The primary mission of cultural nonprofits is educational in nature.
Their programs help build a thriving city.
Grant Writing
Whatever your needs, Dr. Creedon has a proven record as a successful grant writer in numerous areas.
When the School Board placed him on special assignment at Opera Philadelphia as its Director of Education, Dr. Creedon created a literacy based and arts integrated outreach program. In doing so, he consistently secured direct financial support from numerous foundations, State, and corporate partners in support of his integration of arts enrichment across the curriculum.
When Dr. Creedon was appointed to the central office as the Director over all arts education in the Philadelphia Schools, he successfully secured direct financial support for arts education from local foundations and corporate partners.
When he was promoted to Deputy Chief for Academic Enrichment, he partnered in writing two successful research grants from the US Department of Education valued at over $2.4 million dollars to investigate the impact of arts integration on academic achievements in literacy and math. He also co-wrote a successful $1.2 million dollar grant in support of early childhood literacy tied to library sciences.
In his last position as a Superintendent of Mahopac Schools, he wrote a successful $3.1 million dollar grant application in support of improving technology and security for his district.
MISSION EVALUATION
Evaluation data is not negative or positive. They are simply indicators that measure a mission's effectiveness of inputs in realizing output goals and in achieving the desired outcomes aligned with the program's mission.
Dr. Creedon co-taught a course on measuring the mission effectiveness of non-profit programs for five years. This course was for Philadelphia's cultural leaders and was affiliated with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Starting with the operationalization of the text within their corporate missions, participants then focused on their mission aligned program's inputs in realizing their desired outputs and outcomes. What is measured is what matters in an organization.
Understanding that data are both a lens and a tool for reviewing programs - should be a primary emphasis of every organization. When required, data can also aid in re-shaping program design to enhance the services that support the goals of the organization's mission.
This learning process supports grant writing goals as the gathered data informs funders of your organization's dedication to self-evaluation. An eye for continuous improvement in program development and delivery of services ensures donated funds achieve their desired results.
The applied overlay of the practical interpretive data process ensures a quantitative foundation for total quality management.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS AND RETREATS
Dr. Creedon can lead a 1.5 hour workshop that engages participants in self-discovery and team building. This workshop can be expanded for a full day retreat depending on an organizations' needs.
For a retreat, Dr. Creedon will design a collaborative and engaging program that will inspire and enlighten participants in realizing the goals and objectives set in consultation with your leadership team.
Everyone needs opportunities to share, learn, and grow as an active and respected team member. Collaborating with their peers, team members share and learn about their each other while also coming to understand how stress created due to our demanding tasks and deadlines can undercut not only work performance but also damage peer relationships.
Building emotional intelligence can enable staff members to self-monitor their stress levels and respond appropriately to their stressors in the future.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Creedon has been recognized and honored for his creation of integrated curricula. Depending on your needs, curricula can be created to offer engaging content for schools or patrons.
Sounds of Learning
In the Curricular Publications page are covers of some of the 40+ curricula he created for use in private and public schools. Most of the images are from the Sounds of Learning program he created at Opera Philadelphia. Of these curricula, each book offered a 76+ page student guide and an extensive teacher's guide that was accompanied with a CD of the major arias of the operas.
““This archetypal program is based on a criss-curricular, thematic method that tis student-centered and attends to individual learning styles. With an innovate blend of artistic activities and curricular goals, “Sounds of Learning” is grounded in the integration and synthesis of the learning which takes place during the classroom presentation and the live performances of a staged opera. In addition, the teachers experiences professional development that meets the standards of the School District of Philadelphia with which the program is affiliated. Good pedagogy and opera combine for sound learning!”
— Best Practice in Pennsylvania Arts in Education, PA Department of Education, PA Council on the Arts, PA Alliance for Arts Education
Literacy Through the Arts
The grade 1 to 8 Literacy Through the Arts program was created while Dr. Creedon was an Assistant Superintendent. It was a partnership between the School District, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Orchestra pressed a CD of music selected for each grade level and the Art Museum made visuals from their collections available that matched the time frames of the composers selected for each grade's CD. For more information on this series, click on the curricular pages below.
Dr. Creedon also worked with WHYY in designing the student study guide for the national broadcast of the Denyce Graves' "Breaking the Rules" production.