Arts Learning: Newsletter

This online newsletter from ACA is published periodically and intends to provide you with current, important information from the field of Arts Learning and to support vital, substantive arts learning throughout the State. Please feel free to send your comments and requests for content information. We look forward to serving your arts education interests and needs.

The Arts Education Information Quarterly (AEIQ)
is a new publication of Americans for the Arts, offering field-tested strategies for securing a place for arts education in local PreK–12 environments. Look for a new issue of AEIQ each quarter, written by a different, accomplished field leader who is affecting positive change for standards-based, sequential arts education in close concert with the cultural community.
http://www.americansforthearts.org/services/arts_education/

Collecting Out of School Time Information
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) is currently collecting research studies, reports, and evaluations of effective and innovative afterschool and other OST programs that predominantly serve older (middle through high school) youth who are underserved by the education system. AYPF is developing a compendium of these programs, which will showcase OST programs that have evaluative data and information on positive student outcomes.
http://www.aypf.org/documents/CallforOSTEvalsforMottCompendium.pdf

Knowledge Institutes/Professional Development

Annenberg Institute Launches Equity and Excellence Website
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform announces a new website on Understanding Educational Excellence and Equity at Scale. The site aims to address a crucial issue in education reform: different strategies currently in use have created pockets of excellence but have not created equity. They have not lessened large-scale, persistent academic achievement gaps based on race and income. This site provides text-based, audio, and video resources from important voices in education reform to support an ongoing dialogue on the twin goals of educational excellence and equity at scale in urban schools. The Annenberg Institute invites you to explore the site and would welcome your feedback through the interactive blog or the online user survey. To visit the site please click here.

National Endowment for the Arts - Grants for Arts Projects
are now available on the NEA's website. Organizations may apply under the following categories:

Challenge America: Reaching Every Community Fast-Track Review Grants: To support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. Grants are for $10,000. Deadline: June 1, 2007

Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth: To advance arts education for children and youth in school-based or community-based settings. An organization may request a grant amount from $5,000 to $150,000. Deadline: June 11, 2007

To view the guidelines, go to www.arts.gov/grants/apply , select the field or discipline most relevant to your project

Scottsdale Cultural Council Arts Grant Program
Funding to Scottsdale-based arts and cultural organizations as well as to Valley arts organizations to foster community engagement, professionalism and long-term growth in Scottsdale's arts community. Grant requests should be at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000. Deadline: April 14, 2007. For more information contact Marilyn Williams, Executive Assistant at artsgrants@sccarts.org or 480-874-4660

TPAC Youth Scholarships
Submit your Scholarship application today! The Pima County Youth Arts Award is an opportunity to earn a scholarship toward an Associate Degree in the Arts at Pima Community College. The Youth Arts Awards are designed to identify and reward talented high school seniors within Pima County who demonstrate excellence in Dance, Music, Theater, Visual Arts, Media Arts or Literary Arts. The awards are made possible through collaboration with the Pima Community College Foundation and the Tucson Pima Arts Council. Deadline April 10. Contact Community Arts Development Coordinator, Leia Maahs, 624-0595 x19 or lmaahs@tucsonpimaartscouncil.org For information and application visit www.TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org

Professional Development For Performing Arts Teachers In Rural Communities
The Dana Foundation Rural Arts Initiatives grant funds to professional development programs for performing arts teachers in rural communities. Deadline for the Letter of Intent for 2008 is June 4, 2007. For more information please click here.

The Arts Education Network Seeks Writers
Get published and get paid doing it. Americans for the Arts is seeking writers for its new publication, the Arts Education Information Quarterly (AEIQ), which will share expertise in advancing arts education. Americans for the Arts invites submissions of manuscripts and proposals for the AEIQ series. Guidelines attached in PDF. With questions or submissions, contact artseducation@artsusa.org

Summer School Art Teachers
The Murphy Elementary School District in south Phoenix is now hiring summer school teachers in dance, music or art for 4 weeks, 4 days/week @ $25/hour for the month of June. For more information contact Lynne Dulin at ldulin@msdaz.org

Tough Choices or Tough Times
The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce is the title of a report from the National Center on Education and the Economy. The U.S. education system must undergo systemic change in order to address its problems, according to a new report released by the National Center on Education and the Economy. Primary topics addressed place appropriate emphasis on the imaginative competencies a 21st-century education system must provide in a global work place and that learning in the arts is integral in that provision.
http://www.azarts.gov/artslearning/opportunities_other.htm

