A discussion of the recent strategic planning retreat initiative, which is in the process of implementation across the state.

Next year strategic foundation retreats will be recommended for certain NYSCA AIE funding categories. This workshop is an opportunity to get firsthand information and assess for yourself the potential impact of a strategic approach to building partnerships.

Gary Dayton and Nan Westervelt will discuss and present the recent Strategic Planning Initiative which is in the process of implementation across the state. Several participants will share their experience in undertaking this process with their ESP partners.

Conference Strand: Core Knowledge, Curriculum and Assessment

Educators, Artists, Organization Administrators, Education Administrators, Community /Parents: will understand the importance of cultivating a shared commitment to a successful collaboration and building a strong and more focused working relationship among the school, cultural organization, and teaching artists.

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Gary Dayton was born and raised in the Finger Lakes region, left for the University of Buffalo at 15, and graduated with a BA in English. The museum field opened up for Gary while he was working on a major bibliography of 19th-century American art and artists and assisting in editing the extensive, Buffalo-based journals of American watercolorist Charles Burchfield. Gary worked as a curator in museums in Buffalo, Binghamton, and Bridgeport, CT before joining NYSCA. He is an avid proponent of collaborative action research, inquiry and reflection, and co-teaching strategies as they impact teaching and learning in and through the arts.

Nan Westervelt is a consultant for non-profit management and arts in education, providing support to the NYSCA Arts in Education Program statewide Local Capacity Building effort, Museum Partnership Learning Network Program, and Empire State Partnerships Strategic Planning Initiative. Ever active in the arts and education community, Ms. Westervelt has served as the President of the New York State Alliance for Arts Education (NYSAAE), Vice President of the Colorado Alliance for Arts Education, and as a member of the Kennedy Center Alliances for Arts Education Governance Committee. She spent 15 years as Executive Director of Young Audiences of Rochester, Inc.