GUYS & DOLLS & LINCOLN CTR, OH MY!

GUYS & DOLLS & LINCOLN CENTER, OH MY! One Title I School’s journey to the top – Parkway School of the Arts fights to give students 2 GIANT opportunities! My name is Michelle Terl and I am the Artistic Director of the best-kept secret in Broward County – Parkway Middle School of the Arts. We are the middle school magnet for the performing & visual arts in Broward County, where we serve over 1500 students in grades 3-8, & where our young performers earn top honors across the board. We are also a Title I public school in an underserved community providing a top-notch education & wealth of resources for our students & their families. Today I’m here to tell you about TWO amazing opportunities that our Parkway stars earned at precisely the same time, and our need to raise $30,000 in a flash so that we can make them affordable for our students. 1. Lincoln Center – We are the FIRST EVER middle school choir from the State of Florida to be invited to perform at Lincoln Center in New York City with the Octavo Series Honor Choir with nationally recognized Guest Conductor Dr. Jeffrey Benson and Manhattan Concert Productions - This trip will cost us $30,000 to bring 15 students. 2. Guys and Dolls, Jr. – We are also the FIRST EVER middle school in the State of Florida to be selected to bring a full mainstage musical production to the Florida State Jr. Thespian Festival in Orlando to perform for a house of 2700 at the largest middle school theatre festival in the world! It’s an amazing opportunity, but also expensive. Our cost cost to bring 82 students is a whopping $53,000 - that’s just about double what it usually is. And of course, we need half of everything by Feb. 1st! Did I mention we are a Title I school? Roughly 87% of our students are on free/reduced lunch. These are exorbitant costs for any family, especially right before the holidays, but I refuse to give up trying to make these experiences happen for these amazing students simply because they cannot afford to cover the full costs without some assistance. Many of our students experience their first real travel with us, and certainly have their greatest learning opportunities with professionals in the field because of the networking we make paramount in their education. But we need help. If we had more notice, we would have planned fundraisers over time. We work tirelessly to do that – but these opportunities just landed on our doorstep & so I’m asking – will you be a Patron of the Arts, a Patron of the Parkway Players? Will you give so that I can give these students the extraordinary experiences they have earned while we still can? I’m hoping to raise $30,000 for this project. It won’t cover everything, but it’ll cover enough that the students will be able to contribute the balance themselves. It is an exciting time at Parkway Middle School of the Arts. And it’s time for us to stop being a secret. Thank you for your time & for your contributions. I can’t wait to update you with stories of our success!