In This Issue
- Governor's May Revise & Arts Block Grant Funding
- Press Briefing: Future of Arts Education in California
- Arts Education Funding in Limbo
- Arts Advocacy Forum - San Jose
- Who Will Perform for the Arts in LA
- Annual SPECTRA Exhibit
- LA Music Center Spotlight Awards
- Parents Collecting Pennies to Save Music Programs
- Alabama PE Requirements Could Eliminate Arts
- Pennsylvania District Limits Access to Arts Education
- New SRI Studies on Arts Education in California
- AEP Releases New Publication
- Public Policy Institute Findings
- The Music Center BRAVO Award Call for Nominations
CONFERENCES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- 2nd Annual Teaching Artist Institute
- SNAP Summer Institutes and Programs
- 2nd Annual TCAP K-12 Courageous Creativity Conference
- TCAP Regional Centers: 2008 Summer Prof Development Institutes
- Regional Forums Throughout CA
- National Arts Ed Training on System Change
- Arts Education: Taking Stock of the Future
- Arts LINC
- SouthCAP Summer Institutes
RESOURCES,
FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES
- Grants for Arts and Education from Barnes & Noble
- Surdna Foundation Fellowships
- After School Music Education
May 15 , 2008
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Governor's
May Revise and Arts Block Grant Funding
The Governor’s May Revised Budget was released on May 14. Relative
to some aspects of the budget, funding for education is in better shape
than we might have been expected.
The May Revise “reflects an increase in 2008-09 spending covered by the
Proposition 98 guarantee relative to 2007-08, from $56.6 billion to $56.8
billion. This results in a $101 MILLION increase in 2008-09 Proposition
98 K-12 per pupil spending, from $8,509 to $8,610.” (California
Budget Project). So while
education funding is up slightly from the January proposed budget and
does provide Prop 98 minimum guarantees, there are proposed reductions,
including the elimination to 2008-09 COLAs and reduction in some categorical
programs.
While detailed information is still being released and analyzed, we are pleased to report that the Arts and Music Block Grant funding appears unchanged in the May Revise. Within the May Revise there is a proposal to provide additional flexibility for districts that have carryover categorical funds. At this time the scope of this proposal and whether or not if might adversely impact the arts and music block grant is unclear. We will keep you informed as we learn more about this aspect of the budget and the other policy bills related to categorical flexibility.
We continue to be buoyed by the Governor’s March 20 statement (Orange County Register) that districts need more freedom in determining how to spend some money that is tied to specific programs, “but not at the expense of money earmarked for "vital" programs like music, the arts, and physical education."
What’s next?
The budget will continue to be debated and negotiated in budget committees
and eventually in the Assembly and Senate Conference Committee and
the Big 5 over the course of the next month or however long the negotiation
takes. The May Revise represents the next step in this process; however,
it is far from the final step that will result in a budget adoption.
We ask that you stay tuned and alert to the opportunities to be engaged
in this conversation on behalf of California’s 6 million students.
To learn more about what the California Alliance is doing to provide media support for this issue, click here.
Press
Briefing: The Future of Arts Education in California
The California Alliance for Arts Education held a press briefing May
7 on the future of arts education in light of the current fiscal crisis. Missed
it? Click here to see follow up media advisory. Click here to download the recording.
To download the powerpoint that accompanied the call, click here. To view a transcript
of the conference, click here.
Arts
Education Funding in Limbo
"Progress toward improving arts and music education in California
public schools could be adversely impacted if local educators are permitted to
use funding designated for these programs to save other classroom jobs and services
during the state's fiscal crisis, arts education advocates said Wednesday. The
nonprofit California Alliance for Arts Education, which hosted a telephone press
conference from its Pasadena headquarters, is concerned that hundreds of millions
of dollars that have been allocated to arts programs statewide could be lost
if California lawmakers authorize school districts to seize part or all of the
earmarked funds to solve their budget shortfalls."
To read the full article,
click here.
Arts
Advocacy Forum - San Jose and Menlo Park
Arts Council Silicon Valley hosted California Alliance for Arts Education
and California Arts Advocates in two free workshops on May 1 in the Silicon Valley
area. Presenters were Laurie Schell, CA Alliance for Arts Education; Lisa Caretto
and Brad Erickson, CA Arts Advocates; and Kathy Lynch, Legislative Advocate for
both organizations. Topics included: history of funding to Santa Clara County,
advocacy for non-profits, hot topics in legislation, and overview of current
public arts education funding. For more information, email laurie@artsed411.org.
Who
Will Perform for the Arts in LA
At a time when the California Arts Council is handing out only one-tenth
of the grants funding it did a decade ago, and when the Los Angeles Department
of Cultural Affairs will take a 6.1% hit to its 2008-09 budget, the race to succeed
retiring county Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke is of intense interest to the local
arts community. That's because L.A. County government has become the chief
public resource for local arts funding, annually spending more than $60 million
supporting Los Angeles museums and performing arts facilities. To read
the article in full, click here.
