Harlem School of the Arts' positive steps towards recovery, after a 3-week shutdown in April 2010 due to financial problems, were featured on the front page of The New York Times' Arts section on Tuesday, December 6. The article, "At Harlem Arts School, New Chief Hits Her Stride," focuses on new executive director Yvette L Campbell's strong efforts to save and develop the school, which for more than 35 years has helped tens of thousands of children receive arts training. Campbell's success in making the case for arts education to both donors, and arts and academic partners, has begun to turn a dire situation around. While the school still faces a significant debt, it is beginning to build back its programs and take advantage of new opportunities.
“We will not allow this institution to fail; it’s far too important,” said Charles J. Hamilton Jr., a senior counsel at the law firm Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, who became the chairman of the school’s board in 2010. “This school saves lives, period. It produces extraordinary young people who go off in life with an appreciation for life and an appreciation of themselves. There aren’t a lot of other institutions in our community that do that.”
About Harlem School of the Arts
Since its founding by internationally-acclaimed soprano Dorothy Maynor in 1964, the Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of young people ages 4-18 through world-class training in the arts. HSA offers children and young adults in Harlem and beyond the freedom to find and develop the artist, student, and citizen within themselves in an environment that teaches discipline, stimulates creativity, builds self-confidence and adds dimension of beauty to our students' lives, empowering them to become the creative and innovative leaders of tomorrow.
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