<p>Okay, the reality is there is already no shortage of singers, dancers, and actors who are more than eager to do school shows for little to no money in most communities. So, I’m not sure how anyone would sell the value of such a program. And, once you get out of the MT thread there will be virtually NO sympathizers for anyone in this plight. That is reality.</p>
<p>Just because it may be a “reality” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try-if for nothing else to raise awareness</p>
<p>I stand by my question. If the district can’t afford $50000 to pay a teacher how will they pay off 125000 or so of a single student’s loans? </p>
<p>@kandcsmom- the district doesn’t pay it…I think that is sort of the point, the $$ comes from state and federal education budgets, at least that is what happens in Teach for America. The school (or district) essentially gets the teacher on a “grant”</p>
<p>@toowonderful I understand that’s where the TFA money comes from. My question to the OP is where does the money for this National Service Corps come from. </p>
<p>My understanding is they hope to create a system similar to TFA which I assume means some state and federal grants - although perhaps there should be consideration of some sort of public/private partnership wherein corporations and individuals can also contribute if they so desire. It is not realistic to think this could be or is likely to be entirely funded and administrated through the government. </p>
<p>True- also, I don’t think anyone is saying this should be for the majority of BFA kids. After all, what % of new teachers every year are working through TFA? I would imagine a very small # on the whole. It’s just an idea for another way</p>
<p>I just did a little reading on the Teach for America website as I was not familiar with how it is organized. It appears on the surface to be its own non-profit organizations with hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions from corporations, organizations and individuals. If Perform for America wants to be set up similarly, it should be canvassing corporations, organizations and individuals with a passion for the arts to help fund their enterprise, not the federal government. I would recommend looking at the Teach for America site to see how they are structured. And although it would be nice to have the backing of leaders in DC, it does not appear that the government is funding Teach for America, nor would it probably fund Perform for America. This does not mean it is not a viable enterprise. It just means that those trying to get it organized need to consider how it really could be organized, how they will raise funds, who its founding leader and board of directors should be, and who can help generate seed money to get it started. It just takes starting with one student to get going. And with each success story, the organization can continue to grow and prosper. but sounds like there is a lot to think through. I still think its a great idea.</p>
<p>Ok. </p>
<p>I’m not sure who you are petitioning. The IRS? Congress? These recent grads might be able to qualify for loan forgiveness after 120 payments (10 years!) of public service if the entity they work for qualifies (public service, government agency, some 501©(3) groups).</p>
<p>Well, I don’t think anyone wants to be singing and dancing in nonprofit school shows for 10 years, either. That would not be the goal for most of these students. </p>
<p>There is another thread on the topic now- but thought it would be worth posting for those with issues/doubts that the idea is being endorsed by non other than Mary Anna Denard, certainly someone with knowledge of BFA world. Does it resolve all questions, of course not, but shows that idea has strong resonance and merit</p>
<p><a href=“Perform for America | HuffPost Impact”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;
<p>I agree with actingmt that “the reality is there is already no shortage of singers, dancers, and actors who are more than eager to do school shows for little to no money in most communities. So, I’m not sure how anyone would sell the value of such a program.” There have been national service corp programs created to help recruit nurses, doctors, teachers, etc. when there just weren’t enough of those types to cover underserved areas, where there are already jobs but no one to fill them. Yet there are scads of young performers, way more than we need, and not enough jobs for them, many of whom, if they had the opportunity, would possibly rather perform on a military base or teach theater to underprivileged kids than work at some of the survival jobs they now must resort to, even kids without student loans. So I’m not understanding how this would be funded when there are no such jobs as it is, and if there were, there would likely already be plenty of theater majors available to fill them. Yes, of course it would be wonderful to find a way to make sure all talented kids have the opportunity to go to school to follow their passion, but I don’t understand how this would work financially. Maybe someone could explain it to me better because I have absolutely no head for business.</p>
