Grant to support artist-in-residence programs

The Clabough Foundation recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools to support Artist-in-Residence programs at low income schools including Bear Creek Elementary, Lava Ridge Elementary, Rosland Elementary, Three Rivers School, and the Tamarack Center.

Tommy and Katy Clabough of the Clabough Foundation stated, “Through the Foundation we are thrilled to assist in such a positive and wide reaching program in our community.”

Stacia Biancucci of Lava Ridge shared, “The Behavior Transition Program and Behavior Resource Center are honored and thrilled to be awarded the opportunity for a local artist to come into our classrooms to enhance our students’ beings. The process of creating art calms, grounds, and enlivens our students and classroom community. Thank you Education Foundation and Clabough Foundation! We are looking forward to celebrating our ‘Best Selves Through Art.'”

Heather Vihstadt, Executive Director of the Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools conveyed, “We are deeply grateful for the Clabough Foundation’s support of this cause, particularly given the evidence based benefits related to student engagement and learning.”

According to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH), “An arts education provides a critical benefit to the private sector. In order to effectively compete in the global economy, business leaders are increasingly looking for employees who are creative, collaborative and innovative thinkers. A greater investment in the arts is an effective way to equip today’s students with the skills they will need to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow.”

The PCAH study further conveyed that, “low income kids who participate in arts education were four times more likely to have high academic achievement and three times more likely to have high attendance than those who didn’t.”

Longitudinal evaluations of the same students showed that, “arts-engaged low-income students are more likely than their non-arts-engaged peers to have
attended and done well in college, build careers, volunteered in their communities and participated in the political process by voting. The conclusion of these recent studies is that on average, arts-engaged low-income students tend to perform more like higher income students in the many types of comparisons that the studies track.”

About the Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools

Since 1988, the Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools has engaged parents, citizens, educators, civic and business leaders who share a common belief that a vibrant public school system is essential to the social and economic well-being of the community.

Our mission is to prepare students for success and the future through exceptional educational and extracurricular opportunities.

Over the last decade, the foundation has invested approximately $1,000,000 into local public schools through Classroom Grants, Activity Fee Scholarships, and special projects – positively impacting the work of hundreds of teachers and the lives of thousands of children. To learn more, visit www.engagedminds.org.

About The Clabough Foundation
In 1981, after extensive travel during the early years of their marriage, Tom and Helen Clabough, together with their son, Tommy, chose to settle in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. They loved being surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains and enjoyed the mountain atmosphere. Today, Tommy and his wife Katy, owners of Nancy P’s Cafe and Bakery, live in Bend, Oregon and have children in the Bend – La-Pine School district. The activities of the Clabough Foundation reflect the interests of the Clabough Family in their mission to preserve and enhance the environmental and cultural resources of North Carolina and Oregon. The Foundation funds organization projects that emphasize education, conservation, and culture.