Dawson, director of outreach and education at the Clark State Performing Arts Center, is being summoned to the White House for a second time in three years to be recognized for his work leading Jericho, Clark State’s collaborative program with Job and Family Services of Clark County to use the arts as a way to turn around troubled young lives.
“I only got the email on Tuesday,” Dawson said. “At first I thought it was a practical joke.”
He’s to report to the White House on Tuesday to be designated a Champion of Change by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
“They don’t give you a lot of time to prepare for a trip to the White House,” he said.
In 2008, with three weeks’ notice, then-First Lady Laura Bush presented Project Jericho with one of 19 Coming Up Taller awards, honoring outstanding community arts programs for young people.
“God’s really blessed the efforts,” Dawson said.
This time, he’ll join only 10 to 12 others for a roundtable discussion on arts education.
He’ll be bringing data supporting the belief that the arts can have an impact on grades and attendance in the lives of at-risk youth.
“We just want to do good things for the community,” said Stuart Secttor, executive director of the performing arts center. “This will be helpful in that effort.”
Created in 1999, Jericho works with more than 1,000 local kids a year.
Its partnership with social services, according to Dawson, is what sets it apart from other arts programs for at-risk youth.
“I do think Project Jericho could be a national model,” he said.
Contact this reporter at amcginn@coxohio.com.
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