The arts have an important role to play in helping students not only decode words, but also build their background knowledge, vocabulary, and oral language skills to improve reading comprehension. Research has long shown that arts education can, among other things, expose children to new vocabulary and help them experiment with different modes of communication. Therefore, The Trust is issuing a request for letters of interest (LOI) from nonprofit arts organizations seeking to augment schools’ reading instruction by helping students develop and master skills (e.g., oral language, rich vocabulary, a broad knowledge base, and deep comprehension) required for reading and writing.

Highest priority will be given to comprehensive and innovative projects that have the potential for expansion or replication in a substantial number of public schools and/or prekindergarten programs, and are consistent with established research on teaching reading and writing. In addition to identifying arts education projects designed to contribute to high-quality reading instruction, support for the following types of programs will be prioritized:

• Take a systemic approach to ensuring access to arts education (e.g., by working with district superintendents or networks of daycare centers);
• Provide sequential arts instruction that is culturally responsive and incorporates best practices for serving multilingual learners and students with disabilities; and
• Work extensively with students over time.

Preference will be given to projects that will serve schools and/or prekindergarten programs with high concentrations of low-income students and little or no arts instruction. Funded projects will take place during the school day and serve a minimum of five public schools or publicly-subsidized prekindergarten programs.