PlayBill / March 5, 2017
The Educational Theatre Association has announced the three latest schools selected to take part in the JumpStart Theatre program, a three-year pilot initiative that establishes sustainable musical theatre programs where there previously were none.
A joint partnership between EdTA, Music Theatre International, and iTheatrics, the program is funded entirely through grants and donations.
All three schools selected for the 2017-18 group are located in Cincinnati: Clark Montessori High School, Roberts Academy, and Oyler School. Each school will use the program to explore the various positive impacts theatre has on students.
Clark Montessori is JumpStart’s first Montessori high school selected for the program. Roberts Academy, which has a large population of English language learners, will use theatre to help teach their students English. Oyler School, which incorporates health and social services into school services to increase graduation rates, will incorporate theatre programming to further that effort.
Each participating pilot school is provided three years of support by EdTA, MTI, and iTheatrics, including educator training, mentors, scripts, and study guides.