Annual
SPECTRA Exhibit Displays Benefit of Arts Funding
For 28 years, SPECTRA, which stands for Special Teacher Resources in the
Arts, has offered arts programs for local schools through the Cultural Council
of Santa Cruz County. SPECTRA was founded after the landmark Proposition 13 property
tax cap in 1978 reduced funding for arts education. Educators argue that visual
and performing arts engage students on an emotional level and improve critical-thinking
skills in ways academic subjects may not. But as arts funding and curricula
continue to take a backseat to mandated standards for language arts and math
proficiency, artists and parents say students need extra attention now more than
ever in helping them explore creative outlets. To read the article in full,
click here.
Los
Angeles Music Center 'Spotlight Awards' Highlight Teenage Talent
The Los Angeles Music Center features some of the world's top entertainers,
and once a year, it also hosts some talented young performers in its Spotlight
Awards. They were part of a competition that started with 2,200 students.
That number was winnowed down to just 16 finalists, who appeared at the Music
Center in an evening performance hosted by actor Tony Danza. Mark Slavkin, vice
president for education at the Music Center, says that for the young performers,
appearing on stage in this professional venue is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. To
read about the participating students, click here.
Parents
Collecting Pennies to Save Music Programs
In the face of drastic cuts in school programs, parents and the schools’
Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) are pulling out all the stops to raise money
to save the music program. That means a range of activities from big-name concerts
to bake sales, soliciting donations large and small, and collecting pennies from
the pockets of the district’s youngest pupils. Paden Elementary School
had a Nickel Monday and Penny Tuesday last week, for example, where students
brought in as many coins as they could toward saving their beloved music classes.
To read the article in full, click here.
Alabama
P.E. Requirement Could Eliminate Arts
A bill before the Alabama Legislature could limit or eliminate choir
and other electives from the curriculum in favor of more physical education time.
The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, seeks to
address adolescent obesity. Alabama ranks high among states in overweight teenagers.
Guin's bill seeks to set minimums for the amount of daily exercise students will
be required to have in school, with at least 200 minutes a week for elementary
school students and 225 minutes for middle and high school students. To
read the article in full, click here.
Pennsylvania
District Limits Access to Arts Education
Hempfield Area school administrators confronted by a budget crisis are proposing
to reduce 14 1/2 staff positions through a restructuring of the district's K-12
curriculum that they say will focus on struggling students while developing well-rounded
kids and maintaining quality programs. But two school board members said they
have concerns about a proposal that would eliminate world language at the elementary
level, limit middle school art and music to one nine-week instructional block
per school year, and cut the daily activity period high school students use for
club participation. To read the article in full, click here.
New
SRI Studies on Arts Education in California
Last year, the Center for Education Policy at SRI International,
with support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, issued a report on
the status of arts education in California. The report, An Unfinished Canvas:
Arts Education in California, revealed that a large majority of California
schools fail to meet state goals for arts education — that is, they fail to offer
a standards-based course of study in dance, music, visual arts, and theatre.
The report also identified key barriers to arts education, including inadequate
and unstable funding, insufficient instructional time, and limited teacher capacity
in the arts. To identify solutions aimed at overcoming these obstacles to arts
education, the Hewlett Foundation has provided support for a suite of follow-up
studies that examine these barriers in greater depth and discuss implications
for policy and practice. Two of the follow-up reports are now available-- An
Unfinished Canvas: Allocating Funding and Instruction Time for Elementary Arts
Education, and An
Unfinished Canvas: Teacher Preparation, Instructional Delivery, and Professional
Development in the Arts. Click here to
download a fact sheet that summarizes the reports’ findings. Hard copies
are available upon request to Jennifer Bland at jennifer.bland@sri.com or 650-859-2190.
AEP
Releases New Publication - Arts Education & Urban School Reform
The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) has announced the release of its
new publication, The Art of Collaboration: Promising Practices for Integrating
the Arts and School Reform. This second installment in AEP’s research and policy
brief series outlines promising practices for building community partnerships
that integrate the arts into urban education systems. The publication describes
16 practices used by the demonstration sites in their efforts to improve student
achievement, build public support for arts education, and influence local policy.
The intended audience for this publication is anyone engaged or interested in
using community-based arts education collaboration as an agent for system change.
The cost of this report is $5.00. To order or download the brief, click here.
Public
Policy Institute Findings
In a recent survey conducted by The Public Policy Institute of California,
the findings state: Education and schools ranked as the second most important
issue concerning Californians. More than 84% of the state’s residents say
the quality of a K-12 public school education is somewhat of a problem. A
strong majority of Californians (60%) chooses K-12 public education as the area
they would like to protect from budget cuts, ahead of heath and human services. Strong
majorities of Californians across political and demographic groups say the arts
are very important (60%) in the school curriculum. For more information,
click here.
The
Music Center BRAVO Award Call for Nominations
Deadline: September 26th, 2008. Cash prizes awarded to honor excellence
and innovation in Arts Education in the categories of arts specialist, generalist
and schools. Please click here to
visit our website and download a nomination form, or call Faith Davis at 213-972-3387
for more information.
