Wynton to play a benefit concert for Young Scholars Charter School
On October 4, 2007, the Young Scholars Charter School (YSCS) will host a benefit concert featuring Wynton Marsalis.
The concert will be held at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (260 South Broad Street Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia PA) and all proceeds will benefit the school.
Schedule:
5:30 p.m. cocktails and dinner in the Kimmel Center’s Hamilton Garden for sponsors and patrons
7:00 p.m. cocktails in Commonwealth Plaza for all ticketholders
8:00 p.m. exclusive musical performance by Wynton Marsalis in the Perelman Theater
“This concert will give us an opportunity to expose our students to a truly great artist and a truly great person who cares about the success of inner-city schools,” said Lars Beck, CEO of YSCS. “It will also give us an opportunity to showcase our school and our students to the whole community. Community involvement – from individuals, corporate supporters and young friends – is crucial to our success and we invite everyone to attend the concert and see first-hand what Young Scholars Charter School is all about.”
YSCS is a charter school in the Philadelphia School District that serves 200 sixth to eighth graders from more than 30 zip codes around the City of Philadelphia. The school has historically served a student population that is over 95 percent African American, of which over 70 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch and 60 percent come from single-parent or single-guardian homes. Like all charter schools in Philadelphia, 80 percent of the school’s operational funding comes from the government and the other 20 percent comes from donations. Any funding for additional programs or expansions must be privately raised.
YSCS aims to offer its students a well-rounded education that prepares them for the best colleges and high schools. In addition to an extended work day (8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.), YSCS offers a variety of extracurricular activities available to its students, many of which are music-related. The school sponsors a choir, a hip hop club and a stepping club among the more than one dozen extracurricular activities offered. The stepping club was recently recognized by the Joost Stomping on the Yard national organization with a $2000 grant.
About Young Scholars Charter School
The Young Scholars Charter School was founded in 1999, to create an environment where academic excellence is the norm and not the exception. Located in North Philadelphia, just blocks from Temple University, the school has historically served a student population that is over 95 percent African American. The school’s mission is to provide an innovative, community-based transitional program of academic instruction to children in grades six through eight. Young Scholars accomplishes this by creating a nurturing, educationally accelerated learning environment that prepares students for the challenges of rigorous pre-college programs. In supporting each of our students in their individual interests throughout their time here, we aim to provide them with the opportunities necessary to achieve in whatever paths they choose to pursue.
Comments
Unfortunately where I live (the midwest) charter schools are the latest “scam du jour”..with a huge amount of available public money, taken from the needed coffers of primarily urban districts, these schools are our very worst performing institutions. Parents are fooled into thinking they are getting “private-school education” for free while the scam artists take off with the money. In many instances the parents, teachers , and students are left mid-year with no school and large debts. Innovation in education is many times an excuse to dodge the sleeves rolled-up old fashioned hard work of teaching.
Juanmustard on Oct 2nd, 2007 at 4:59pm
What a great tribute to creativity in education. A summary about charter schools is contained on the YSCS website. Relatively new since the 1970’s, it is interesting to review follow-up studies of charter school graduates.
gloria on Oct 2nd, 2007 at 8:48am