Enter theComing Up Taller Awards to Win$10,000
RSSBy SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 12/16/2009
If you have an exemplary afterschool, out-of-school, and summer arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth, then apply for the Coming Up Taller Awards—and possibly win $10,000.
Libraries and schools are encouraged to apply for the honor, which recognizes exceptional programs that cultivate character development and life skills in young people, in addition to presenting high-quality arts and humanities learning opportunities.
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First Lady Michelle Obama Presents 2009 Coming Up Awards at White House Ceremony. |
The awards support after-school and out-of-school programs that are examples of the power of the arts and the humanities to encourage young people's creativity and to provide them with learning opportunities, chances to contribute to their community, and ways to take responsibility for their own futures. The awards also celebrate the contributions that educators, curators, historians, scholars, librarians, and artists make to families and communities by mentoring and teaching children.
Nominees should represent places and programs where children learn about cultural traditions and the histories of families, neighborhoods, and nations. They should be where kids learn musical, visual, physical, and literary ways of understanding, expressing, and communicating ideas and perceptions.
Coming Up Taller programs reflect a broad range of goals and serve youth and communities in various ways, such as job training, improved school performance, community development, and cultural preservation and rejuvenation.
Research suggests that children who attend high-quality arts and humanities programs during the hours they are not at home or in school benefit from this exposure. Recent surveys also demonstrate that parents want the arts to be part of their children's learning experiences.
“By honoring excellence in after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for young people through the Coming Up Taller Awards, we seek to promote a creative, engaged, skilled, and confident generation of young people,” says the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) about the award, which is an initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with IMLS, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). “IMLS and its partners encourage programs initiated by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations, universities, colleges, arts centers, community service organizations, schools, businesses, and eligible government entities to participate.”
Download a nomination form and more eligibility requirements. All programs must be nominated, although self-nominations are accepted. Completed nominations should be sent to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and received by the office on or before Friday, January 29, 2010. If you have any questions, contact the President’s Committee at 202-682-5409
