New Young Audiences Charter School Family Fun Day To Be Held June 8 at Mel Ott Park

The new Young Audiences Charter School invites the Gretna community and currently enrolled and prospective students and families to attend a Family Fun Day on Saturday, June 8, 2-4pm at Mel Ott Park, 2301 Belle Chasse Highway in Gretna, LA 70053 at Shelters 6 & 7. The event will feature diverse musical and dancing entertainment including Zohar and the Free Spirit Stilt Walkers, kids arts and crafts, refreshments, games and more.  It is free and open to the public.

“We hope this Family Fun Day will bring together the community in a fun, creative way to introduce Young Audiences Charter School to the neighborhood,” said Principal Folwell Dunbar.  “We are excited to be a part of this diverse community and to provide a high-quality, open enrollment, arts integrated education to all children.  We hope to make this a yearly event.”
 
Local non-profit organization Young Audiences of Louisiana, the leader in Louisiana of arts education and quality after-school programs, is launching the new open enrollment, arts-integrated charter school at the Kate Middleton Campus in Gretna for the 2013-14 school year.
 
Young Audiences Charter School also invites prospective students and families to attend an information session to learn more about the school on Saturday, June 15 at 10am or Thursday, June 27 at 7pm.  The sessions will be held at the West Bank Regional Library, 2751 Manhattan Blvd. in Harvey.
 
Recent research shows that students at schools with an arts integrated curriculum scored higher on standardized tests and academic measures than those at other types of schools, including academic magnet schools. (PAIR, 2013)  Additionally, students highly involved in the arts are more likely to have improved grades, better standardized test scores, and increased class participation.
 
Young Audiences Charter School at Kate Middleton will open its doors in August to any Jefferson Parish student entering Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade. Students must reside in Jefferson Parish. Each following academic year, the school will add one grade to serve students in grades K-8 by Fall 2018.
 
Enrollment is limited to 388 students. Parents are encouraged to visit the school’s new website www.yacharterschool.org, call (504) 523-3525 or e-mail charter@ya4la.org for enrollment information.
 
Young Audiences has operated after-school programs throughout Jefferson Parish that promote academic excellence and social growth. External evaluations by SEDL (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory) have shown that students enrolled in Young Audiences after-school programs in Jefferson Parish schools outperformed their peers on standardized tests. In addition, students in these programs showed fewer disciplinary reports and increased school attendance.

Videos:
Parent Testimonial Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngP7wK7f6H8
Video that includes interviews with teachers, artists, and students: http://vimeo.com/21320876

CONTACT: Pam Stewart 504.717.1200/pam@ya4la.org