Turnaround Arts: Making a Difference for Northside Schools

Des Moines Public Schools, “For The Record”… Maybe some of the folks passing through Capital Square Wednesday over the noon hour wondered why all those spooky kids weren’t in school instead of flashmobbing downtown. But they were. It was the Harding Middle School Drama Club that was responsible for the reenactment of Michael Jackson’s iconic Halloween music video, “Thriller.” The club is in its first year and is just one example of programming made possible by federal Turnaround Arts grants bestowed this year on all of the schools in the North High feeder pattern. Building on the success of TA initiatives the last two years at Findley Elementary, Cattell, Madison, Oak Park and Harding were targeted for the arts integration funding in expectation of following the Findley example. http://www.dmschools.org/2014/10/northside-culture-growing-with-turnaround-arts/