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August
26, 2009
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Federal Support For Arts Education
Last week, we urged advocates to join a conference call hosted by the
SuportMusic Coalition with U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan
to discuss the importance of the arts in education.
The call followed an August 29th letter from Duncan
to school and education community leaders. The letter states, "At this
time when you are making critical and far-reaching budget and program
decisions for the upcoming school year, I write to bring to your attention
the importance of the arts as a core academic subject and part of a complete
education for all students." It also reminds education leaders that The
Elementary and Secondary Education Act - also known as No Child Left Behind -
defines the arts as core subjects.
Duncan reminded listeners that under the ESEA, states and
local school districts have the flexibility to support the arts through
Federal Title programs and U.S. Department of Education programs, including
professional development of arts teachers as well as for strategic
partnerships with cultural, arts and other nonprofit organizations.
However, this raises a crucial issue for California advocates.
Currently, California
is hindered in its ability to compete for federal stimulus funds -
specifically, the pot of money known as the Race to the Top fund. In
particular, the federal government would like to see teacher evaluations
linked to student performance data; however, there is strong opposition from
teacher's unions and others to such a change. Late last week, Governor
Schwarzenegger called for a special
session of the state legislature to consider a host of proposed changes
that will better enable the state to compete for education reform funds,
including measures to help California recruit and retain high-quality
teachers and principals.
This is a significant debate with
far-reaching implications for the future direction of education in California. Our Facebook
page features a discussion thread where you can contribute your thoughts
about the debate. Let us know what you think. In the coming weeks, we'll be
bringing you news from both sides of the issue, new information about California's
eligibility for Race to the Top Funds, and an analysis of the potential
impact on arts education.
A full transcript and audio file of the call
with Secretary Duncan is available
online.
California News
Governor Calls Special Session on
Education
Emphasizing the education reforms necessary to ensure California can compete for federal
stimulus funds, the Governor announced a package of proposed changes, calling
for a special session of the legislature to consider his proposals. Read
more.
Schwarzenegger Wants Teacher
Evaluations Tied to Student Achievement
The Obama Administration is encouraging the repeal of the law that prohibits
linking teacher evaluations to student performance. The CTA opposes the
repeal. Read
more.
Vocational Education Bill Makes Its
Way Through Legislature
This recent column by Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee argues that the focus
on test scores has caused vocational education to suffer, preventing students
from gaining valuable work skills and exacerbating the dropout crisis.
Although the bill is not about arts education, the issue touches on the
debate over college prep vs. career training and its impact on education and
how to best serve California's
students. Read
more.
California Department of Education
Releases STAR Results
Annual state report cards issued today show that among California's 6.3 million public school
students 46 percent of all students are considered proficient in math and 50
percent are proficient in English. The achievement gap - the academic chasm
separating white and Asian students from their black and Latino peers -
remains a huge challenge. Read
more.
Protest and Progress in Pasadena
In the Huffington Post, Occidental professor Peter Dreier writes about parent
advocacy in Pasadena
and one parent's campaign to call attention to recent misreporting regarding
student test scores. In a lesson for all advocates, he writes, "A small
group of people, angry over a shared grievance, enlisted others, developed a
strategy, focused their frustrations on a target, acted together, and got a
problem solved collectively that none of them could have solved
individually." Read
more.
Carol Channing Continues Her Work to
Support Arts Education
This week, Channing took her performance "Carol Channing & Friends:
A Benefit for the Arts" to downtown Sacramento's Wells Fargo Pavilion. Proceeds
benefit the Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian Foundation for the Arts and Sacramento's California
Musical Theatre. As Channing and her husband approach their 90th birthdays
(they met and sang together when they were in junior high) their commitment
to public arts instruction has only grown stronger. Read
more.
National News
Federal Department of Education to
Undertake K-12 Arts Education Survey
Education Secretary Arne Duncan's letter to the education community,
described in our report above, also included the news that the Department of
Education's National
Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) will conduct a survey to assess the condition of arts
education in grades K-12. In the coming year, principals, classroom teachers
and arts specialists will be asked about their schools' offerings in music,
dance, theater, and visual arts. The data is expected to help practitioners and
policymakers make more informed decisions about arts education. The results
of the study are due out in early 2011. Read
full press release regarding the letter, including mention of the study.
Do Teachers Need Education Degrees?
The New York Times initiated an online debate on the topic: Should the public
schools reduce the weight they give to education school credentials in pay
and promotion decisions? Is this happening already, and, if so, what is
replacing the traditional system for compensating teachers? Although not
specifically about arts education, the debate touches on important points of
view in the debate over education reform. Read
more.
The editors also published a collection of excerpts
from teacher comments.
Arts in Crisis Conversation Tour
Continues
Michael Kaiser, Kennedy Center President, continues his national Arts In
Crisis tour with a stop in Madison,
Wisconsin this week. Follow the
discussion on Twitter:
#artsincrisis.
