Madison Cultural Plan 2011 - City of Madison, Wisconsin

The school district is also home to the Madison School-Community Recreation
Department. Not surprisingly, budgetary pressures have been severe in this area,
which lies outside the district’s primary mandate. For many residents, and
particularly for those living in poverty, these recreation programs, including arts
offerings, are rare opportunities to engage in creative work. Rising fees for
participation have come close to thresholds beyond which many children and
adults will be excluded. It is important that the city monitors this situation and
determines the best way to be a helpful partner in retaining affordable
recreational resources, including arts activities, for the broadest possible public.
In many communities, the recreation department is a municipal agency. In Madison,
there is a tradition of cooperation between city Parks and the School-Community
Recreation Department. It is possible that, over time, some realignment of resources
and roles can boost the prospects for retaining affordable recreation programs.
Consideration of this question is likely to be driven largely by resources.
The Overture Center is taking steps to build a stronger outreach system and arts
education capability in the community. Once The Partnership entity is established
and undertakes its larger information sharing project, the two entities will be wellpositioned
to share leadership in bringing those efforts to scale, and reaching
beyond just arts and into science and history as well.
Edgewood College, the University of Wisconsin’s Science and Arts Outreach
programs and leaders, the Discovery Institutes, the Madison Public Schools,
education and outreach directors from Madison’s many arts and cultural
institutions, and program directors and staff from present and prospective host
sites, such as neighborhood centers, should be targeted as designers and
beneficiaries of this effort.
The work should include investigating national models for community-wide, opt-in
student ticket programs and the implementation of a local model to encourage
affordable student attendance at ticketed arts and cultural events. The Wallace
Foundation’s Knowledge Center (http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledgecenter)
provides helpful research based guidance in developing schoolcommunity
collaborations around arts education. See Recommendations 9, 12, and 15.
Madison Cultural Plan Findings
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