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In This Issue
- Speak Out to Keep Arts in Schools!
- Arts Education Supporters Turn Out Statewide
- Districts Cutting Art, Music and Dance Classes Amid Massive Layoffs
- Carol Channing Takes Arts Ed Advocacy to a Whole New Level
- Federal Stimulus: New Administration Signals Education Priorities
- Adolescents Involved With Music Perform Better In School
- If I Ran the NEA
- The Question of Art
- Backers of “21st Century Skills” Take Flak
- Los Angeles Music Center Awards Outstanding Arts Educators and Schools
- Learning, Arts, and the Brain Summit
- Kennedy Center/NSO Summer Music Institute
- New GAO Report on Arts Education
- NAEA Survey for Art Educators
CONFERENCES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Keep your eye on the prize!
- Sacramento: Teaching Artist Workshop Series
- Sacramento Arts Resource Fair
RESOURCES, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
- NEA Launches Grant Program to Preserve Jobs in the Arts
- William T. Grant Foundation Youth Development Grant
- Jordan Fundamentals Grant
- Capezio Ballet Makers Dance Foundation
- PTA Arts Enhancement Grants
- Children’s Theatre Foundation of America Grants
March 11 , 2009
ArtsEdMail provides all the latest information to connect the Arts Education community in California. Our free e-newsletter is published every two weeks.
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Speak
Out to Keep Arts in Schools!
Since the passage of the new state budget last month, school districts
across California have been holding emergency meetings to discuss budget
cuts including, in some cases, the proposed elimination of visual and
performing arts.
The new state budget preserves the Arts and Music Block Grant funding, though it cuts the total grant by 15% this year and gives districts the option to tap those funds for other needs. Driven by budget shortfalls, districts are under pressure to reallocate arts education funding.
Hundreds of arts education advocates across the state have used our online toolkit to raise their voices in recent weeks and prepare for hearings in their districts. Please continue to seek out public opportunities to make the case for arts education in your community.
And don’t forget: March is Arts Education Month! There’s still time to organize a visit for elected officials to see arts education in action in the classroom. Visit Arts Learning in Action to organize a visit in your community. There’s no better way to help policymakers recognize the value of arts education than to show them first-hand the energy and learning that happens in a classroom where students are engaging in art, music, dance or drama!
Arts
Education Supporters Turn Out Statewide
Throughout the state, arts education supporters are turning out in large
numbers to protest cuts to music and arts education. Use our toolkit to prepare for
public meetings, write letters to the editor and raise awareness in your
district. The voices of arts education advocates are making a difference
– here are just a few examples:
VIDEO: Music Education Supporters Protest Music Program Cuts in Monterey Thanks to Chris Sentieri in Monterey for organizing grassroots supporters in his district. Watch the press coverage here.
Huge Protest in Martinez Unified - At a school board meeting in Martinez Unified students emphasized the effects that music instruction has on their lives as they and other advocates pled for the preservation of arts and music staff and programs. Read more.
Santa Barbara County Superintendent Argues the Arts are Essential - Bill Cirone authored this letter to the editor, articulating the case for arts education. “The arts are not frills—they are essential elements of a complete education, often providing the very skills and motivation required for school success.” Read letter.
Santa Monica Advocate’s Letter to the Editor - Zina Josephs personalized this letter to the editor with detailed information for advocates in Santa Monica/Malibu Unified. Read letter.
El Cajon Advocate’s Letter to the Editor - Teacher Jeremy Merrill points out that to gain admission to the University of California a graduating senior must complete a minimum of one year of art, music, theatre or dance. Read letter.
Districts
Cutting Art, Music and Dance Classes Amid Massive Layoffs
Schools are
sending preliminary notices to teachers across the state. Below is a sampling
of what’s going on in a few communities. Please visit
our action center and find out what you can do in your district.
Livermore School District to Cut Music Teachers by 50% - Music and physical education are among the hardest hit. Read more.
West Contra Costa County Unified Anticipates Arts and Music Cuts - Layoffs are slated to happen by March 13th. Community meetings to take input on the impending cuts have already taken place. Read more.
What Does Seven Billion in Educational Cuts Look Like? - Taking Yolo County as an example, the California Progress Report says many districts are facing a “Sofie’s choice” about whether to close programs or close schools – or both. Read more.
State Teachers Union Launches Campaign Against Layoffs - The California Teachers Association has launched an ad campaign decrying teacher layoffs. Massive protests are being planned leading up to the March 13th deadline for districts to send out preliminary layoff notices. Read more.
Education Coalition Budget Briefing - The Education Coalition and State Superintendent Jack O’Connell released this budget briefing on March 4th and held a press conference about the catastrophic consequences of $11.6 billion in K-12 education cuts. Read more.
Carol
Channing Takes Arts Ed Advocacy to a Whole New Level
Channing and her husband kicked off a nationwide campaign to revive the
arts, via the Carol Channing Foundaton for the Arts. Read
the full story.
Federal
Stimulus: New Administration Signals Education Priorities
The federal economic stimulus package distributes $115 billion in education
aid, including $5 billion in a special fund to improve schools. The so-called
Race to the Top Fund signals the administrations priorities around education
reform and rewarding innovation. Read
the full story. Another recent story describes the impact of the federal
stimulus package on school spending in California. Click
here.
Adolescents
Involved With Music Perform Better In School
A new study released in the Social Science Quarterly journal reveals
that music participation has a positive effect on reading and mathematic
achievement in early childhood and adolescence. Read
more.
If
I Ran the NEA
The LA Times asked 30 famous folks what they’d do if they ran the NEA.
Some favorites:
Phylicia Rashad, actress: “I would invest the money in arts education in public schools.”
Tim Robbins, actor/director: “I would put the emphasis on arts education for the young.”