Statement by Secretary Spellings on Arts Advocacy Day
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today made the following statement on the celebration of 2007 Arts Advocacy Day: "I am pleased to join the many artists, administrators, arts educators, parents, and others in celebrating 2007 Arts Advocacy Day. The No Child Left Behind Act recognizes the important role that arts have in our schools for a well-rounded education. The arts are a unique tool to stimulate and enrich learning. Not only do the arts encourage our children’s imagination and creativity, but they can also teach lessons of history, math, and other subjects in a more memorable and profound way. The arts also, as President George W. Bush has said, “…allow us to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective,” a critically important skill for today’s global economy. Our education system is improving because of the concerns and involvement of so many who advocate for the arts. Leaders in states and local communities can and should ensure that the arts remain part of every student’s education." Expert from Arts Education Network Weekly News
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/03/03122007.html

N.C.L.B. Losing Support in Congress
Public schools have become captive to federal testing mandates, jettisoning education programs not covered by those tests and discouraging creativity. Expert from Arts Education Network Weekly News
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/14/AR2007031402741.html

Minnesota Cites Decline in Music ED Because of N.C.L.B
According to the Minnesota Music Educators Association, there's been a 6.5 percent decrease in the number of public school music teachers in the state since 2000, just before N.C.L.B. Expert from Arts Education Network Weekly News
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/03/13/nclbandarts/

Study Links Arts and Academic Achievement
An analysis of 2005-2007 data reported by Texas public school campuses demonstrates that schools that have higher levels of student participation in fine arts receive higher academic ratings and have lower drop out rates. Study results were released on Monday, March 4, by the Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education. View a pdf of the press release by visiting the link above.
http://music-for-all.org/WME/documents/TexasArtsStudy.pdf

Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative
by Sir Ken Robinson
This book is a call to arms for changing our country’s educational system and for thinking in a creative, new paradigm. For arts leaders and teachers alike, this resource will help you reexamine how you can work more creatively. It addresses three main questions: 1) Why is it essential to promote creativity? 2) Why aren't people more creative--what's the problem? 3) What should be done?
http://ww2.americansforthearts.org/vango/core/orders/product.aspx?catid=3&prodid=678

Putting the Arts in the Picture: Reframing Education in the 21st Century
Putting the Arts in the Picture explores the role of the arts in innovative educational practice and school-improvement policy in the contemporary world. It makes a powerful and original argument for placing the arts at the center of educational renewal and investigates the success of arts integrated schools and the programs that have helped them.
http://ww2.americansforthearts.org/vango/core/orders/product.aspx?catid=3&prodid=212

The Power of Art: Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities
May 18, 2007, The Lab School of Washington in Washington, DC will host its 14th annual workshop The Power of Art: Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities. The Power of Art is a national competition which celebrates excellence in art education and innovative teaching
methods. The one day workshop provides art teachers with a better understanding of learning disabilities, original ways to teach, and how art can be used to teach academic skills. The Rauschenberg Foundation kindly provides hotel accommodations and limited travel funds. Applicants must teach art in kindergarten to 12th grade in a United States public or private school where some or all of their students have learning disabilities. Applications are due April 2nd, 2007 For more information about The Power of Art or to receive an application
please call The Lab School at (202) 944-3083 or E-Mail emily.marchetti@labschool.org The Power of Art application is available for you to download at
www.labschool.org

Youth Development in Policy and Practice:
An interactive workshop that will focus on ways that state level administrators can support the integration of youth development and health promotion into diverse policies and programs throughout Arizona. May 9, 2007, 9am-4:30pm, University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Phoenix Campus, 550 E. Van Buren, Building 1, 3rd Floor, Room 1381. For more information or to register contact Tamara Jones, 520-621-6933, tjones@cals.arizona.edu or Karem Hoffman Tepper 520-991-5530, karenht@ag.arizona.edu

Arizona State University - Theatre Institute
June 25-29, 2007, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. High School Teachers Summer Theatre Institute. Register for three graduate-level hours, course THP 598 A , for more information contact: Johnny Saldaña, Institute Coordinator, (480) 965-2661 - Johnny.Saldana@asu.edu

The Project Zero Classroom
Practitioners and colleagues from Harvard Project Zero work with K-12 educators to help reshape classroom practices to promote student understanding. The focuses on Teaching for Understanding, Multiple Intelligences, The Thinking Classroom, Authentic Assessment, and Learning With and Through the Arts. July 28 - August 3, 2007
www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe

TUSD Fine Arts Summer Institute (FASI):
"Unlock Your Artistry: Keys to Succesfull Learning"
There will be two sessions available for teachers to attend: Tuesday, May 29 through Saturday, June 2, 2007 and July 31 through August 3, 2007. It will be held in Tucson at Booth/Fickett Middle School and The Stevie Eller Theatre. The institute will focus on Opening Minds Through The Arts (OMA) program. The first session will also have two music clinicians: Dan Long for orchestra and Peter Boonshaft for band. Teaching artists interested in training for OMA may attend the Teaching Artist Summer Institute (TASI) held the same dates and same locations. For registration information go to
http://www.omaprogrmaz.org