About MINDPOP

Image © 2010 Theatre Action Project

MINDPOP is a coordinating body that facilitates a unique collaboration of educators, arts groups and funders passionate about the impact of creative learning on student success.

The MINDPOP partners believe that every child deserves a rich portfolio of creative learning options in schools and outside of schools. This is also the goal of Austin Independent School District: to provide equitable access to the arts and creative learning instruction as part of a strong core curriculum.

To help bring this goal to reality, MINDPOP fosters a vibrant collaboration between the school district and the community. The work paid off this past August when the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts named Austin as the seventh city to receive their Any Given Child Grant. Concurrently rolling out this fall is MINDPOP’s pilot project with Austin ISD called the Creative Classroom.

Enabling Students

National research shows that involving students in the arts improves their academic performance, attendance and behavior. One study found that creative learning opportunities for low-resourced kids more than doubles their likelihood of attending college.1 This has special significance for AISD. More than 60 percent of students qualify for government lunch programs.

In school systems where arts-based learning is sustained, students from all backgrounds tend to be engaged, inquisitive and motivated to explore new ideas. These traits go with them into adulthood.

In a recent survey, 1500 CEOs of global organizations reported that creativity (not leadership, reliability or business acumen)is the trait they most value in their employees. With many thousands of creative jobs located in the Austin area, an arts-rich educational system has double impact: • Preparing students to compete, and • Developing a qualified workforce for the community.

Why Austin?

Austin’s creative energy and enthusiasm for learning make it an ideal setting and resource for creative learning. Still, there is “a way to go” to provide quality arts-rich opportunities for all students and all schools.

In 2009, under the leadership of Dr. Brent Hasty, mindPOP was founded as a project of the Austin Community Foundation. Its mission: to identify gaps in arts distribution, and to coordinate a way forward—building momentum, creating tools and pilot programs, and finally establishing a blueprint for district-wide and city-wide arts programming.