Description and History Overview
HOME, Inc. is a non-profit organization with a 36-year history of success in spreading knowledge about technology and media and promoting their uses in instructional strategies. HOME’s activity began from managing the Bates Arts Resource Center and implementing strategies to keep its studios more affordable for local artists (HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association, n.d.a). Formerly known as the Joshua Bates School at 731 Harrison Ave., the BARC has been serving as an “arts incubator” and a place to provide studio space for Boston’s artists and video creators since 1976 (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.a, para. 1). For more than forty years, this 12,000 sq ft building has been used to support the organization of art exhibitions, amateur theatrical activities, lectures and workshops, and multimedia content production in Boston. (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.a). It suggests that supporting the local representatives of creative professions was among the central reasons behind the establishment of HOME.
Detailed information regarding HOME’s initial founders is not accessible from their website. However, focused attention is drawn to Alan Michel, who has been leading the organization for the past thirty years and is known as its co-founder (Michel, 2019). A graduate from Tufts University in Massachusetts with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts and an ex-board member of the National Association of Educational Communications and Technology, Michel (2019) takes an active part in staff supervision, project implementation, and partnership development tasks to promote the organization’s mission.
Mission
Being an abbreviation for “Here-in Our Motives Evolve,” the organization’s name points to HOME, Inc.’s key mission relating to community improvement through focused and accessible education. Michel (2019) broadly defines HOME’s mission as making “a positive difference in the lives of young people,” which involves teaching media analysis and supporting creative and critical thinking (para. 2). One of the most recent and prominent steps aimed at fulfilling the mission is the Media Literacy and Health Project conducted by the organization in collaboration with the Boston Public Schools, a public school network with more than 100 schools and 50,000 students (HOME, Inc., & SMA, n.d.b). Thus, HOME implements large-scale projects to improve local citizens’ access to knowledge and opportunities for self-improvement.
Served Populations
HOME serves three categories of clients, such as students, a range of professionals involved in the provision of educational services, and artists. For youth and students, the available services include workshops in media literacy, telecommunications, and video, and such programs are delivered by means of interactive website tools, storyboard software, and even interview techniques (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). Regarding teachers and school administrative staff, HOME’s services foster their IT literacy and enable educators to incorporate modern technology in the classroom to promote better engagement and maximize knowledge acquisition. Depending on the school’s workforce development needs, HOME develops training on software applications’ instructional uses and has several venues for service delivery, including the Massachusetts Education Association and the Boston Public Schools Center for Leadership Development (HOME, Inc. & SMA, n.d.b). Finally, the organization supports artists by providing them with access to working spaces and equipment in return for their participation in exhibitions and other events (an artist-in-residence program).
Remaining Questions and Things to Learn
The organization’s website offers basic descriptions of HOME’s current activities. Since I consider working with HOME in the near future, multiple questions concerning the peculiarities of HOME’s operations and collaboration with volunteers and residency candidates during the COVID-19 pandemic may require further discussion and research. Given that the current epidemiological situation may decrease HOME’s opportunities for open events, it is essential to know whether the duration of residency agreements with artists (3-6 months) is subject to change. Moreover, in the descriptions of job opportunities, HOME mentions giving preference to artists that plan projects with social value without providing further explanations. Thus, personal communication may be necessary to learn more about the range of topics that interest the organization most of all.
References
HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association. (n.d.a). HOME’s history. Web.
HOME, Inc. & Scholastic Media Association. (n.d.b). Projects. Web.
Michel, A. (2019). Welcome. Web.