Conferences, Professional Development
SNAP
Summer Institutes and Programs: Deadline for Reduced Registration Fee Extended
to June 1
This summer SNAP is offering two unique and dynamic
professional development opportunities for teachers and the Courageous Creativity
Conference at Disneyland for your administrators! You can see all the details
for these programs and download the registration forms on the SNAP website,
click here for
more information, or contact SNAP Director, Christine Monroe 530-752-9683
or SNAP Administrative Assistant, Staci Garcia 530-752-0576 for questions.
2nd
Annual TCAP K-12 Administrator Courageous Creativity Conference
June 23-25, 2008, held at the Disney Paradise Pier® Hotel,
Anaheim. This exciting conference provides administrators with leadership
supports for standards based arts education and insight into arts careers
in action. Keynote speakers include Martin Sklar, Disney’s “Imagineering
Ambassador” and international speaker on leadership and creativity, and a
special panel of Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Artists. The conference
includes behind the scenes tours of arts careers in action and breakouts
focused on supporting administrators in leading standards based K-12 arts
education. Register Early! Click here or
call 909-537-7542 for more information and a registration form.
TCAP
Regional Centers: 2008 Summer Professional Development Institutes and Programs
TCAP regional centers offer customized professional development
programs, yearly institutes, leadership development, support for assessing
and developing arts education plan and programs, and other arts education
related services. Click here to
find your regional TCAP Professional Development Center and Summer 2008 Institutes
and Programs.
Regional
Forums Throughout California
The California County Superintendents Association (CCSESA) is sponsoring
regional forums across the state to engage educators, school board members, parents,
arts organizations, and community members in a discussion about arts learning
for California students. The regional forums are intended to provide an
opportunity to discuss key ways to advance arts education in our schools. The
forums will include these key elements: Vision, Visibility, Resources and Support,
Call to Action, Next Steps. Click here for
more information on how to contact the regional lead in your area.
National Arts Education Training on System Change
Americans for the Arts annual arts education conference takes place this year
in Philadelphia, PA, June 20-22, 2008. The conference features research
and coaching on systemic arts education change, including new creative workforce
research, RAND research on systemic provision of arts education, and Dick Deasy
discussing arts education in his final weeks as director of the Arts Education
Partnership. For the first time ever, Americans for the Arts will host the
Teaching Artist Strand at the National Convention - a program for and by teaching
artists, in partnership with the Dana Foundation. For more information,
click here.
Arts
Education: Taking Stock of the Future
This one-day symposium will engage participants in an interactive discussion
of major advances in arts education that have occurred since the Arts
Education Partnership was founded and in recommending areas of focus
and actions needed to advance the field in the future. The symposium
will be hosted by the U.S. Department of Education at their Barnard Auditorium. An
evening event will follow to honor and celebrate the exceptional leadership
of Richard J. Deasy. For more information, click here.
Arts
LINC (Arts and Literacy in Nebraska and California)
An Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Project
is hosting a three-day outreach, June 25-27, 2008 in San Diego. The event is
co-sponsored by the San Diego Natural History Museum. The focus is on integrated
literacy instruction with the arts and science. Space is limited. For
more information or registration materials, please email: Nancy.Andrzejczak@leusd.k12.ca.us.
SouthCAP
(TCAP) Summer Institutes
SouthCAP, a regional site of The California Arts Project, is offering
five institutes this summer for educators from Orange, San Diego and Imperial
Counties. These offerings are for the elementary classroom teacher as well as
the arts teacher, K-12. All institutes offer Continuing Education credits and
some scholarships are available. For a discounted price apply by April 1st, and
due to the current budget constraints in many districts, payment may be deferred
to the next fiscal year. For more information, click
here or contact
Helena Hanna at 619-594-6647 or hhanna@projects.sdsu.edu.
Resources, Funding Opportunities
Grants
for Arts and Education from Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Corporate Contributions Program supports organizations
that focus on literacy, the arts or education (pre-K - grade 12). Projects
should reach a national audience, serve the greater good nationally, offer
opportunities for in-store events, and be able to work with Barnes & Noble
and other appropriate sponsors on promotion and execution of the program.
Applications accepted on an ongoing basis. For full program guidelines,
click here.
The
Surdna Foundation Fellowships to High School Arts Teachers
The Surdna Foundation has announced the ninth round of the Surdna Arts Teachers
Fellowship Program, a national initiative to support the artistic revitalization
of outstanding arts teachers. Eligibility guidelines and awards this year are
targeted to arts teachers working in specialized public arts high schools AND
arts-focused magnet and charter high schools. Applicants can apply for grants
of up to $5,500 in support of artistic growth, with a complementary grant of
$1,500 provided to each Fellow’s school for post-fellowship activities.
After
School Music Education
The Mr. Holland's Opus Special Projects Program provides musical instruments
and instrument repairs to existing K-12 school music programs that have no other
source of financing to purchase additional musical instruments and materials.
The Special Projects application is intended for music programs that take place
solely after school. If any portion of your music program is offered to students
as part of the regular school day, please complete the Melody Program application. Deadline:
August 1, 2008. For more information, click here.
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