http://www.hobartshakespeareans.org/ourclass_welcome.php

http://www.oprah.com/uyl/angel/uyl_angel_20001218.jhtml

Here's a piece from Oprah's website:

According to Rafe, "the biggest disadvantage that these children face is that none of them speak English as their first language. When a 10-year-old, who doesn't speak English as his first language, steps in front of you and does a scene from Shakespeare, there is nothing that they cannot accomplish."

The Solution — Give Students a Way Out
"I started Hobart Shakespeareans because I fear something for these children," Rafe says. "And it's not gangs, it's not drugs. What I fear is that they're ordinary. I don't want my students to be ordinary; I want them to be extraordinary because I know that they are."

The Hobart Shakespeareans are more than just actors — they are serious students. "My students come at 6:30 in the morning because they are hungry, they want out. They want to go to a top school." The classroom mission is "Be nice, Work hard." Rafe says, "It's the first thing the children learn from me. If I want my children to work hard, I better be the hardest working person they've ever met. If I want the children to be nice, I better be the kindest human being they've ever met."