12 Kentucky Schools Awarded Arts Council TranspARTation Grants

The Kentucky Arts Council has awarded 19 grants to 12 Kentucky schools to fund student transportation to and from arts-related field trips for students through the popular TranspARTation Grant.

The TranspARTation Grant is awarded annually by the arts council. The program is now in its fourth year. Grants are based on the mileage from the school building to the arts organization or performance venue and the number of buses necessary.

Collins Lane Elementary School in Frankfort will use its TranspARTation grant to send all of its students to StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville for a production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

Principal Jennifer Perkins said the staff and teachers want to make that field trip available to every student at Collins Lane, where 50 percent of the student body is on free or reduced lunch.

“We are given a limited amount of funds to pay for field trips each year, and it does not cover the amount of field trips we take over the course of the year,” Perkins said. “This grant helps fund this field trip by removing the transportation cost as a barrier to student participation.”

“We went to see ‘Click, Clack, Moo’ at StageOne last year, and to see the kids faces as they ride the buses together and sit in the audience together is amazing,” Perkins said. “A lot of our families can’t afford to do something like this on their own, and Collins Lane is a big proponent of building community in classrooms and the school. Being able to do this, and not have to worry about the cost of transportation, helps us accomplish that goal.”

Schools that received grants, listed by county, arts activity and amount awarded, are:

• Clarkson Elementary School, Grayson, “Dragons Love Tacos and Other Stories” at RiverPark Center, $544; “My Father’s Dragon” at RiverPark Center, $544; “Are You My Mother?” at RiverPark Center, $272; “The Nutcracker” at RiverPark Center, $544; “Pete the Cat” at RiverPark Center, $1,088; “Where in the World” at the Speed Art Museum, $552
• South Warren High School, Warren, Louisville Orchestra Coffee Concert, Kentucky Center for the Arts, $1,000
• Forest Heights Elementary School, Nelson, “American Tales” at StageOne Family Theatre, $516
• Bondurant Middle School, Franklin, “Where in the World” at the Speed Art Museum, $416
• Collins Lane Elementary School, Franklin, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at StageOne Family Theatre, $2,448
• Southern Elementary School, Scott, Music Builds Discovery with the Canadian Brass at Singletary Center for the Arts, $112
• Kingston Elementary School, Madison, “Elephant and Piggie’s We Are In a Play” at Lexington Children’s Theatre, $328
• Toliver Elementary School, Boyle, “Where in the World” at the Speed Art Museum, $328; “Sacgawea: Discovering History” at Lexington Children’s Theatre, $188; “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at Lexington Children’s Theatre, $376
• Daniel Boone Elementary School, Madison, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” at Lexington Children’s Theatre, $240
• Russell County Middle School, Russell, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” at Lexington Children’s Theatre, $880
• Livingston County Middle School, Livingston, “Mr. Molecule’s Bing, Bang, Boom! Science Show” at The Carson Center, $728
• Brodhead Elementary School, Rockcastle, Arc Attach Science Arts Performance at the EKU Center for the Arts, $280

Any Kentucky public or private school that supports grades pre-K through 12 may apply for a TranspARTation Grant.

Schools receiving TranspARTation Grants must attend arts events presented by one of many preapproved TranspARTation organizations.

For more information about applying for a TranspARTation Grant, visit the TranspARTation webpage, or contact Jean St. John, arts council arts education director, at jean.stjohn@ky.gov or 502-892-3124.