broadway program and 86 percent are from low-income families.

For a complete list of participating schools for the 2015 spring semester, visit www.rosiestheaterkids.org/schoolsweserve. PS Broadway is supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

In addition to PS Broadway, RTKids features a scholarship program, ACTE II (A Commitment to Excellence), an effort-based, pre-professional program for outstanding graduates of PS Broadway. ACTE II begins the summer after students finish fifth grade and students may remain in the program until they graduate from high school, at no cost to the student or the school. Students receive annual in-depth training in musical theater after-school and during a 4-5 week Summer Intensive at RTKids home in the theater district, Maravel Arts Center.

RTKids also offers the Arts Plus (A+) program, which supplements the ACTE II program by providing students with academic tutoring, mentoring, audition coaching and skills development. This ensures students succeed in high school, college and beyond. Every eighth grader receives academic assistance, private audition coaching and application advice for specialized and selective New York City public performing arts high schools. Similarly, every high school junior and senior receives individual guidance on college selection, college application assistance, audition preparation and SAT tutoring. RTKids has maintained level of excellence with their graduating high school seniors in 2011-2014, achieving the following milestones: 100% PSAT/SAT improvement (on average between 100 and 250 points), 100% high school graduation rate and 100% college acceptance rate.

ACTE II students currently attend prestigious higher learning institutions, many on full or significant scholarships, including: Duke University; New York University; Northwestern University; University of Michigan Musical Theater Program; Macaulay Honors Program at Baruch College; University of North Carolina School of the Arts; Howard University; and Wagner College