SnowPond_CaseStatement_v03_Spreads

WELCOME TO SNOW POND
AN EDUCATION TRANSFORMATION
AN ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
A COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION
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OUR MISSION AND GOALS
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OUR PROGRAMS
SNOW POND ARTS ACADEMY
EXPANDING LEARNING
SUMMER SEASON
COMMUNITY CENTER
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Imagine a lakeside
where music fills
the air year-round.
Imagine a classroom
enriched with sound
and movement.
Imagine a community
thriving with creativity.
Imagine a place
where everyone can
play in harmony.
Welcome to Snow Pond
Center for the Arts.
THE ART OF
COMMUNITY
TRANSFORMATION.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts.
Created for the performing arts.
Designed for education.
Built for growth.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts leverages the power of
music and the performing arts to transform the lives of our
children and the future of our state.
Our beautiful campus environment inspires the creation
of sound and synergy. Through the performing arts, we
model how we can bring communities together, improve
our education systems, and create jobs, transforming
undeserved, rural regions into engaged, cultural centers.
Here in Kennebec County, Snow Pond Center for the
Arts is synonymous with growth — in our children, in our
economies, and in our communities. From learning to
play the bassoon to experiencing a world-class concert,
all while wrapped in a historical, scenic natural environment
and framed by a glistening lake — anything seems possible.
And it is.
We invite you to listen.
To the sound of a thriving Maine.
WELCOME TO SNOW POND
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THE KEY TO A BETTER FUTURE IS EDUCATION
THE KEY TO A BETTER EDUCATION IS THE ARTS.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts is poised to transform Maine’s students through music/performing arts education.
Young Mainers are entering a world of rapid change: economically, socially, technologically
and environmentally. All this instability requires an adaptable, talented and educated
workforce. By 2020, 60% of Maine jobs are projected to require post-secondary training.
Maine can’t afford to fall behind.
Yet Maine students are falling behind, with less than 50% at all grade levels meeting
proficiency studies. And students are faced with diminishing returns: 87% of them graduate
high school. 54% go to college. And only 33% of Maine students actually gain an advanced
degree (for lower income students, the number plummets to 20%). At Snow Pond Center for
the Arts, we aim to change this.
Improving education takes creativity. Literally. Learning in and through the arts levels
the playing field for youth from lower income groups and bolsters academic learning
while developing the leadership, critical thinking and collaboration skills children need to
succeed in a 21st century economy. Young people in rural communities are often least
likely to experience the benefits of the arts. At Snow Pond, we use the performing arts to
prepare students to succeed in the classroom, the workplace and beyond.
Study after study has shown how music education produces
not only better, more diligent students, but also more
well-rounded citizens. Music education in schools is linked
directly to improvement in:
ACHIEVEMENT
in areas ranging from reading comprehension to spatialtemporal
reasoning to mathematics.
ENGAGEMENT
including improved attendance, persistence, focused
attention, heightened educational aspirations, and
intellectual risk taking.
HABITS OF MIND
building students’ problem solving, critical and creative
thinking, approach to ambiguity, and more, all in demand
for tomorrow’s workforce.
AN EDUCATION TRANSFORMATION
Fewer than 1 in 3 of Maine students
(and fewer than 1 in 5 in lower income groups)
earn any type of advanced degree
SOCIAL SKILLS
collaboration is a fact of life, and a firm foundation in the
arts gives students the social tolerance and self-confidence
to excel.
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THE TRUE DEFINITION OF CREATIVE CAPITAL.
Maine is losing business. Luckily, attracting business is an art.
THE NEED IS REAL
Maine has lost more than 8,500 (net)
jobs in the last 10 years. Kennebec and
Aroostook counties have the lowest percentage
of self-employed and the bleakest prospects
for entrepreneurship.
In the last 15 years, Maine’s median age has
risen at an alarming rate from 38.6 to 43.5.
School student population has fallen from
its peak of 253,000 to 186,000.
The average family size is smaller and
more people are living alone. This has a
profound effect on the way Maine people interact,
live, and solve problems together.
With the highest median age in the nation, Maine is the “oldest” state. Our
workers are retiring and our young people are leaving the state. Attracting
youth to come or stay here is a crucial step in improving our economic
standing. Snow Pond has continuing discussions with civic and business
leaders to assure we are doing our part in creating the economic and cultural
development needed to attract young families and to provide better options
for our seniors.
With our growing infrastructure and programs, Snow Pond Center for the
Arts is the community lifeblood, drawing people to the area throughout
the year to support local businesses, cultivating an environment attractive
to entrepreneurs, creating new job opportunities for artists and educators,
and enabling Maine youth pursuing careers not just in the arts to secure
employment close to home —
all of which leads to growth
in our economy and our population.