<p>I wonder if part of my enthusiasm for the program comes not from the idea of loan forgiveness (which as I have said, would not affect my kid, as I imagine it would take more than four years to build, and she won’t have loans anyway) but from the idea of supporting the arts in under served areas. I have read many studies about how exposure to the arts impacts kids (especially kids with academic challenges) in a positive way, but SO many schools, especially struggling schools, are cutting arts funding. So anything that would raise attention, and provide arts exposure and opportunity to kids sounds GREAT to me. @Calliene - as you point out, there will be lots of people interested in those types of jobs (my kid would absolutely be one), even without loan forgiveness. Is that a bad thing? More opportunities in the arts? Is that a waste of government funding? Who knows, sounds pretty good to me…</p>
<p>I love the arts and we are big supporters of the arts, of all kinds, both financially and with our time and expertise. I think that anything, or anyone, that will benefit the arts is a positive. However, as someone who has worked tirelessly to raise funds for various arts related organizations, and who knows how very difficult it is, I cannot see how this type of national program would have a chance of succeeding. The funds just aren’t there, either from private or corporate sponsors to provide a national program for graduates to perform in needed areas or to work for non-profit theatres. And to tie it to forgiving college debt, well, unfortunately, I think that would be impossible. </p>
<p>It is increasingly difficult year by year for non-profits to get funding from their longtime sponsors, and the grant application is a lengthy, and often unsuccessful, process as those dollars become more scarce. Theatre companies, and often individual performers, across the continent go through this process every single year. I don’t think that there is any question that a program like this would benefit both performers and students but I just can’t imagine how it would be funded.</p>
<p>As has been mentioned, many actors are involved in providing their services for students, often pro bono, across the continent, on a regular basis. It isn’t as though this isn’t already happening but most often, these actors are not being paid or if they are, it is an honorarium, so it clearly isn’t going to be paying off college debt. And, speaking honestly, that ‘endorsement’ by Mary Anna is of no use at all without a discussion of how to fund it.</p>
<p>Signed off of FB!</p>
<p>I think it’s worth having the conversation about this, even if there isn’t enough money to pay for it. We are losing artists at every level to European countries that still fund arts programs (I know this is true of classical musicians and dancers, not sure about actors). Essentially, in America, there is no money for anything, even fixing the roads, because we have to give it all back to rich people, but it is still worth making some noise about this. </p>
<p>Hi all – thanks for input and comments. I am only proposing this petition as a means to examine next steps for an idea. I have worked with nonprofits for many years as a PR consultant and know there are many arts organizations and foundations out there doing this kind of work (placing new graduates in arts internships / promoting civic arts) that there may be a way to formalize this under one umbrella and allow new graduates to enroll and find work. I don’t see this being a government program at all, and frankly, I think it is more of a burden to the taxpayers to have drop-outs or recent college students in default on their federal student loans. This is only an idea and really only a petition at this point. I think the natural next step would be to convene a group of leaders in arts, education, banking, etc to examine the possibilities. Remember, every fire starts with a spark. This is just a spark at this point – but I talk to too many young, creative people struggling with this issue to not want to try something to help them. For those of you who have asked for the links, I cannot post here, as I’ve already been warned by the moderators for doing so. You can look up the page for Perform For America on Facebook and find all the links there. Thanks again for your interest and comments. </p>
<p>@MTTwinsinCA - the fact that you have started the conversation itself is great. There are no easy answers in life- let alone in arts funding. Anything that even talks about bringing more art into the world, and supporting those who make it it worth the time to talk.</p>
<p>If you look at the petition, it is initially aimed at President and Mrs. Obama, the Secretary and Undersecretary of Education and the Head of the National Endowment for the Arts, but petition targets can be added and modified, i.e. adding heads of major foundations, arts organizations, student loan funders, etc. The object of the petition is to measure interest and show support for some formalized means for performing artists to reduce their loan burdens. Thanks again for interest and comments. I am reading and paying attention. </p>