press release
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 2:46 pm

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) - At its meeting in Frankfort today, the Kentucky Board of Education presented the annual Dr. Samuel Robinson Award to co-winners - Playhouse in the Park/Murray Calloway County Community Theater and the Partnership Institute for Math and Science Education Reform (PIMSER) at the University of Kentucky.

Since 2004, the Dr. Samuel Robinson Award has been conferred on an individual or group in Kentucky for outstanding leadership, commitment and service in promoting equity and opportunity to learn at high levels for all Kentucky students.

Playhouse in the Park/Murray Calloway County Community Theater was singled out for its involvement with the Penguin Project, an inclusive, educational theatrical experience where children with special needs fill the lead roles in a production with the support of peer mentors. The Penguin Project was originally developed by Dr. Andy Morgan, a pediatrician in Peoria, Illinois, who selected Murray's Playhouse as a replication site. The Playhouse is the only theater in Kentucky, and one of seven in the United States, involved in the project.

In nominating the Playhouse in the Park, Murray Elementary School Principal Denise Whitaker wrote that the Playhouse "is leading the way to a more inclusive community that offers equitable access to all its participants." She went on to note that the community is very supportive and the schools encourage their students to participate in the Penguin Project. This year more than 50 students, ages 10 to 21 from eight different schools, participated as artists and mentors. Additionally, many adults, including several teachers, volunteered to direct, paint and costume for the production.

Whitaker said the production has opened community members' eyes to how much children with special

needs can do and also helped boost student confidence.

"A teacher of one of the artists remarked that she didn't realize how much her student could do. Watching him on stage helped her see him in a whole new way. She also remarked that his confidence in class, and his relationships with peers had grown," Whitaker said.