National Partnerships
Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN) Project Grants for 2007-2008
A
Alabama Alliance for Arts Education (AAAE)
Amount Awarded: $20,000AAAE will partner with Troy University, Alabama State Council on the Arts and the Alabama State Department of Education to bring these groups together for a three-day conference. The Alabama Arts Education Summit 2008 will initiate meaningful connections among K-12 teachers and administrators, higher education (i.e., pre-service training programs for the generalists and arts specialists), cultural organizations, professional arts educator associations, teaching artists and communities. Discussions, activities and professional development sessions will focus on arts education issues these stakeholders consider crucial to continued growth and long term impact.
Arizona Alliance for Arts Education (AAAE)
Amount Awarded: $20,377.50The Early Childhood Arts Partnership offers professional development in arts integration to caregivers and PreK-3 teachers, addressing the Arizona 2006 revised arts standards and early childhood standards. In three strategically-located areas, interactive five-hour in-services will be provided, offering strategies and techniques for integrating arts instruction across the curriculum. These five-hour in-services will be divided among four disciplines: dance, music, theater arts and visual arts. The fifth hour concentrates on the revised state arts standards and how they correlate with early childhood learning standards. As a follow-up to these in-services, AAAE will offer single discipline, three-hour workshops taught by Kennedy Center Workshop Leaders to provide more in-depth and focused training in arts integration.
C
California Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE)
Amount Awarded: $20,000The Coach in Every Corner: Developing Leadership in Arts Education Planning project – begun as a pilot program one year ago – teaches facilitation and planning skills to arts consultants guiding district leaders who develop arts education plans. CAAE will expand its fleet of coaches, adding to its current number of 13 (two from Northern California, 11 from Southern California) ten new coaches (seven in Northern California and three in Southern California). Participants will be trained in facilitation, methodology and strategic planning in order to provide customized technical assistance to school districts seeking to develop long-range budgeted plans for arts education.
F
Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE)
Amount Awarded: $22,500The Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE), partnered with the Florida Art Education Association, has chartered the Florida Visual Art Assessment Project which will provide a means to determine student levels of achievement in visual art courses, a method to measure teacher performance, and a system to determine the degree of effectiveness of visual art programs in Florida’s K-12 public educational system. Sunshine State Standards are used to determine the knowledge students should obtain from visual art classes, but unlike core subjects such as reading, math, and science, there is no assessment to determine student level of achievement for visual art. Without such an assessment, visual arts as a subject area lacks credibility in the public school system. FAAE and FAEA have developed a Grade 4 content knowledge based assessment for visual arts students that will be pilot tested during the 2007-2008 school year.
H
Hawai’i Alliance for Arts Education (HAAE)
Amount Awarded: $25,000The Hawai’i Alliance for Arts Education, along with two of its ARTS FIRST Partners, Hawai’i Department of Education and State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, will design and implement an ARTS FIRST Institute in early June 2008. This Institute will be for classroom teachers and principals working with Teaching Artists to further implement the revised ARTS FIRST Toolkit that aligns with the revised Hawai’i Content and Performance Standards III. The Institute will offer models for standards-based arts curriculum and lessons integrating the arts with other core subjects. The participating teachers will have the opportunity to receive professional development credits.
K
Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education (KAAE)
Amount Awarded: $3,750The Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), Dance!Kentucky and the Kentucky Theatre Association will initiate a project to develop a model for authentic assessment for dance and drama for Kentucky high school students. As Kentucky moves toward specialization in the arts for high school students, it is imperative that all four art forms are effectively included in the curriculum. Currently, the opportunities to study dance or drama over the full four years of high school are very limited. By developing KDE approved assessment for dance and drama, this project will provide the framework within which instruction and assessment of these two art forms can be expanded at the high school level.
M
Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE)
Amount Awarded: $20,000The Maine Alliance for Arts Education will carry out Phase I of the Maine Arts Education Census, which will include gathering and documenting baseline data on delivery of arts education in Maine. Results of the Census will be used for planning programs, policy, and advocacy, as well as to measure the impact of future initiatives.
Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance (AEMS)
Amount Awarded: $21,250Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) Alliance, in partnership with Young Audiences of Maryland (YAMD) and the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), will implement the second year of the Teaching Artist Institute (TAI). This five-month training program will help twenty artists working in Maryland schools design and deliver arts integrated residencies that address the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum. This training program will provide over 70 hours of instruction to artists from across Maryland who work in the disciplines of dance, music, theatre and visual arts. TAI participants will also be matched with teacher participants from the Maryland Artist/Teacher Institute (MATI) to develop and pilot their lessons in MATI-participant classrooms.
