Window On a Wider World

Mission Statement: Window On a Wider World is dedicated to enriching the education of Texas Panhandle students through arts, science and cultural experiences. Vision: Window On a Wider World will magnify the impact of every child’s learning experience in and out of the classroom thus enriching their education. History of WOWW: From the beginning of the fundraising process to build the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, the board, staff and donors realized there was an opportunity to make a tremendous impact on how our children learn through and with arts and cultural programming. During construction over $1.3 million was given to the future education program, and nationwide research was initiated to find a successful program of arts education for children. After several metamorphoses, Arts Partners, a program of Big Thought in Dallas, Texas, was chosen as the organization to model. During this process, donors from throughout the area expressed interest in supporting an education program that would benefit children in rural areas. Due to this interest and support, Window On a Wider World (WOWW) benefits thousands of children in the Texas Panhandle. WOWW works with arts, science and cultural non-profit organizations and educational institutions to promote excellence in interdisciplinary arts, science, and cultural programs. Its primary goal is to integrate arts, science and cultural programming into the core curriculum of Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies. This allows teachers to use this programming to teach the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TKS). The program began in 2006 with 7 pilot schools in three different districts. Today the program in its fifth year has expanded to 69 schools in 16 districts. West Texas A&M University is committed to the research assessment and evaluation of WOWW as it relates academically, socially and psychologically. WOWW is the facilitator for over 30 area arts, science and cultural non-profit organizations that provide over 150 education programs published yearly in an Educators’ Resource Guide available online www.windowonawiderworld.org for all educators. Through a strategic yearly plan of expansion, elementary schools are invited to participate in WOWW and each WOWW school district invests $5 per student (kindergarten through fifth grade) and WOWW allots $6 per child toward programs or transportation to/from those programs that are found in the Educators’ Resource Guide. Retired teachers known as WOWW Reps are hired and assigned to work with each WOWW school during a specified day every fall to book programs for the entire year. Our first year of operation in 2006 directly benefited 2,712 students and this past year over 56,000 students benefitted with programs their teachers utilized from the Educators’ Resource Guide to enrich their education. WOWW also provides free of charge, annual professional development opportunities for educators. This year’s professional development day was held on July 21, at Region 16 Education Service Center. Attendees were given 6 GT credit units for continuing education through Region 16 ESC, heard from Patty Bryant, Chair for Texas Commission on the Arts, and Dr. Gary Gibbs, Executive Director for TCA, and featured speaker, Dr. Terry Armstrong, University of Idaho Professor Emeritus who focused on brain research; engaging multiple cortical modularities to enhance children's learning through the arts. As WOWW expands in the Texas panhandle, our goal is to facilitate those education programs throughout the school year as it relates to each grade level’s curriculum, include TEKS and provide learning experiences in and out of the classroom setting. Now going into its sixth year, WOWW has successfully grown in 16 districts in the Texas panhandle region and eventually will include all 63 school districts.