Schools to pair with symphony

The Charleston County School District and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra have been working together for decades, but the two groups want to have a bigger impact on student learning.

The pair hopes a new opportunity announced Friday will enable that to happen. They were selected as one of 12 partnerships nationwide to participate in the 13th Partners in Education Institute, an April event hosted by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The four-day training program is tailored for arts organizations and school districts that are interested in working together to initiate or expand training opportunities for teachers.

"We're in the process of revamping our educational programs, so the timing of this is just perfect," said Danny Beckley, executive director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. "We're thrilled."

While there, teams will develop specific plans to establish or expand art-based training for teachers. They will receive detailed planning guides, attend performances and meet with national educational leaders and artists.

Jim Braunreuther, the school district's fine-arts learning coordinator, said schools have had some incredible programs with the symphony, but they mostly have happened as one-time, individual projects. This grant will afford the district the chance to sit down with experts in the field and come up with a five-year, comprehensive strategic plan, he said.

"This will give us a great opportunity to build programs," he said.

The school district's and symphony's proposal was the only one selected from South Carolina.