Image by Flickr user laurie.mcgregor

The Charleston County School District, the Cities of Charleston and North Charleston, and the College of Charleston have convened a community planning process, titled "Engaging Creative Minds," to determine how the cities, schools and arts and cultural resources can collectively serve area youth more equitably and with higher impact in the classroom.

The community will have an opportunity to learn more about this initiative and offer input at a public forum at North Charleston City Hall (in the Montague Conference Room, 2nd Floor) on Thursday, January 12th, from 6:45-8 p.m.

Dallas-based non-profit, Big Thought, has been asked to facilitate this six-month process, in coordination with a community task force made up of local stakeholders. Big Thought made its first site visit to Charleston on November 9th and 10th in order to begin a planning timeline that will ultimately result in a set of recommended outcomes, program design, and a governance structure for the initiative.

In an effort to garner community input and support for this project, there will be two public forums held, the first of which will take place in North Charleston. Educators, artists, arts organizations, and the general public are invited to participate in these forums. For more information, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854 or visit www.bigthought.org.