FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lucas Held
Director of Communications
The Wallace Foundation
1-212-251-9782
lheld@wallacefoundation.org
“REACHING ACROSS BOUNDARIES” TO ENHANCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IS THE THEME OF THE WALLACE FOUNDATION’S NEW ANNUAL REPORT
Report ’07 is the first exclusively on-line Wallace annual report
New York, June 10, 2008 – Boundaries are everywhere, but as M. Christine DeVita, president of The Wallace Foundation writes in Report ’07, states, cities, school districts, arts institutions and others are increasingly looking for ways to “reach across boundaries” and work more closely together to provide people, and especially children, with enriching learning opportunities.
Report ’07, the foundation’s newly-released annual report, provides a progress review of the work it is supporting in its three current focus areas: strengthening education leadership to improve student learning; enhancing out-of-school time learning opportunities; and building appreciation and demand for the arts. In all three of those areas, Wallace has sought to identify institutions willing to adopt new, more coordinated approaches that hold promise for surrounding children and families in entire cities with learning and enrichment opportunities:
- In education, Wallace is working with states, districts, schools and universities to reach across their boundaries to develop the necessary policies to train and support highly-qualified school leaders who are capable of lifting the quality of teaching and learning for all children.
- In out-of-school learning, the foundation is supporting the efforts of five cities to develop plans, mobilize the necessary leadership and funding, and create reliable information systems so that children throughout those cities will have access to high-quality enrichment programs beyond the school day.
- In our arts work, Wallace is seeking to counteract the decline in arts learning by helping to find ways for schools, arts organizations and other out-of-school arts providers reach across their boundaries. The foundation is currently working with Dallas to test that “coordinated” approach to increasing arts learning opportunities. Similarly, the Wallace Excellence Awards program is designed to help exemplary arts institutions in selected cities reach across their barriers to work more collaboratively on the challenge of increasing arts participation citywide.
“Some label this approach ‘systemic.’ Others think about it as ‘coordinated,’’’ writes DeVita in her annual President’s Essay. “Whatever you call it, our experiences to date and some new research findings suggest that it is a promising way to confront what often appear to be insurmountable barriers.”
For the first time, Wallace is publishing its annual report exclusively on-line, where it is downloadable for free at www.wallacefoundation.org. Also for the first time, the report contains numerous live links that direct the reader to many of Wallace’s publications which are also downloadable for free.
Other features in Report ’07 include a letter from Kevin W. Kennedy, who was named the foundation’s chairman in 2007; a summary of Wallace’s mission and approach; publication and outreach highlights; a financial overview; funding guidelines and restrictions, and a complete listing of our 2007 program expenditures and commitments.
The Wallace Foundation
The Wallace Foundation is an independent, national foundation dedicated to supporting and sharing effective ideas and practices that expand learning and enrichment opportunities for all people. Its three current objectives are: strengthening education leadership to improve student achievement; enhancing out-of-school learning opportunities; and expanding participation in arts and culture. The foundation maintains a Knowledge Center of free publications on what it has learned at www.wallacefoundation.org.
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