That’s music to any community’s ears.
AN ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
Kennebec County had a net population
decrease of 2,300 (2%) in the last 5
years. Additionally those who left had higher
incomes than those who moved in. This caused
the median income in Kennebec County
to decrease.
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THE HARMONIOUS PAIRING OF
MUSIC AND COMMUNITY.
Harmony is what happens when two parts come together and make each
other better. Like Snow Pond Center for the Arts and Maine.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts is an innovative model — a community incubator where people of every age, income bracket, background and ethnicity can
be enriched by and connect through education and the performing arts. Continually building real and figurative orchestras, we are transcending barriers
and building bridges.
Located in Sidney on 175 acres along Messalonskee Lake, also known as Snow Pond, our campus offers endless possibilities for recreation and enrichment—
from cross country skiing to educational seminars, to group piano lessons. Snow Pond Center for the Arts aims to be both a destination and an unparalleled
community resource with top-notch performance and teaching facilities, celebrating the splendor of Maine and providing year-round access to quality
education and entertainment. Between our summer programs, Community Music School, and Arts Academy we will be serving several thousand children
annually within the next 3-5 years. Our events bring thousands of visitors to the Snow Pond Campus each year, and this number continues to grow.
We model how the arts can cultivate a common sense of pride and place by adding a collective spark to rural communities. You can see it in children’s faces as
they admire the beauty of an instrument in their hands for the first time. In rehearsals, where notes become melodies. In beaming smiles at recitals. In diverse
audiences bonding over Beethoven and Beyoncé. In everything we do.
A COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION
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ONE CENTER.
MULTIPLE FACETS.
Having championed the value of music education
balanced with recreation and social activities since 1937,
we are upgrading our lakeside campus and expanding our
programming to:
TRANSFORM EDUCATION in Maine by making
music and performing arts education accessible
to all year-round.
IGNITE THE ECONOMIC ENGINE that will fuel job
creation, population growth and visitor appeal.
BUILD COMMUNITY that leverages our environmental
wonderland and lakefront location to serve
organizations and businesses across the community
and to attract audiences from throughout Maine, the
Northeast and beyond.
OUR MISSION
Creating a more vibrant community
through arts education
Snow Pond Center for the Arts is a community resource —
a symphony of parts. See how these parts play together on the pages
that follow and you will see the future of Maine.
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LEARN
SNOW POND
ARTS ACADEMY.
Education is more than core subjects and tests. It is the accumulation of knowledge and
the cultivation of creativity, leadership, collaboration, and active citizenship. Tuition-free
and available to all children in Maine, Snow Pond Arts Academy is Maine’s first and only
performing arts public, charter high school. Offering a comprehensive, college preparatory
academic and arts education in a culturally rich environment, we develop both the analytic
and creative sides of the brain—creating balanced thinkers and engaged learners in a
supportive and nurturing environment.
Through a blended learning model that combines classroom and online learning, we provide
an innovative approach that enable students to progress at their own pace and develop a
wide breadth of interests. By providing transportation, flexible scheduling, and residential
options, we nurture a vibrant and diverse student body.
We use music to build character and value. The goal is not to create budding Mozarts but
to use the performing arts — music, dance, and theatre — to create the next generation of
citizen-leaders.
Furthermore, the Arts Academy is a critical catalyst for job creation. By collaborating with
superintendents and local colleges, we are creating full-time jobs and an engaged cultural
community, attracting the very best educators, artists, entrepreneurs and professionals to
live and work here in Central Maine.
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PL AY
EXPANDED
LEARNING.
Without the resources to support it, music is largely absent from the school curriculum.
The decline in arts education affects poor children disproportionately, denying them an
indispensable part of a complete education and neglecting the very skills – like creative
thinking, collaboration, and problem solving that boost academic learning and are critical
to life success.
By both bringing youth to campus and bringing the performing arts into underserved
neighborhoods, Snow Pond’s Expanded Learning programs ensure that ALL Maine children
have the chance to discover the magic of music and the performing arts. Through our
Community Music School, we encourage and enable creative exploration with lessons and
performance opportunities, balanced with recreation and academic support.
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMMING:
Through music, we can give children in challenging circumstances
vital outlets and positive experiences that can lift their futures along
with their voices. Based on the transformational El Sistema model, our
structured enrichment brings students with the fewest resources and
the greatest need to the Snow Pond’s campus for a vivacious program
that combines academic support, recreation and music education.
