CINCINNATI ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Mission Statement
Cincinnati Arts and Technology Center (CATC) uses the transformational power of art, a first class environment and a character building culture to unlock the self worth and potential of at risk teens from Cincinnati Public Schools by equipping them with skills, credentials, credits to graduate and pathways to employment. CATC shepherds nearly 400 students per year through high school and into sustainable success.
About This Cause
CATC is patterned after the notable Manchester Bidwell Training Center in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania developed by founder and social entrepreneur, Bill Strickland. Strickland believes urban teens can achieve meaningful success with the right motivation and inspiration. Strickland’s message of hope and opportunity mixed with the transformative power of the arts, a first class environment that exudes beauty, culture and professionalism along with a character building culture is the recipe for the programs Today, 13 years later, CATC focuses on two primary areas of service; providing arts education to urban teens as a means of unlocking their potential through the transformative power of art, a character building culture and a first class environment. CATC equips students with skills, credentials and pathways to employment shepherding them through high school into sustainable employment. Together these elements, the transformative power of art, a first-class environment, a character-building culture coupled with strategically targeted supports and services have a remarkable impact, unlocking the teens’ self-worth and potential, and re-igniting their excitement for learning. Research has proven that engagement with quality arts programming has a measurable impact that transfers to academic achievement, particularly for at-risk students, the arts have proven to narrow the achievement gap. While Strickland’s philosophy about the power of the arts is born out of his personal experience, there is a significant body of research that confirms the transformative power of art. The following summarizes some of that research: The YouthARTS Development Project, 1996, U.S. Department of Justice, National Endowment for the Arts, and Americans for the Arts found: Arts education has a measurable impact on at-risk youth in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance Adapted from Champions of Change, a report produced by the national Arts Education Partnership, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the GE Fund, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: - Arts often provide a reason—and sometimes the only reason, for students to be engaged with school or other organizations. - Arts programs have proven to have a significantly greater impact on students from economically disadvantaged environments - Problem students often become high achievers in arts settings - Arts programs help level the educational playing field for disadvantaged students - Attitudes of young people toward one another are altered through arts experiences - Learning is deepest when learners have the capacity to represent what they have learned - In well executed programs, students move from “at risk” status to managers of risk who can make decisions regarding artistic outcomes and even their lives. - Arts encourage self-directed learning; motivation to learn for more than test results but for learning itself. Learners develop capacity to experience flow, self-regulation identity and resilience – qualities associated with personal success The CATC high school arts program offers juniors, overage underclassmen and seniors who are at risk of not graduating, the opportunity to gain hours of Elective or Fine Arts credit toward graduation through five studio art courses. Courses include Digital Multimedia, 2 Dimensional Design, 3 Dimensional Design, Ceramics, and Stained Glass. This unique program marries the pedagogy of the certified teacher with professional teaching artists to create a unique hands on curriculum aligned with Ohio Academic Content Standards. Students are immersed in an extended 2 hour guild model allowing them to develop and explore their creative expression under the skillful eye of a master artisan. During these sessions they learn to set creative goals and manipulate mediums to reach those goals. Students may select from the following five studio courses. 3-Dimensional Design: This course is designed to give students knowledge of three-dimensional forms in sculpture while introducing them to traditional and non-traditional media processes, creating original three-dimensional sculptures in clay, plaster, glass, and other media. Digital Multi-Media: A dynamic multi-media environment where students use of various programs such as Photoshop, Maya 3-D, Illustrator, Apple Soundtrack, Digital Performer, and iMovie. Projects range from digital photo albums to greeting cards, poster design, and/or digital video production. Two Dimensional Designs: An intensive study in 2-D design techniques including drawing, painting, marker techniques, printmaking, and collage. Focus on the application of techniques used in commercial art as well as the elements of art and principles of design. Ceramics: The Ceramics course immerses students in the production of ceramic vessels, tiles and other clay art forms while learning the physics of clay and the chemistry of glaze. Stained Glass workshop: Stained glass is the art of cutting art glass into shapes and connecting those pieces by soldering them into a unified design. Students begin with simple geometric forms and gradually create designs that are more intricate. The CATC Bridging the Gap (BTG) is program is an extension of the existing CATC college and career initiative aimed at both reducing high-school drop-out rates and promoting paths to post-secondary educational and career opportunities thus building a self-sufficient population of young people. Its intent is to help “bridge the gap” between high school and adult employment by providing practical work experience, layers of support and professional development. The Bridging the Gap Program (BTG) was developed in 2011 by the Cincinnati Arts and Technology Center (CATC) in response to the special needs of its students and the community. The focus of the program is two-fold: 1) to provide employment opportunities to at-risk urban teens within a defined career pathway and 2) to provide local employers with a consistent pool of applicants with the proper credentials, level of professionalism and support to fill vacancies and advance within the organization. BTG is highly collaborative in nature, relying on partnerships with employers and community service providers for employment opportunities, work readiness training and a host of wrap-around supports critical to participant success. CATC Bridging the Gap Program (BTG) focuses on equipping students with pro-social and 21st century employability skills, credentials, providing employment opportunities, helping students develop a life plan for the future and supporting them into sustainable success. BTG provides pathways to employment with local employers with appropriate certification/credentials, soft skills training, mentors and other wrap-around services to attain, maintain and advance to economic self-sufficiency. The BTG program leverages the strengths of like-minded community partners utilizing best practices to optimize the program with the following components: Workplace Competency Training: o Life Skills Program: This 20 hour Life Skills curriculum administered by Cincinnati Works helps build foundational skills for workplace success and future professional development o Employment Readiness Workshop: 2 Day job readiness workshop administered by Cincinnati Works to help to prepare students with the pre-employability skills to find, secure and retain employment • Individual Mentoring: BTG strives to assign every participant with a trained, qualified and work specific mentor. • Parent/Caring Adult Engagement: Each BTG participant is encouraged to identify and solicit the support of a caring adult (e.g., a parent, family member, or other adult who is an engaged and supportive advocate of the student’s BTG goals and career ambitions). • Employer Engagement: BTG is wholly dependent upon having strong, committed relationships with hiring partners who extend positions to program participants and provide invaluable insight to future planning. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is one of our longstanding employment partners in addition to others. • Training and Certification: BTG students attend and complete credentials for their employment positions. Certifications are currently available for entry level medical positions (State Tested Nurses Aid) and manufacturing (MSSC). CATC intends to offer IT certification opportunities in the future to help teens become more competitive in the job marketplace. On the job training prepares students for positions in banking, retail and foodservice. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has hired over 65 of graduates over the years. BTG offers an array of supports designed to help students transition successfully into the adult work world. Students have access to a lifetime membership at Cincinnati Works, where there are many, many resources to continue to support them as adults. Mentors are harvested from the workplace to provide an additional layer of support at the jobsite. CATC’s Workforce Development Coordinator remains actively engaged with the students for up to 18 months into employment, mental health services are available along with subsidized childcare and transportation as needed. Currently, the workforce coordinator provides case management and develops external employment opportunities and partnerships. Overall, BTG presents a win-win scenario for participants, employers and the community at large. Participants are provided a clear pathway to economic self-sufficiency in a line of work that holds opportunity not only for the present but also for the future. Employers are afforded a valuable conduit to a talented, capable and trained workforce. The community benefits as a group of young adults with limited prospects for the future including a statistically high likelihood of requiring public assistance are transformed into contributing members of society poised for long-term success.