Joel Wachs, President, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts: “I would put the arts back in our schools.” Read the full story.
The
Question of Art
Jeffrey Schnapp of the Stanford Humanities Lab writes in Edutopia about
art as part of a core skill set students require for the 21st century.
Read more.
Backers
of “21st Century Skills” Take Flak
Education Week reports that the phrase “21st-century skills” – often
used to refer to critical-thinking, analytical and technology skills,
as well as creativity, collaboration and communication in discussions
about education – is coming under fire. Read
the full story.
Los
Angeles Music Center Awards Outstanding Arts Educators and Schools
On March 10th the Music Center of Los Angeles County recognized fifteen
teachers and two schools for exemplary arts education in a ceremony at
the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Read
about the finalists. And watch our
Facebook discussion group in the coming days – we’ll be featuring interviews
with some of the winners.
Learning,
Arts, and the Brain Summit
On May 6, 2009, Johns Hopkins University will host the Learning, Arts and
the Brain (LAB) Summit, including a poster session, to explore how the arts
enhance learning outcomes and contribute to cognitive and social development
in children. More information.
Kennedy
Center/NSO Summer Music Institute
The Alliance recently helped identify two music students from California
who will travel to the Kennedy Center/National Symphony Orchestra Summer
Music Institute for four weeks this summer. Awardees are cellist Karen
Hsu who attends Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, California and
Daniel Gregory Smith, a bass player from Dana Hills High School in Laguna
Niguel. More
information.
New
GAO Report on Arts Education
The Government Accountability Office report was designed to explore whether
arts education suffered as schools work to demonstrate adequate yearly
progress under NCLB. Most elementary school teachers--about 90 percent--reported
that instruction time for arts education stayed the same between school
years 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. Seven percent, however, reported decreases.
The GAO recommends additional research, which would help in determining
the reasons for the decrease. Read
highlights.
NAEA
Survey for Art Educators
National Association of Art Education needs your feedback, and invites you to
participate in a brief online
survey to learn how to better serve your needs. You do not have to be an NAEA member
to participate. Deadline is extended to March 20, 2009.
Conferences, Professional Development
Keep
your eye on the prize!
In difficult times, it's important to stay focused on why the work we do
matters and how we can do it better. Register now for the state Arts Education
Conference, taking place April 20-21, 2009 in Sacramento. The California
County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) and the
California Alliance for Arts Education will co-sponsor the conference.
Playwright, director and activist Luis Valdez and singer Linda Ronstadt
are featured guests. Register.
Sacramento:
Teaching Artist Workshop Series
Date: March 17th Time: 2:00 – 6:00 Place: South Natomas Community Center,
Conference Room, 2921 Truxel Rd. Sacramento Join Deborah Brzoska, Arts
Consultant, from the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, Washington
D.C. for this workshop focusing on the power of your art form in classrooms
and community sites. More information.
Sacramento
Arts Resource Fair
Date: March 21st Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Place: Sacramento State University
Union This FREE one day conference will provide 73 visual and performing
arts workshops, information from arts agencies, providers and vendors.
Appropriate for veteran teachers, student teachers, artists, and community
members. For more information, call Crystal Olson, (916) 278-4237.
Resources,
Funding Opportunities
NEA
Launches Grant Program to Preserve Jobs in the Arts
As part of the federal recovery plan, the NEA will receive backing for grants
to fund arts projects and activities that preserve jobs in the nonprofit
arts sector. This program will be carried out through one-time grants to
eligible nonprofit organizations. All applicants must be previous NEA award
recipients from the past four years. Deadline April 2nd. More
information.
William
T. Grant Foundation Youth Development Grant
The William T. Grant Foundation supports high-quality research that enhances
our understanding of how youth settings work, how they affect youth development,
and how they can be improved. The deadline for letters of inquiry is April
1, 2009. More
information.
Jordan
Fundamentals Grant
The Jordan Fundamentals Grant Program was established in 1999 to recognize outstanding
teaching and instructional creativity in public secondary schools that serve
economically disadvantaged students. Applicants must develop an educational approach
that supports improved student academic achievement and social/emotional/behavioral
interventions through student engagement, student-teacher relationships, and/or
building the capacity of teachers. Grants averaging $5,000 will be awarded to
individual teachers for projects that will impact classroom innovation and improve
instruction. Deadline: March 30. Find
out more.
Capezio
Ballet Makers Dance Foundation
The Capezio Ballet Makers Dance Foundation supports nonprofit local, state, regional,
and national dance service organizations whose programs have a broad impact on
the field. Deadline: April 1. Find
out more.
PTA
Arts Enhancement Grants
Each year, PTA’s Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant Program
offers a limited number of matching grants of up to $1,000 to local PTAs for
student-centered programs focused on arts education. Special consideration is
given to programs that reach large numbers of students whose environmental, familial,
and/or socioeconomic situation may affect their academic success or ability to
learn. Talk to your school’s PTA about applying. Applications are due May 1,
2009. Learn more.
Children’s
Theatre Foundation of America Grants
The Children’s Theatre Foundation of America’s grant making focus is on theatre
for children and youth, the utilization of drama-theatre in education for children
grades K-12, and development opportunities for theatre artists working in the
area of children’s theatre in the United States. The program supports diverse
projects of national significance. There are additional programs through the
Children’s Theatre Foundation that support projects with children as well. Deadline:
April 1. Learn
more.
San
Francisco Community Collegs
Art Sculpture Instructor. Deadline to apply: April 2, 2009 For more information, click
here.
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ArtsEdMail provides all the latest information to connect the Arts Education community in California. Our free e-newsletter is published every two weeks.
We rely on you to support our efforts.
Become an advocate or make a donation today!
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