OUTREACH PROGRAMMING:
Taking music education beyond the campus, our outbound programs
partner with schools and community organizations—such as the
Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, the Augusta After-School Program,
and Atwood Elementary in Oakland—make quality music education
accessible across Central Maine, every day. All outreach programs are
offered at reduced rate or no cost to ensure every child can participate.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts also offers:
Community Lessons: Traditional private, semi-private instrument
lessons, group lessons and training in theory, classical music, reading
and rhythms.
Adult Education: Through music programs designed to emphasize
continued learning and social engagement, our adult education
serves all ages and abilities on campus, at Adult Ed Centers and at
other partner sites.
Performance Groups (Youth Orchestra, Jazz, Theatre and Drumline):
Through performance, we enable young people to demonstrate
mastery, building their confidence alongside their skill development.
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PERFORM
SUMMER
SEASON.
With more than 80 years of summer programming, Snow Pond Center for the Arts fosters learning and
leadership among students both on and off the stage. In just the short window that summer provides,
we have a transformative impact, helping students to grow not just as musicians but as people. We
are also widening our offerings to include Adult Music Camps, the Boston Youth Orchestra, and more,
filling the lake with the music from novices and professionals alike.
NEW ENGLAND MUSIC CAMP (NEMC):
Offering a vital and unforgettable experience since 1937, this internationally renowned camp
provides intensive music education balanced with traditional social and recreation summer
camp activities. The camp brings together 350 youth, ages 11-18, from across Maine, the U.S.
and beyond. Forty percent of all students (and 90% of Maine students) attend on scholarship,
ensuring a diverse mix of backgrounds, talents and perspectives. The camp’s impact lasts
long past the summer solstice as the youth discover strengths in themselves
as well as their instruments.
SNOW POND MUSIC FESTIVAL:
Modeled after summer music festivals like Aspen, Snow Pond Music Festival attracts advanced
college, graduate and postgraduate musicians from around the world to perform in our
historic Bowl-in-the Pines outdoor performance venue. Kicking off the summer season, the
Snow Pond Music Festival nurtures the next generation of performers and teaching artists
with various, intensive week long programs.
CONCERTS:
Akin to the summer experience at Tanglewood or Chautauqua, we are building an
unforgettable summer experience with public performances that draw thousands of visitors
to the campus, maximizing both economic development and visibility, and making summer
synonymous with sound.
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DEVELOP
SNOW POND AS
COMMUNITY CENTER.
Building on our rich musical legacy as the New England Music Camp, we are entering a new
chapter as we become a year-round, dynamic Center for the Arts that includes a performing
arts school, performance hall, and conference center accessible to all visitors and residents.
We provide a setting in which people—who may not otherwise connect—come together and
share meaningful and transformative experiences. Here, among remarkable natural beauty,
music is a common language that transcends all boundaries.
Snow Pond Campus is now home for:
Town of Sidney Recreation and Community Center
Friends of Messalonskee Lake Association
Boy Scouts
The Maine Pond Hockey Classic
and more
As the cultural and recreational epicenter for the region, we use the performing arts to
galvanize community, attracting residents and visitors to our grounds to enjoy the outdoors
and experience the vitality of the arts. Here you will find wetland habitats for hikers and crosscountry
skiers, lakefront for sailing and swimming, recital halls and practice rooms for groups
from around the state, classrooms filled with young and old alike.
Our historic Bowl-in-the Pines outdoor performance venue offers an extraordinary example of
how art and the land complement each other. As a major outdoor venue, we attract top talent
to perform, bringing thousands of people to the area each year. And our indoor facilities offer
versatile grounds for meetings, conferences, and retreats for businesses and organizations
both inside and outside the arts.
Amid music you will hear the bustle of activity as the core of music education gives rise to a
growing region, accessible, enjoyable, enriching and inspiring to all.
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PLAY YOUR PART
IN THE FUTURE
OF MAINE.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts is truly
becoming the heartbeat of Central Maine.
We are creating an innovative model for community
development. Here we are able to provide much-needed
spaces for local students and artists to train and perform.
We are able to draw nationally-recognized and talented
performers and educators, making the region a destination
for visitors and enriching the lives of residents with yearround
access to high quality education and entertainment.
All this on a remarkable campus that is dotted with running
paths, hiking trails and sports fields for public use.
Snow Pond Center for the Arts is an investment – in the educational, economic, and cultural transformation of Kennebec
County, which will have ripple effects through Maine and offer a model for other rural communities nationally.
The opportunity is here and the time is now.
By joining us, you are making a difference today and for generations to come.
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Snow Pond Center for the Arts
8 Goldenrod Lane
Sidney, Maine 04330
(844) 476-6976
snowpond.org