Tony Award Winner John Lloyd Young Visits Cattell, Oak Park Schools

tonyawardturnaroundTony Award winning actor John Lloyd Young will be spending time at Cattell and Oak Park elementary schools next week, working with students and teachers thanks to the Turnaround Arts program, an initiative to integrate the arts into other curriculum areas to improve learning and achievement.

Young is a well-known Broadway actor, earning a Tony for the role of Frankie Valli in the Jersey Boys. He re-created the role in last year’s movie version of the Jersey Boys, directed by Clint Eastwood. In addition to his many roles on both stage and screen, Young was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2013.

Young will be spending Monday, February 23 at Oak Park Elementary School and Tuesday, February 24 at Cattell Elementary School.

A media availability with Young, as well as opportunities to photograph/video work with students, will take place on Tuesday at Cattell Elementary School (3101 East 12th Street):

1:00-1:45 — Kindergarten Class (music lesson)

1:45-2:30 — 3rd Grade Class (“I Am” Portrait – visual arts & literacy lesson)

2:30-3:15 — School Assembly:

  • Kindergarten Performance
  • Selection from School Musical
  • Mr. Young Addresses Student Body

3:15-3:45 — Media Availability

In May 2012, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Domestic Policy Council, launched Turnaround Arts as a pilot program in eight schools across the country that were low-achieving and receiving federal School Improvement Grants.

In Des Moines, Findley Elementary School was one of the first eight schools in the nation to participate in the program. Last month, a national report found big gains in reading and math proficiency at Findley and the other original Turnaround Arts schools.

Starting this school year, four additional DMPS schools – Cattell, Harding, Madison and Oak Park – are also participating in Turnaround Arts.

For additional information about Turnaround Arts, visit turnaroundarts.pcah.gov.

For additional information about John Lloyd Young, visit johnlloydyoung.com.