Open Letter About the Crisis Facing
the Arts
Edward P. Clapp, organizer of 20Under40, an anthology of writing about the
future of arts and arts education, recently published an open letter to young
arts professionals, titled "This Is Our Emergency." It describes
the crisis facing everyone who works in and cares about the arts. He writes,
"In order for the arts to survive in the 21st century, the vision,
ingenuity, and leadership of young professionals must be activated." Read
letter.
Faces from the Field
Sarah Murr: The Role of the Business
Community
Keep Arts in Schools recently featured this interview with Sarah Murr, who
oversees community investment in arts and culture for Boeing. Sarah also
serves on the Alliance's
Board of Directors. Read more.
Virginia Ramo, Patron of the Arts,
Passes Away at 93
A prominent patron of the arts, education and medicine, Ramo extended her
support to institutions throughout Southern California
and beyond. She worked her way through college playing in a women's orchestra
and her generosity later in life helped to create the Virginia Ramo Hall of
Music at USC, among other notable contributions. Read more.
Announcements
American for the Arts Launches Web
Portal - United We Serve
Americans for the Arts is launching a new web portal dedicated to promoting
community service opportunities for arts groups, arts volunteers, and artists
nationwide.
Find out more.
Americans for the Arts Seeks
Communities for Economic Study
Americans for the Arts is seeking at least 200 communities to take part in
Arts & Economic Prosperity IV, it's national economic impact study of the
nonprofit arts and culture industry. Find
out more.
LACMA Evening for Educators New
Schedule Available
Evenings for Educators provides K-12 teachers the opportunity to learn from
LACMA's special exhibitions and permanent collection. All Evenings for
Educators sessions take place on Tuesday evenings during the school year,
from 4:30 to 8:30 pm. Access
schedule.
Need to Remember Why You Teach?
The Exploratorium's Teacher Institute offers a Teaching Tips podcast on the
subject, "Why We Teach." Read
more.
Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of
independence for five Latin American countries - Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico
declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18. Find
lessons plans and activities from the National Education Association.
Presentations: Access, Equity and
Quality in Arts Learning
Five major funders of arts education efforts gathered in Seattle June 18-20, 2009 for an event,
titled AEQ: Access, Equity and Quality in Arts Learning, hosted during the
annual Americans for the Arts meeting. Access
presentations.
Conferences,
Professional Development
Charting a Course for the Arts and
21st Century Learning AEP Forum
Registration is open now for the Arts Education Partnership Fall National
Forum on October 2-3, 2009 in Cambridge,
MA. This meeting will be hosted
by Lesley University and features exciting
discussions with leaders in arts education, as well as artists and
performers. Find
out more.
Educational Theatre Conference
Features Jason Alexander
The theme of this year's California Educational Theatre Association fall
conference, held in conjunction with the Educational Theatre Association, is:
The Power of Leadership: Shaping the Future of Theatre Education. The meeting
takes place September 10-13 in Anaheim,
and Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander will be among the featured speakers. Learn
more.
Resources,
Funding Opportunities
Using Music to Teach Math Grants
Grants are available through the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
for teachers who incorporate music to teach Pre-K through 2 math skills. The
maximum award is $3,000. Application deadline: Nov. 13, 2009. Find
out more.
NAMM Foundation Grants and
Scholarship Opportunities
The NAMM Foundation has opened its 2010 request for grant proposals. NAMM
Foundation Program Grants support non-profit public service organizations
that provide innovative music learning programs to reach new audiences with
new protocols, and that further the NAMM Foundation's mission of creating
more active music makers of all ages. Phase I Letter of Inquiry submission deadline:
Sept. 10, 2009. Learn
more.
NEA Masterpieces:
NEA Masterpieces: Through American Masterpieces, the National Endowment for
the Arts will sponsor performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational
programs across all art forms that will reach large and small communities in
all 50 states. Applications October 8, 2009.
Employment
Opportunities
Art Consultant, Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Metro Creative Services is seeking a highly experienced, qualified art
consultant with significant background in transportation to provide planning
and implementation support for a wide range of public art, creative design
and signage projects in the Metro transit system. Read
more.
Director of Development, Cal Performances
Utilizing five venues on the UC Berkeley campus, Cal Performances presents
approximately 100 fine arts performances per year and hosts innumerable other
events; serving approximately 300,000 patrons annually. It is the largest
presenter of performing arts in Northern California,
and one of the largest university based arts presenters in the country. Read
more.
Executive Director, Inside Out Community
Arts
Based in Venice, CA, Inside Out Community Arts is a
nationally recognized
not-for-profit organization that supports and
inspires inner-city middle
and high school youth to develop social,
communication and life skills and take ownership of their own lives. Read
more.
Development Director, North Coast
Repertory Theatre
North Coast Repertory Theatre based in Solana
Beach, in northern San Diego County,
has received critical acclaim for its performances for more than 25 years.
Working closely with executive leadership and the Board of Trustees, the
Development Director must fulfill the contributed income goals for the
organization's annual fund, endowment fund and capital fund as dictated by
the budget of the organization. Read
more.
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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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