Massachusetts Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE)
Amount Awarded: $16,250In partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and the National Arts and Learning Collaborative (NALC), MAAE will sponsor the Arts Education Leadership Institute. The series of professional development experiences for arts education administrators and aspiring arts leaders will focus on practical strategies and leadership skills needed to expand existing arts education programs. The institute will focus on training art education leaders to use advocacy toolkits, art frameworks and curriculum design alignment, assessment, and evaluation. MAAE will partner with NALC, MCC, and educational collaboratives to provide four professional development experiences for art education leaders from across the state. The Arts Education Leadership Institute will culminate with participation in the Second Annual Massachusetts Arts Education Partnership Institute in May of 2008.
Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE)
Amount Awarded: $23,750The MAAE, in partnership with the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents (MASS), will conduct a series of face-to-face meetings to increase the number of school administrators who know and understand the issues and benefits of PreK-12 arts education. MAAE will host events during the MASS Winter Conference, conduct seven regional meetings designed to increase dialogue between the MAAE and school administrators, and sponsor administrator presentations at the Arts Front and Center Forum.
Montana Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE)
Amount Awarded: $2,293In collaboration with the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers (MEA-MFT), and in partnership with the Montana Conference of Education Leadership (MCEL), MAAE will address the professional development needs of educational leaders and educators. Ten workshops that focus on integrating the arts into the core curriculum will be presented at the annual MEA-MFT Educators’ Conference in Belgrade, Montana. In addition, MAAE will present a workshop on arts education programming and resources at the Montana Conference of Education Leadership in Great Falls, Montana. Building upon last year’s successful collaboration with MEA-MFT and MCEL, this project will support MAAE’s ongoing outreach efforts to the central part of the state to build networks and collaborate with schools, educators, art organizations and communities.
N
Nebraskans for the Arts
A recent merge with the Nebraska Alliance for Arts Education Amount Awarded: $23,750The ArtsREACH professional development partnership spans the state of Nebraska, addressing the needs of teachers and at-risk students in minority-majority school districts interested in arts education and integrated arts programs. This year’s endeavors will be the second phase of the project. Goals of the project include identifying an additional “minority-majority” school district partner, pairing community Teaching Artists with master teaching artists to plan and teach a week- long professional development Summer Institute for educators, and involve educators in partnering school districts, teaching artists, and partnership team members in year-round arts integrated activities. The project funding will also assist in the continued joint planning and partnership of Nebraskans for the Arts, the Lied Center for the Performing Arts, Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Department of Education.
New York State Alliance for Arts Education (NYSAAE)
Amount Awarded: $18,750NYSAAE will conduct the third phase of their Teaching the Arts professional development program that will build support for arts education and develop a model for professional development for teaching the arts in New York State. The project will incorporate the planning and implementation of two-day professional development conferences (one in Columbia County, Hudson, NY and the other on Long Island). The conferences will inform attendees about obstacles and opportunities as they develop their own programs. Additionally, new artists will be involved in “Teaching the Arts 101,” a training course focused on maneuvering in the complexities of schools and teaching the arts. Additionally, the online “Teaching the Arts Toolkit” will be edited and updated with new sections to include: Professional Development, Finding a Job, Special Needs, Opportunities for Talented Students, Parent and Community Engagement, and Financial Management.
O
Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE)
Amount Awarded: $25,000The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education will strengthen arts education through a regionally presented professional development workshop series: Arts Education in Focus. Professional development in arts assessment, arts integration, and standards-based arts instruction will be provided to approximately six hundred arts educators through five regional one-day workshops distributed throughout the state. Participants will experience the excitement of being engaged in professional development that sparks their creative energy, builds on their foundation of teaching, and expands their thinking about assessment, integration, and standards. Arts Education in Focus will provide workshop participants with the opportunity to gain new skills, knowledge, and understanding to provide a higher level of quality comprehensive arts education for their students.
Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE)
Amount Awarded: $15,010The Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education will present a series of arts integrated workshops entitled, “Arts Without Boundaries: Telling My Story – Using the Arts to Enhance Literacy.” Certified teachers throughout the state will be encouraged to participate in the workshops to develop deeper capacities for enhancing instruction within the language arts curriculum. Participants will develop additional skills and techniques from a variety of fine arts disciplines from Kennedy Center Workshop Leaders and Fine Arts professors from the University of Tulsa. Oklahoma State Standards for Language Arts and Reading will be addressed while helping teachers learn strategies to build vocabulary skills, improve reading comprehension and to expand writing techniques. Fine arts techniques to be taught include expressive movement, creative problem solving, story dramatization, concentration, disciple and self-management.
R
Rhode Island Alliance for Arts Education (RIAAE)
Amount Awarded: $12,000The Rhode Island Alliance for Arts Education will expand their RI Arts Passport program, which connects high school students and their teachers to professional arts experiences and brings the students to performances, exhibits, and other events. These experiences are incorporated into the mandatory “body of evidence” for graduation exhibitions and portfolios. In January 2003, RI was successful in advocating for a new proficiency-based graduation requirement that makes the arts a core subject area for all students. The program’s mission is to enable all Rhode Island children and youth to have equal access to rich and challenging arts learning opportunities in their homes, schools, and communities, thus enabling them to become creative and critical thinkers, effective communicators, responsible citizens and knowledgeable adults.
S
South Carolina Alliance for Arts Education (SCAAE)
Amount Awarded: $23,750The South Carolina Alliance for Arts Education has developed a project that blends professional development programs for teachers and artists with a current need of the Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project, a state partner. In collaboration with other state organizations, the SCAAE will aid in the completion of the Arts in Basic Curriculum Project’s Arts Infusion Continuum by providing four examples of effective arts integrated instructional residencies to be included in a companion document. These residencies will be successfully designed, implemented and evaluated by teachers and Teaching Artists under the supervision or project leadership. The completed ABC Arts Infusion Continuum and companion documents will be disseminated to educators through a variety of state arts organizations and, if requested, at the Kennedy Center 2009 Annual Meeting. A formalized workshop (including presentation of the continuum and companion documents, along with guided discussion and self-reflection) will be designed so that qualified arts educators can be trained to present it locally and nationally.
T
Tennessee Alliance for Arts Education (TAAE)
Amount Awarded: $8,266.25The Arts Integration in Action Program will continue to train Teaching Artists to lead teacher workshops and demonstration classes which will introduce the concept of arts integration to four schools in the state. Key activities will be a two-day retreat for 20 selected Tennessee-based Teaching Artists focusing on arts and literacy instruction led by literacy expert Claudia Cornett. The Teaching Artists will then lead the program in schools in rural communities. Teachers, administrators, arts specialists, and Teaching Artists within the region of the selected schools will be invited to observe lessons and participate in workshops.
V
Vermont Alliance for Arts Education (VAAE)
Amount Awarded: $4,250The Vermont Alliance for Arts Education (VAAE) will provide the arts educators of Vermont’s rural Northeastern region with easily-accessible professional development opportunities. VAAE will partner with the Northeast Kingdom School Development Center (NEKSDC) to implement arts education programming during NEKSDC’s November 12 region-wide in-service day. VAAE will also offer follow-up workshops to individual school districts following the in-service day.
W
Washington Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE)
Amount Awarded: $23,750ArtsEd Washington is embarking on a new project to develop and install an online arts education site, Curricula Bank, to serve the needs of teachers in search of state standards-aligned arts curricula. The Curricula Bank will serve as a central repository for high-quality dance, music, theater and visual art curricula to help teachers in the state integrate the arts into their everyday instruction. ArtsEd Washington will be initially responsible for the design and development of this portal and thereafter for collecting, collating and maintaining the curricula on its website, www.artsedwashington.org.
Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE)
Amount Awarded: $16,250.00The Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education will examine the current state of arts education for Wisconsin’s students and to use this information to make and achieve recommendations for change. This year’s effort, entitled “Investing in Wisconsin’s Creative Future: Initiative for Arts Education” will address the growing gap between what public officials profess as the value of arts education and what financial support they actually allocate to promote arts education. The project will survey the state of arts education in every school and school district in the state, combining existing education data and survey findings and incorporating survey information from community resources. The results will be used to determined the strengths and weaknesses across the state in arts education and create partnerships between community-based arts organizations and local educational agencies to improve learning in and through the arts.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts