Galaxy Profile

Background information about Galaxy, the Arts in Education Program:

• Galaxy, established in1976 as part of Central Intermediate Unit 10 (CIU 10), is the oldest program of its kind in Pennsylvania.  It is one of several programs selected to work in a groundbreaking partnership with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to improve the quality of arts in education across the Commonwealth.

• There are 29 Intermediate Units (IU’s) in the State, each of which serve designated counties. Each has a name and a number.  Galaxy’s CIU 10 serves Centre, Clearfield, and Clinton counties. It is geographically the third largest IU covering a region of more than 3,500 square miles in rural central Pennsylvania.

• Financially, Galaxy operates much like a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) program within an education agency. Because CIU 10 is a “free-market” IU that does not receive school district withholdings each year it relies on State subsidies and grants to run mandated programs. CIU programs not mandated by the State, and therefore, not covered by these sources, are offered on a “subscription” basis to school districts. Because Galaxy is one of these programs, it also engages in fundraising efforts to offset school costs.

• Galaxy serves most of the schools across the three-county region.  The majority of the school districts that Galaxy serves are classified by the PA Department of Education as “rural and poor.”

• While Galaxy is best known for its services to schools, it also offers services to other community facilities and populations including universities, libraries, and pre-school and senior groups.

• Internally, Galaxy has a permanent staff of three people. Program staff work together with a group of community volunteers known as the “Galaxy Council for Arts in Education,” to fundraise and promote the work of the program.

• Each year Galaxy publishes an Arts Catalog, which features a menu of nearly 100 different arts opportunities from which schools may choose.  These include artist visits, workshops, performances, artist residencies, master classes, and field trips.  Galaxy provides scheduling services and administrates all phases of programming for quality assurance.

• Galaxy works cooperatively with programs in the College of Arts and Architecture and the College of Education at Penn State University.