It's election season and we're bringing you the mayoral candidates on Wednesday, April 22nd, from 5:45 -7:30pm in the Montgomery Auditorium at the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. The candidates will address the role parks and arts play in the City of Philadelphia and how our sectors enhance the economy, environment and the quality of life of our residents. Registration for the event will open up at 5pm.

Ahead of our Mayoral Forum on Arts & Parks on Wednesday, April 22, on April 15 GroundSwell, Philadelphia Parks Alliance and Generocity partnered on an #ArtsParksChat to generate public discussion around these quality-of-life issues and the Mayor's role in strengthening both sectors.

School Play is a theatre piece aimed at raising awareness about the urgency of addressing Pennsylvania's public education system. GroundSwell is partnering with PCCY to help them meet their goal of having performances in each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties during the state budget process this spring. The piece can be performed in whole or in part, by community groups, professional troupes, friends, neighbors, and anyone in between.

Join Public Citizens for Children & Youth (PCCY) on Thursday, April 9th, at 7:30pm at the National Constitution Center for School Play, a documentary-based live theatre piece aimed at raising awareness about Pennsylvania's public education system, and the urgency of addressing it. School Play draws on interviews and quotes with a variety of citizens on all sides of the issue to begin a more meaningful conversation about the necessity of high-quality public education!

Jessica Waber is a fearless Drama Teacher tackling the importance of arts education in the School District of Philadelphia. Read more to learn how Jessica got her start in the arts, how she led over 50 students in a modern interruption of Romeo and Juliet, and why she's gushing over Jen Childs and Sharon Pinkenson.

Mighty Writers is a dedicated to teaching Philadelphia kids how to think and write with clarity in order to achieve the highest level of success in school and in the work world. To date,the nonprofit served over 1,000 Philadelphia students through daily afterschool programs, nightly classes, scholarship programs, college preparatory courses and more, and they are are getting ready for the their next endeavor, opening a bilingual center at 1025 S. 9th Street in the heart of the Italian Market, dubbed El Futuro

On Wednesday it was announced that the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to consider three dozen amendments to "The Student Success Act" (HR 5), a bill to reauthorize federal education programs. The full house is expected to vote on the bill tomorrow, and we need your help to make sure this legislation is improved upon and benefits the arts education community. This legislation push which was last completed in 2002, through the No Child Left Behind Act is aiming to reform the outdated policies and improve k-12 education.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our #ArtsGrowthChat! We covered a lot of ground over a variety of the issues and questions raised by the latest research report from the William Penn Foundation (Capitalization, Scale, and Investment: Does Growth Equal Gain?) and our own 2014 Portfolio report, and we'll definitely be thinking of ways that we can keep the discussions and discovery going offline.

From a rec center in North Philly to a shopping mall in Kazakhstan to a track field in Paris, the ten-minute Sundance-commissioned short film “The World Is As Big or As Small As You Make It” has made the local teen organization Do Remember Me the subject of national internet hype.

On Tuesday, March 24, advocates from across the country will descend on Washington, DC, for National Arts Advocacy Day. If you can’t make the trip, GroundSwell and the Artistic Rebuttal Project are hosting the Second Annual Go Forth by Phone at the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (City Hall, Room 116) from 12:00-2:00pm.