Our History

In 1996, founder Rhonda Buckley was directing a small after-school music education program for inner-city children from low-income homes. Seeing that music brought the students great joy, Rhonda also realized that the structure and discipline that the study of music required was spilling over to other areas of their lives. The children’s attendance and grades in school were improving, and they seemed increasingly confident. The students asked for more. They wanted to learn how to dance and act and paint and write creatively. After researching arts education options for her students, Rhonda realized few existed in Washington, DC that were affordable and accessible for families with low incomes.

Sitar Arts Center was founded in 1998 to help fill this void in the community. Namesake Pat Sitar was a gifted artist and tireless advocate for the children of the Adams Morgan neighborhood where the Center is located. Sitar Arts Center officially opened in 2000, providing programs to 50 children within the walls of a 2,600 square foot basement in a subsidized-housing apartment building. The curriculum quickly broadened from music to include dance, visual arts, drama and creative writing, all taught by volunteer artists and partnering arts organizations, and the organization soon needed more space. In 2004 the Sitar Arts Center introduced to the community its current 10,700 square foot home, designed to provide optimal arts education. The student body rapidly grew, and by 2006 Sitar Arts Center served more than 300 students a semester.

Community Need for the Sitar Center

The children who attend the Sitar Center rely on it as a safe haven where they can learn and grow through artistic self-expression during the vulnerable after-school hours. Without options like the Sitar Center, many of our children face bleak, unsupervised afternoons and evenings. In this neighborhood, alternate activities include drug dealing, violence and crime, organized by a strong network of local gangs. In February 2005, the section of Adams Morgan where most of the Sitar Center’s students reside was designated as one of the District’s 12 high-crime “hot spots” in line for increased police presence. The Sitar Center’s goal is to keep 300 children and youth inside its doors and out of the “hot spot” each afternoon and evening.

Once in its doors, the students find a wide-range of arts programs. A growing body of research indicates that arts education improves cognitive ability and academic success and is too often omitted from every day school curriculum.

A ten-year national, longitudinal study conducted by Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University revealed that at risk students enrolled in after school, arts based community programs are:

• Twice as likely to win an academic award
• Eight times more likely to receive a community service award
• 25% more likely to report feeling satisfied with themselves
• 31% more likely to say they plan to continue education after high school

Each of the Sitar Center programs also addresses the student’s educational achievement gap, particularly in literacy.

The Sitar Center Overall Objective

The overarching goal of the Sitar Center’s arts programs is to provide children and youth with in-depth arts education that is also a catalyst for self-knowledge and building important life skills.

The specific objectives of the arts programs:

• Provide a safe, loving environment to 300 children and youth each semester
• Recruit and retain caring, consistent volunteer artists to teach and mentor
• Provide diverse class offerings in response to the interests of the students and community
• Provide programs with a solid structure and clear, high expectations for the students to meet
• Require parental involvement and commitment when a student enrolls
• Provide opportunities for students to attend professional performances and art exhibits to cultivate a life-long appreciation for the arts
• Build a literacy component into each program

The expected outcomes of the arts programs

Short-term outcomes

• Students demonstrate that they feel safe and supported at the Sitar Center
• Students demonstrate an increase in confidence and self-esteem
• Students demonstrate an increase in knowledge of art and in art skills
• Students consistently re-enroll at the Sitar Center
• Student academic grades improve with involvement at the Sitar Center
  

Long-term outcomes

• The artistic and life skills gained during their participation at the Sitar Center ultimately enriches the students lives and helps them to achieve their life goals and a positive future
• The arts remain a meaningful part of the student’s lives