Name of Organization: Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre

Submitted on June 26th, 2015

Submitted values are:

--Section 1: Organization Information--

Name of Organization: Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre

Mailing Address: 172 Exchange St Pawtucket RI 02860

Name of Project Contact Person(s): Susie Schutt and Kate Hanson

Phone: 4017234266

E-mail:

Type of Organization: Private (citizen, non-profit)

If Other:

Description of Organization and Mission: The Sandra

Feinstein-Gamm Theatre is a professional theater dedicated to

performing a wide range of classic and contemporary plays that

engage, challenge and entertain our audiences. The Education

Department serves the theatre’s mission of supporting the

theatrical experience and enhancing the intellectual and cultural

life of the community. By implementing our

literacy-through-performance pedagogical model, we aim to help

students of all ages improve their reading and leadership skills,

gain confidence, and better express themselves in academic

settings and beyond. We further serve the wider public with

educational outreach programming designed to engage, instruct,

and empower residents of Rhode Island and Greater New England. As

a result, our students and patrons become more informed and

empathetic thinkers with a deeper understanding of their

relationship to society and the world.

On average, how many individuals does your organization serve per

year? Education Department serves approximately 5000

How did you hear about the CPC? Dana Brown, AmeriCorps VISTA,

Community Partnerships Center at RWU

--Section 2: Project Description--

Title of the Project: Gamm Education Documentation and Assessment

Project

Project Location (Address, City, State, and Zip): Gamm Theatre

(172 Exchange Street, Pawtucket, RI, 02860) and surrounding

schools

General Project Description (you may attach a longer narrative if

necessary): This project will allow students the opportunity to

develop a documentation plan and educational assessment tool for

a professional theatre's education department, which serves over

4000 students in Pawtucket free of charge. Students will create

materials that document the in-school program’s processes,

teaching artist practices, and teacher/artist partnerships.

Documentation in the form of videos, photographs,

student-writings, interviews and other materials, would be used

to create a final report. Each report will be a comprehensive

look at one of the ten classrooms served and will be used for

grant writing, promotion, and as an assessment tool for the

integration of the Arts in Education. Potential Disciplines:

Educational Assessment, Journalism, Writing, Communications

Potential Scope of Work/Tasks for RWU CPC: An initial meeting

would be scheduled early in the academic year to plan and set

expectations for the year. Students would be given some reading

and supporting materials to understand the teaching practices

they will be observing. Students would then be assigned

classrooms to observe. They will attend one classroom through to

the completion of the residency, including a performance and any

pertinent meetings (co-planning with teachers, etc.). Students

can observe and document the classroom experience in a number of

ways including written observations, video, and photographs.

Students will then take their observations and report on what

they have noticed for each class. Each weekly report will be

synthesized into a final report for the end of the session.

What will be the final product output for this project? (survey,

website, design plans, drawings, etc.): Classroom snapshot,

comprehensive overview of programs and teaching practices to be

created in the form of a report which can be submitted to

grantors, school districts, and other funders.

Proposed Project Schedule (when the tasks/project needs to be

completed): Students would meet with the Education Director in

early September to learn about the Gamm Education Department

teaching philosophy and scope of programming. Then students would

be assigned classrooms to observe. Classroom residencies last

approximately 10 weeks and meet once a week for about 45

minutes-1 hour during school hours (between 9am and 2:30pm).

There are usually three sessions: one from late September to late

November/early December, one from January to March, and finally,

one from April to June depending on the district calendar and

snow days. One report after each session (December, March, and

June) would be useful or one final report in June that covers the

entire year. The number of classrooms covered is flexible and can

be adjusted depending on the number of RWU students involved.

Please provide the names and contact information for any staff

members or volunteers who will be playing a primary role in the

proposed CPC project.:

Susie Schutt, Gamm Education Director,

Kate Hanson, Gamm Education and Outreach Coordinator,

What resources/previous work would the CPC be building upon that

you already have completed? (Please select all items that are

applicable):

- Additional organizational documents

- Preliminary photos of the site/project

- Previous research

- Survey results

What active support would your organization be able to contribute

should your project be selected? Staff time

--Section 3: Project Outcomes--

Please describe how this project will benefit your organization

and the advancement of your mission: By implementing our

literacy-through-performance pedagogical model, we aim to help

students of all ages improve their reading and leadership skills,

gain confidence, and better express themselves in academic

settings and beyond. This project will allow us to assess the

value of our work, our impact on the students we serve, and how

effectively we are meeting this aim.

Please describe how this project might benefit the overall

community, including specific groups that could benefit from this

project (i.e. target populations, neighborhoods, specific

town/city/region).: This project could prove to be hugely

beneficial for the overall community. By documenting our work, we

will be able to get a better understanding of the needs of the

community and its students. We will also be able to use the

information gathered through documentation to receive funding,

which will expand our reach even further.

Please explain why you have chosen to seek assistance from the

RWU CPC with your project request, instead of undertaking the

project using fee-for-services from a paid professional: We are

in the process of developing the best tools to document our work

and have explored many methods and practices with success.

Therefore, we feel implementing these documentation methods does

not require a professional outside hire. We have also found that

it is difficult to implement a fully realized documentation

strategy while leading a classroom. In order to achieve the

standard of documentation that we require, we need a person

dedicated solely to the mission of documenting our work.

Please describe how this project will benefit RWU students.: This

project will benefit RWU students by allowing them to

independently work on honing their skills in an increasingly

prosperous field. They will be developing a report that will be

put immediately into practice and will positively impact the

educational systems. They will also be forming and solidifying

meaningful contacts and relationships in a professional theatre

and public education setting.

--Section 4: Financial Information--

What is your organization’s annual operating budget? Please

include a copy of your most recent budget with the application in

Section 6..: 1,331,977

What are your major sources of funding? Individual Contributions

& Foundation/Grants

How much funding from your annual operating budget is set aside

for this project (if any)? none

--Section 5: Private Sector Involvement--

Have you or your organization discussed the project with

practicing professionals (e.g. architect, engineer, planner,

consultants, etc.)? : Yes

If no, please explain why:

--Section 6: Supporting Documents--

Budget for the current fiscal year:

List of current Board members:

Copies of supporting resources identified in section 2 as needed

to support your application:

Additional File Upload:

Additional File Upload 2:

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