FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
2014 has been a year of profound clarity and action for us as an organization . At our board retreat in January we decided to found the American Circus Educators Association ( ACE ), a branch of AYCO that specifically serves circus educators . We founded this based on the belief that we are in the position to support the diversity of circus educators and educating organizations in this country .
Soon ACE will have its own website and become the official umbrella over our safety programs , the Circus Educators Conference , a magazine , a newsletter , and a unique social media for circus educators . Much of the communication that was previously under the AYCO name will be shifting to the ACE identity , with new modes of communication emerging for AYCO . We will still be functioning with the same Board of Directors , and the same leadership structure , since in reality we ' ve always been serving the diversity of circus educators through our programs — now we ' re just ready to come out and say it .
AYCO is shifting to be truly for youth and those people that support them , namely parents and youth circus enthusiasts . We are seeking to expand our youth membership by the hundreds ( please spread the word ) and modifying our youth membership offering by premiering a special circus swag box — a tri-yearly set of custom circus swag designed in collaboration with Isometric Studio . ( Don ' t worry educators ; if you ' d like to receive the swag box in addition to our magazine you ' ll be able to — I know I do !)
We ’ re also hoping to spark youth-to-youth engagement through the new Hup Squad Youth Action Team . The squad is comprised of 11 circus-obsessed teens that co-author our new “ Circus is my Life ” blog , filling it with interviews , reviews , history , and more . With the support of coordinator Tara Jacob , they ’ ve been meeting via phone conference , seeing shows , and interviewing artists for the past month . They ’ ve also been helping us design the swag box in collaboration with Isometric Studio . And it ' s going really well !
Since our founding we have aspired to promote the participation of youth in circus arts and serve the diversity of US circus educators . Creating this distinction between youth and circus educators enables us to serve each population more directly , and with increased service and commitment . Please share this news with your colleagues , collaborators , and students and encourage them to join us as members . The more members we have for ACE and AYCO , the greater service we can provide , and the more cohesive our community becomes .
Sincerely ,
Amy Cohen Executive Director
02