[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 19, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E74]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VAN WEZEL PERFORMING ARTS HALL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VERN BUCHANAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 19, 2011

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
accomplishments of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall's education 
programs and the work of the Van Wezel Foundation in support of arts 
education.
  I also recognize Mary Bensel, Executive Director of the Van Wezel 
Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota, Florida for her service in support of 
the educational programs and community engagement activities of the Van 
Wezel.
  The mission of the Van Wezel Foundation is to enrich the Gulf Coast 
community, with an emphasis on children, through the performing arts 
while supporting the needs of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
  The arts education and community engagement programs of the Van Wezel 
are celebrating their fourteenth year, are nationally known, and are a 
major factor in the integration of arts education within our region's 
schools.
  Each year tens of thousands of students, educators and lifelong 
learners from four counties are introduced to national performing arts 
programming through the support of the Van Wezel Foundation.
  Annually, over 23,000 students from DeSoto, Charlotte, Manatee and 
Sarasota County Schools attend the School-time performances conducted 
by the Van Wezel and supported by the Foundation.
  Each year the Van Wezel, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center and 
local school districts provide specialized workshops to train teachers 
of science, math, history, social studies and literacy on ways to use 
the arts to enhance the presentation of their subject materials.
  The Van Wezel is affiliated with the Partners in Education Program of 
the Kennedy Center and is one of the only projects nationally that has 
conducted a longitudinal study on the impact of integrative arts 
education on student learning and achievement. It is the only Kennedy 
partner in the country to have received seven national research grants 
on the impact of the arts and education programs within county schools.
  Furthermore, the Van Wezel Education Department and the Manatee 
County schools are in the second year of Project Stage, a project 
funded through a U.S. Department of Education three year grant to 
increase literacy in elementary schools.
  Under the leadership of Mary Bensel, the Van Wezel Performing Arts 
Hall and the Van Wezel Foundation have made a remarkable contribution 
to the cultural life of our community and education of our children.

                          ____________________