This October, somewhere in Southern California, rural Maine or maybe San Francisco, our 50,000th program participant was about to meet the SPIRIT SERIES challenge. They sat in a classroom with no idea of the transformation that lay ahead. But we knew. By the end of their residency, this student would come to experience her/his own capacity for success. After three weeks immersed in the epic challenges and triumphs of a great historical hero, grappling with text – probably two to three grades above their reading level, collaborating with fellow classmates, reflecting on life’s most demanding questions, and facing their own fear in high stakes public performance, the results would very likely be profound: for this student, their teacher, and the entire school community.

We are proud to announce that in early December SPIRIT SERIES was awarded a prestigious $100,000 Access Challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Spirit Series has been awarded $500,000 by the Maine Department of Education in a $1,000,000 initiative to bring Series programming to 12,500 students across the state over the next three years. Our first statewide partnership—driven by the Series’ strong alignment with the Department’s vision for the future of education in Maine—points the way to a new era for our organization. Now entering our third decade, we are inspired by this great opportunity to fulfill our mission and deliver programming at scale!

This October, somewhere in Southern California, rural Maine or maybe San Francisco, our 50,000th program participant was about to meet the SPIRIT SERIES challenge. They sat in a classroom with no idea of the transformation that lay ahead. But we knew. By the end of their residency, this student would come to experience her/his own capacity for success. After three weeks immersed in the epic challenges and triumphs of a great historical hero, grappling with text – probably two to three grades above their reading level, collaborating with fellow classmates, reflecting on life’s most demanding questions, and facing their own fear in high stakes public performance, the results would very likely be profound: for this student, their teacher, and the entire school community.

This October, somewhere in Southern California, rural Maine or maybe San Francisco, our 50,000th program participant was about to meet the SPIRIT SERIES challenge. They sat in a classroom with no idea of the transformation that lay ahead. But we knew. By the end of their residency, this student would come to experience her/his own capacity for success. After three weeks immersed in the epic challenges and triumphs of a great historical hero, grappling with text – probably two to three grades above their reading level, collaborating with fellow classmates, reflecting on life’s most demanding questions, and facing their own fear in high stakes public performance, the results would very likely be profound: for this student, their teacher, and the entire school community.

This October, somewhere in Southern California, rural Maine or maybe San Francisco, our 50,000th program participant was about to meet the SPIRIT SERIES challenge. They sat in a classroom with no idea of the transformation that lay ahead. But we knew. By the end of their residency, this student would come to experience her/his own capacity for success. After three weeks immersed in the epic challenges and triumphs of a great historical hero, grappling with text – probably two to three grades above their reading level, collaborating with fellow classmates, reflecting on life’s most demanding questions, and facing their own fear in high stakes public performance, the results would very likely be profound: for this student, their teacher, and the entire school community.