New Website Connects Students to County's Culture

Although Sarasota County enjoys a wealth of artistic, scientific, historical and environmental resources, thousands of local children have never seen a play, heard an orchestra, toured a museum, visited an aquarium or explored a nature park. According to the school district press release, to connect classrooms to this community’s cultural treasures, a new website, http://EdExploreSRQ.com, is now available to help teachers discover these opportunities and make them more accessible to students.

The website is an interactive database educators can use to search for cultural activities or “explorations” that support the standards they are teaching and to find possible sources of funding for student participation.

“Educators told us that ‘connections’ needed to be easier and more relevant to the classroom,” said Laurey Stryker, initiative manager for The Patterson Foundation in the release. “As a result, EdExploreSRQ was born.”     

The organizations that offer explorations have worked with educators to match their activities to specific state benchmarks so they offer appropriate content and are presented at the time of the school year when that content is being taught. Teachers who access explorations on EdExploreSRQ will only see programs that have been approved by district curriculum specialists for content and timing. A section of the website explains the review process organizations must undergo to post and how to get started. EdExploreSRQ is accessible to teachers, parents and community organizations interested in knowing what is available to students. 

“We are grateful to The Patterson Foundation, the Education Foundation and all the organizations that are joining together to make this initiative possible,” said Lori White, superintendent of Sarasota County Schools. “Studies show that students who are exposed to a wealth of experiences often develop interests that last a lifetime. These opportunities can make a huge difference in the lives of children and give them renewed enthusiasm for the subjects they study in school.”

Sarasota County Schools Fine Arts Program Specialist Angela Hartvigsen is the district liaison to The Patterson Foundation and the project manager for EdExploreSRQ. She has been working with a team of district staff and representatives of area arts and cultural organizations for more than six months to prepare EdExploreSRQ for its debut. 

Even as it was being developed, EdExploreSRQ stimulated participating organizations to compare and expand their exploration offerings, Hartvigsen said in the release. It also is making organization leaders more aware of the costs and complicated logistics of having students attend activities away from school, which is encouraging them to create more explorations that can be presented at schools.

Organizations also are looking at innovative applications of technology to present students with pre- and post-exploration activities that will enhance the experience and reinforce learning, she said. More than 70 explorations from 25 organizations are already posted, ready for the 2011-12 school year. Funding is available through various scholarships and grants that also are posted on the website.

As a major partner in the EdExploreSRQ program, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County plans to expand its teacher grant program to include new Exploration Grants of up to $1,500 for individual classroom explorations and up to $5,000 for explorations involving multiple classrooms.

“The Education Foundation has provided teachers with classroom grants that inspire student learning for more than 20 years, thanks to generous support from individual donors, families, businesses and organizations,” said Executive Director Cindy Kaiser. “We know that teachers will be excited about this opportunity, so we hope to generate even more community support in making these enriching experiences available for as many of our students as possible.” 

Hartvigsen said research shows that early and consistent exposure to high quality, hands-on experiences motivates children to learn, improves performance in core academic subjects, and builds essential skills such as decision making, problem solving, creative thinking and teamwork. She said experiential, project-based learning is necessary for students to meet Florida’s tough new academic standards. Sarasota’s rich assets, if used effectively, can play a significant role in helping students succeed, she said. 

Kumar Mahadevan, executive director of Mote Marine Laboratory and a board member of the Alliance and the SEC, said, “We are delighted that the school district is strengthening the collaboration among teachers, students and cultural and science organizations in Sarasota County.

“There is an enormous brain trust in our community. Finding ways to connect experts and practitioners in the sciences and the arts to student learning will enrich every student experience. We all remember a pivotal moment when we became passionate about the work that drives us, and we believe this program has the power to ignite those passions.”

Last year, The Patterson Foundation and the Sarasota County Schools joined with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County (Alliance), the Science and Environment Council of Sarasota County (SEC), the Education Foundation of Sarasota County and 34 local cultural organizations to create an initiative called Cultural Connections with K-12 Sarasota Students. The initiative links teachers with organizations offering programs that align with state instructional standards. This ensures that the programs help students learn the content they are expected to master during the school year. To address both considerations, The Patterson Foundation supported the development of an innovative communications tool called EdExploreSRQ.com.