The Children's Aid Society

Press Release: CAS’ I.S. 90 Wins National Award for Outstanding Programs

Date: July 7, 2004

NEW YORK (July 2004) – The Children’s Aid Society’s community school I.S. 90 has received an Honor Award for Program Excellence in the Arts at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s (BGCA) 98th annual national conference held recently in San Antonio, Texas. MetLife Foundation sponsors the annual awards program.

Jane Quinn, CAS Assistant Executive Director for Community Schools, accepts the Honor Award for Program Excellence for I.S. 90 at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America's national conference in San Antonio, Texas.
The Honor Award for Program Excellence in the Arts is presented for an exceptional program that helps young people to develop their creativity and cultural awareness through knowledge and appreciation of the visual arts, crafts, performing arts and creative writing.
The Children’s Aid Society’s extended-day program at I.S. 90 is a Boys & Girls Club. I.S. 90 has a strong focus on performing arts and creative writing. Members write plays, draw storyboards, act, operate cameras, edit video, and present and lead discussions regarding their films. The performing arts encompass everything from hip hop to modern dance.

The program also features musical theatre projects such as “School House Rock,” which provide Club members with social studies, science and literacy lessons.

Every month, the program features a special arts activity. Past activities include a student film festival; a Spring Extravaganza, featuring hip-hop, modern dance and musical theatre groups; A Teen’s World, an original play dealing with the issues of teen suicide, AIDS, peer pressure, drugs, bullying and identity; and field trips to plays by professional theatre groups.

Honor Awards for Program Excellence are presented for the most outstanding programs developed and implemented in Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Each year, hundreds of entries are submitted in the five core program areas: character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, health and life skills, the arts, and sports, fitness and recreation.

MetLife Foundation has provided support to Boys & Girls Clubs of America since 1977, including sponsorship of the organization’s Honor Awards for Program Excellence for the past 15 years. In 1999, MetLife Foundation established the Leverage for Learning Fund which to date has awarded $2 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to establish new learning centers in more than 30 Clubs nationwide. This fund also allows for local Boys & Girls Clubs to renovate their existing learning center environment and strengthen their educational programs. Established by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1976, the Foundation has contributed more than $165 million to a wide range of health, civic, educational and cultural activities throughout the United States.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) comprises a national network of some 3,400 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4 million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs, such as Youth of the Year, emphasize character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation.

The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) partners with the New York City Department of Education in 13 public schools, which are known as community schools. In each of these schools, CAS provides extended-day programming, including after school, evening, weekend and summer programs, as well as medical, dental and mental health services. Please click here for additional information about community schools, or contact Ellen Lubell, The Children’s Aid Society, at 212-949-4938 or publicrelations@childrensaidsociety.org.