Arts Education Network News December 2005

In this Issue:

·  Under Construction: Foundation Funding for Arts Education ·      Technical Assistance o     Common Ground 2006 RFP's o   TAP for Common Ground 2006 ·      Resources o   Website of the Month o   Other Grant Opportunities ·      at PAE o   Our Board

West Genesee HS Teacher Jennifer Schrader,  a student , and glass artist Jerome Durr prepare part of a panel of stained glass that was installed at the Syracuse VA Hospital on November 9.  See pictures and read more about this project.

Under Construction: Foundation Funding for Arts Education

On October 27^th I attended a session at the Foundation Center to review the findings from their new study Foundation Funding for Arts Education. In a panel led by Senior Program Officer Rory MacPherson, a standing-room-only crowd of cultural agents and arts-in-education leaders examined the data and came away with some excellent confirmations, but very few conclusions for the New York State arts-in-education field.

All of the panelists* confirmed the importance of professional development, curriculum integration, collaboration, assessment, and capacity building in their priorities for funding arts education programs. This is good news for folks that have been working with the NYS Council on the Arts over the past 10 years to strengthen these elements. They also confirmed that funding from one foundation for beyond three years is rare and that, while the number of grants targeting arts education has increased, the size of those gifts has decreased. This is certainly not a surprise for folks that are feverishly writing grants to make ends meet.

The conclusions that we came away with were mixed in their degree of optimism.
-    It is good that foundations are learning from the field and recognize the quality of arts-in-education principles.
-    It is interesting that foundations see capacity-building as important, yet cannot fund beyond 2-3 years.
-    It is common and discouraging to know that we are competing and working harder for less support.
-    It is helpful to spend time learning from our funders.

At Partners for Arts Education, we conclude that while our grants may not be increasing dramatically this next year, our services and support may indeed alleviate at least some of the competition our field faces for funding. We are increasing:
-    professional development at CommonGround and around the state at schools, BOCES, Arts-in-Education Roundtables, and cultural organizations.
-    technical assistance in the form of exchanges between individuals and entities that have free expertise to share for curriculum integration and assessment.
-    facilitation of collaborations between individuals, organizations, and regions.
-    capacity-building consultations from our staff on a wide-range of technical assistance issues.

It is encouraging to see so much attention devoted to studying the arts in education. Researching resources and outcomes provides us with plenty of information to make our case when we are building our individual "foundations." The ultimate conclusion may simply be that, as with a work of art or the education of a child, we continue as a field to be a work in progress.

Laura Reeder, Executive Director

*Panelists included: Loren Renz, Vice President for Research at The Foundation Center, Josie Atienza, Research Analyst at The Foundation Center, Leah M. Krauss, Program Officer with New York Community Trust, Kate Levin, Commissioner with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Alison N. Yu, Program Officer with the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

Other studies and publications cited at the session include: Gifts of the Muse, Wallace Foundation 2005, http://www.wallacefoundation.org/WF/verify.htm?id=%7b4285E865-31CA-4D39-A275-9A763C044C2E%7d

Technical Assistance
CommonGround 2006 RFP's are Available
Do you have information, skills, or stories you're eager to share with the arts-in-ed community?  Requests for Proposals (RFP's) for presenters at CommonGround 2006 are available on our website. This year, RFP's will be submitted on line. You can download/print the Guidelines and worksheets for the RFP to prepare for your submission.  You should have all your information ready before you begin the on-line RFP form.

This Request for Proposal process is open to: teaching artists, general education teachers, arts teachers, arts and cultural organization representatives, parents, school administrators, school board members, social service agency staff. A panel of conference sponsors and partners will select presenters and offerings.

The selection process seeks to provide offerings for the range of constituencies represented in the AIE field.  We are looking for proposals that address Participatory Design, Dissemination of ESP Best Practices,  Fundraising and Sustainability, Curriculum Integration, Research-Based Models, and Reflective Practice.

All proposals must be submitted online by December 12, 2005.

TAP for CommonGround 2006
There is a special TAP Grant just for CommonGround. The grant can be used for CommonGround 2006 registration fees, hotel lodging, travel (60+ miles from Rochester), and expenses for substitute teachers. The amount requested may not exceed $350 per person. All TAP CG06 recipients are required to participate in an evaluation session at the conference. Applicants may submit only one TAP CG06 request. (Applicants may still receive one other regular TAP award per funding year September 1, 2005 - August 31, 2006).

This year there will be two deadlines, January 17 and March 1, 2006. Recipients will be chosen by lottery. Those who enter by January 1 will be eligible for both drawings. 

More information is available at our website at www.arts4ed.org/funding/TAP/TAP_index.shtml . The guidelines and the on-line application will be available in early December.

Resources
Website of the Month
New Horizons for Learning has a  page of links to articles about arts in education, including authors we know and love like Christine Goodheart and Doug Herbert. They also have links for topics like News from the Neurosciences and Student Voices. Plenty of good reading here.  (http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/arts/front_arts.htm )

Other  Grant Opportunities
Toyota Tapestry Grant Program
Toyota Tapestry Grants are administered by NSTA and are available to K-12 teachers of science. 2006 awards include 50 grants of up to $10,000 each and 20 mini-grants of $2,500 each. Deadline: January 19, 2006
http://www.toyota.com/about/community/education/tapestry.html

NEA Foundation Fine Arts Grants The National Education Association (NEA) Foundation offers NEA Fine Arts grants to NEA members. Available to elementary (grades K-6) school art specialists through local NEA affiliates, the grants allow fine arts educators to create and implement programs that promote learning among students at risk of school failure. Deadline: February 1, 2006  For complete information, go to http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=3445568&s=48505465

at PAE
Our Board
PAE's Board of Directors met recently in New York City, where they posed for this picture. We're delighted about our expanded board and are all energized by their dedication and expertise. We've recently welcomed Carol Brown of Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Carole Brzozowski of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University, and Lucinda Ingalls of Buffalo's M.U.S.E., Inc. to our board. We at the PAE offices are excited about working with our board members to do great things for New York State.  You can get more information about our Board on our website.

PAE's Board of Directors (clockwise from top left): Carol Brown, Lisa Hoeschele, Jack Langerak, Marcia Wheeler, Mark Solomon, Jackie Chang, Carole Brzozowski, