Shakespeare & Company Education Program serving students ages 7-18, including at risk groups, in underserved rural and inner city areas

The OJJDP FY 09 Earmarks Programs further the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Explanatory Statement Regarding H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009), 155 Cong. Rec. H1653 (daily ed. Feb. 23, 2009) (statement by Rep. Obey, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the House).

Founded in 1978, Shakespeare & Company (S&Co) is a classical theatre company dedicated equally to excellence in performance, education, and training. With more than 120 artists, the Company produces innovative and accessible Shakespeare performances that hold language and the immediacy of the actor/audience relationship at their center. The Company's year'round education programs, one of the largest in the Northeast, are aimed at elementary through high school students (ages 7 ' 18) from geographically and often economically underserved rural and inner city areas, providing access to both in-school and out-of-school programs. The programs are designed to give students active and imaginative experiences of Shakespeare that are personally meaningful, educationally rigorous and theatrically compelling. The Company's methodology and pedagogy are based on inquiry and self-discovery, asking questions rather than giving directions, and posing problems rather than giving answers. The Company reaches over 50,000 students and teachers annually. Through this funding, Shakespeare & Company will be able to sustain and, in some cases, expand the reach of core programming and ensure continued high quality of the programs. Shakespeare & Company employs an outcome-based assessment system for all its program areas and monitors progress through oral and written quantitative and qualitative assessments.

NCA/NCF