HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8310 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8310
OT E0, April 3, 2001
00 _*
0111", To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 1 of 2
SUBJECT: HERD EDUCATION PROGRAM
BACKGROUND
In addition to the daily cattle drives along Exchange Avenue in the Historic Stockyard District, the
Parks and Community Services Department has developed an educational program to teach school
children the history of the great cattle drives of the late 1800's and the impact they had on the
growth and development of Fort Worth.
A Public Education Specialist (PES) position was included in the FY 1999-00 budget to develop and
coordinate this program. Early on, several obstacles had to be overcome in order for the program
to be successful. Some of these obstacles included developing a program that would complement
the educational programs already being provided by Stockyards Station, a business venture of
Hickman Investments (Hickman Investments provides free office space and livery quarters for the
Fort Worth Herd program). Another major obstacle was developing a marketing plan that would
allow us to compete with the numerous programs already being offered throughout the City
including those offered at the Log Cabin Village, the Fort Worth Nature Center, Botanical Garden,
Fort Worth Zoo, Cattle Raisers Museum and Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
These obstacles have been over come and the educational program is now up and running. In
addition to being a great learning experience, the program is fun, interactive and holds the attention
of the fourth graders for which it is targeted. It features demonstrations of cutting cattle from the
herd, roping, branding, horse shoeing and saddling. The new program was promoted along with
the Stockyards Station tour through a mail out of 1,800 flyers to area schools on February 8, 2001.
As schools began to book the Stockyards Station tour, Staff followed up with a letter offering our
program in addition to the tour. The average cost for the Stockyards Station tour is $2.50 per
student. For an additional $0.50 per student the children can also participate in the Fort Worth
Herd educational program. This follow up letter generated a great interest and resulted in booking
1,293 students from 16 different schools and youth organizations from March through June of this
year.
Other promotional efforts included meeting with the Curriculum Director of the Region Xi Education
Service Center on February 26, 2001. This led to a very productive outcome with the suggestion
that staff consider not only field trips, but to also market the program for in class use. The program
includes a five-day lesson plan, classroom activities and a workbook. Cost for printing the 5,000
workbooks is $2,114.50, which will be funded through proceeds from the Herd's Special
Appearances and Photography sessions. The fees were established by policy approved by the
Council on May 9, 2001 (M&C G-12910). The fees are collected by the Outriders, the official
support group for the Fort Worth Herd and are restricted to funding educational, promotional and/or
other aspects of the program. On March 2, 2001 staff presented the program to fourth grade
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8310
April 3, 2001
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 2 of 2
fgrs SUB,IECT: HERD EDUCATION PROGRAM
teachers from the Fort Worth Independent School District as part of a Professional Development
Day.
An Educational/Promotional video has also been produced and it has been very effective in
generating interest in the Education Program. The video touches on the history of the cattle,
cowboys and in particular the history of Fort Worth, Highlights include archive photos from the
period as well as clips from the June 12, 1999 kick-off cattle drive.
Future Proiects/Issues
Further promotional efforts will include contact of local summer day camp programs offered by non-
profit agencies such as YMCA's, Girl Scouts, etc., other metroplex Park and Recreation
Departments and day care facilities. The video was previewed at the Texas Recreation and Parks
Society Annual State Conference in Conroe on February 23, 2001. Several Park Departments in
and around the metroplex expressed an interest in promoting this program to their youth summer
day camps as well as outings for their senior citizens. Staff will also be working with the Fort Wort'0411
Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote the program to tour groups. The current program ca,,
easily be modified to address a more adult audience.
Lastly, staff has developed a conceptual plan to renovate the old, Scale House into a Stockyards
Learning Center. They will be meeting with administrators of the Texas Historical Society on April
20, 2001 to review the project and discuss grant opportunities. The concept was endorsed
unanimously by the Board of the North Fort Worth Historical Society on March 15, 2001 and staff
will be bringing forth a resolution sometime this summer for endorsement by City Council. The
Outriders are currently developing fund raising strategies to raise the matching dollars needed.
If you have questions or need more information about the program, please contact Richard Zavala,
Parks and Community Services Director or Libby Watson, Assistant City Manager.
Jackson)
City Managle-ii
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS