Fine Arts Tours
Summary
by Marcus L. Neiman
Fine Arts Tours
The Medina County
Schools’ Fine Arts Tours (MCFAT) program was developed in August of
1980 to provide leadership in developing a touring arts program
that would serve the students within Medina County. A secondary
goal of the tours was to provide school districts with the ability
to block book professional artistic performances by companies and
artists for school assemblies at a reasonable cost.
The Medina County Schools’ Educational Service Center (MCSESC) offers a complete Fine Arts Tours program to all buildings within each participating district. In order to facilitate the implementation of the Fine Arts Tours into the schools, the MCSESC:
• Screens all potential performers and selects only those who demonstrate excellence in performance and fiscal responsibility.
• Submits grants and recruits sponsors as needed to offset performance costs.
• Publishes a Medina County Fine Arts Tours Program Offerings guideand distributes the guides to the customerschools on an annual basis.
• Coordinates all the bookings of talent and assists in joint performances where schools will benefit through reduced billings.
• Provides schools with study guides to help enhance each performance.
• Evaluates the program and its individual components on an annual and biennial basis.
• Publishes a monthly electronic newsletter to: 1) educate readers on the value of the arts in education and 2) keep readers informed of current happenings with the Medina County Schools’ Fine Arts Tours and Festivals. This newsletter is sent to administrators, teachers, talent, sponsors, advisory committee members, and other interested parties.
Many of the students in our schools who view presentations made possible through MCFAT are minorities or have some type of disability. Special focus is placed on providing performances for students with special needs. In addition, we attempt to “reach out” to home-schoolers, non-public schools, and other special populations. In many cases, MCFAT provides the first, and often only, exposure to professional artists and companies that students will have.
