On Wednesday, August 25, the DeBose Foundation, in observance of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the foundation, presented a commemorative gift donation to McKinley Middle Academic Magnet School in memory of Jesse D. David Jr. David, whose daughter Myrtle David is the foundation’s executive director, was a foundation trustee member, treasurer and the incorporator of the foundation.
The DeBose Foundation presented McKinley Middle Academic Magnet with equipment and supplies for the upkeep and maintenance of the existing school grand piano: mobility dolly, security locks, piano protective cover and piano technical support. Installation was provided by piano technician Steve Houk.
Accepting the donated gifts from Ms. David (pictured -- sitting, at left) and DeBose Foundation President Melba Moye (sitting, at right) were (left to right around the piano) Talented Music student Jothi Hines, Talented Music student Titus Nelson, school dean Sean Joffrion, McKinley Middle Principal Herman Brister Jr., East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS) Fine Arts Director Wayne Talbot, school dean Daniel Edwards, Gifted and Talented Arts Program Music teacher Marie Flowers, Assistant Principal Clarise Gibson and Assistant Principal Catherine Thompson.
The DeBose Foundation has had a long standing commitment to education and the arts. EBRPSS has been in partnership with the foundation for more than 25 years. McKinley Middle Academic Magnet also has served as the primary anchor school for the DeBose Fine Arts Series and hosted all grade levels last year in the foundation’s Festival Series performances and art exhibitions. Schools annually participating in the Festival include: Audubon Elementary, Baton Rouge Center for Visual & Performing Arts, Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Buchanan Elementary, Forest Heights Academy of Excellence, McKinley High, McKinley Middle Academic Magnet, Park Forest Middle, Scotlandville Magnet High, Westdale Middle Academy and Woodlawn Elementary schools.
The DeBose Foundation and its programs are made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Louisiana Division of the Arts: State Arts Council Decentralized Arts Fund and the Community Fund for the Arts. It also has support from The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge: Local Project Assistance and the Multicultural Organization funded by the Baton Rouge’s Metro City Council and the Mayor’s-President’s Office.
As an ancillary resource, the DeBose Fine Arts Series is characterized by partnerships and multi-discipline collaboration designed to salute and showcase teacher and student achievement based on curriculum and studio criterion in Literary, Visual and Performing arts. This annual program is motivated by advocacy, supporting existing Louisiana and national education standards and initiatives. Community, as a signature component of the DeBose program, encompasses qualitative enrichment to Fine Arts Education areas. Fulfillment of school needs and curriculum objectives, coupled with the opportunity to uphold and service corporate initiatives, will afford stellar programs serving to promote the integrity and developmental needs of youth. Addressing these educational challenges fosters new and renewed aspiration benefiting under-served and under-developed talent, implemented through “hands-on/participant-oriented” project initiatives.
