Romina Rosas has been coming to Bass Performance Hall since she was in kindergarten. Or, maybe since first grade. She doesn\u2019t quite remember, she said.<\/p>\n
The fifth grader at Fort Worth ISD\u2019s Sam Rosen Elementary does remember seeing \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d and \u201cThe Magic School Bus.\u201d She certainly recalls the actors, the music and the size of the performance hall.<\/p>\n
But her visit Oct. 15 was different.<\/p>\n
This time, Romina walked through the doors as the 2 millionth participant in Performing Arts Fort Worth\u2019s Children\u2019s Education Program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to me with all the great actors, great music, the great performances here,\u201d Romina said.<\/p>\n
The milestone comes nearly three decades after arts education was built into Bass Performance Hall\u2019s mission \u2014 and 14 years after the program welcomed its 1 millionth participant. The downtown venue was always envisioned as a living classroom for students, Performing Arts Fort Worth leaders and board members said.<\/p>\n
Since 1998, the Children\u2019s Education Program has provided arts experiences to students and educators free of charge. Through student matinees, literacy programs, summer camps, virtual programming and opportunities to interact with performers, the program brings the performing arts to kids who might not otherwise experience them.<\/p>\n
Performing Arts Fort Worth leaders celebrated the milestone Oct. 15 before a student matinee of \u201cEllis Island: The Dream of America,\u201d performed by artists from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and TCU\u2019s theater department.<\/p>\n
Yearly visits have helped make Romina feel the arts are something she can be a part of, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful for being here and learning all this new stuff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She would like to perform one day, she said.<\/p>\n
Pat Linares, a member of the Performing Arts Fort Worth board, said an in-person performance offers students an experience they cannot get by watching online or even inside a classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re able to see the actors. They\u2019re able to connect with the actors in a way that you can\u2019t do online,\u201d Linares said.<\/p>\n
Then there is simply walking into Bass Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of our children will never get the opportunity to come to Bass Hall if it wasn\u2019t for this program,\u201d said Linares, a former longtime FWISD leader. \u201cYou can see it on their faces when they walk in and their eyes light up,\u201d she said, noting the novelty of the experience for many students.<\/p>\n
FWISD has been central to the program since its beginning, said Dione Kennedy, Performing Arts Fort Worth president and CEO. School district leaders, including Superintendent Peter Licata, were there to ring in the milestone.<\/p>\n
Performing Arts Fort Worth board chair Elaine Agather thanked FWISD for its 28-year commitment to the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we\u2019re staying with it,\u201d Licata interjected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jennifer Giddings Brooks, chair of Performing Arts Fort Worth\u2019s Education and Engagement Committee, said every FWISD student in first through fifth grades attends a Bass Hall performance each year as part of the district\u2019s curriculum. Middle and high school students are provided opportunities through additional programs.<\/p>\n
While the programming is free for students, it is not free to produce, Kennedy said. Donations from individuals, corporations and foundations, along with staff members and hundreds of volunteers, help sustain it.<\/p>\n
The program also has expanded beyond traditional student matinees. Linares pointed to adaptive performances designed for children, including some students with autism or ADHD, who may be sensitive to sounds or other elements of a traditional show.<\/p>\n
Arts experiences also have value beyond preparing future actors, musicians or dancers, organizers said.<\/p>\n
Participation in the arts is associated with better attendance and behavior and can support language, motor skills, empathy and learning in other academic subjects, said Brooks, a former FWISD principal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe arts are critical to the development of well-rounded students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As public schools, particularly Fort Worth ISD<\/a>, face sustained pressure to improve reading, math and other tested subjects, that argument is crucial, Linares said.<\/p>\n The arts should not be viewed as separate from students\u2019 academic development, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to educate the whole child,\u201d Linares said. \u201cWe want to be able to provide students with opportunities that they wouldn\u2019t get otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n Students attending a performance are doing something different than sitting through another classroom lesson, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re actually experiencing life,\u201d Linares said.<\/p>\n Capacity is a challenge as organizers consider reaching students in districts such as Arlington and White Settlement.<\/p>\n Keeping the experiences free for students was intentional from the beginning, Agather said.<\/p>\n She hopes the organization will eventually gather again to recognize its 3 millionth participant.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just begun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n As Agather finished speaking, she had a surprise for Romina and her mother, Susana Rosas. Performing Arts Fort Worth invited them back as special guests for \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d in the spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n Romina is looking forward to it. After all, Bass Hall helped her imagine what might be possible for herself.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that I have a great future ahead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.<\/p>\n Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report\u2019s reader advisory council. Elaine Agather is the wife of Report board of directors member Neils Agather.<\/p>\n