How to make a musical (Washington Post): “The 46 kids with parts in the show (another 16 work backstage or on costumes and lighting) auditioned in April. But rehearsals didn’t begin until the performers arrived at a summer camp that runs every afternoon for six weeks — and requires a lot of hard work [...] But opening night, Robinson said, is very special, and gives all the kids an incredible sense of accomplishment.” Do read the full piece to learn more about Catalogue non-profit Sitar Arts Center’s production of Bye Bye Birdie, which will open this coming weekend in Adam Morgan. All the shows are sold out, but you can arrive one hour before curtain and jump on the waitlist.
First charter school approved in Montgomery County?(Gazette.Net): “Charter schools usually don’t appeal to Montgomery County Board of Education President Christopher S.
Barclay. But Monday night, he supported Community Montessori Public Charter School’s application, because he believes it might help the school system consider education from a holistic perspective. Community Montessori, which will serve students in pre-kindergarten through the third grade in Kensington, was approved in a 6-2 vote Monday evening by the Board of Education [...] The school will be run by Crossway Community, a nonprofit organization that serves low-income women and children and already operates a Montessori school for children.”
Summer learning program seeks to close opportunity gap (Washington Post Local): “Nearly all children forget some of what they know over the summer. But researchers have discovered that poor children tend to forget more — so much more that by ninth grade, according to a 2007 study, two-thirds of the achievement gap between children from low-income and middle-class families can be explained by what happens during summer.” The article also highlights Catalogue non-profit Higher Achievement Program, which just received a Wal-Mart Foundation grant directed at summer learning programs.
Big companies beefed up their charitable giving last year (USA Today): “ cash giving rose 13% in 2010, after the recession caused a decline of 7.5% in 2009,” according to a survey of 180 of the largest US business conducted with the Chronicle of Philanthropy. “When companies add the value of product donations to their cash giving, the figures for 2010 look even stronger. Total giving rose nearly 20%. Seventy-four of the 107 companies surveyed in the Fortune?300 list of largest companies said they expect this year’s giving to remain about the same as last year.” I would wonder, are these same trends reflected in the small and local business world?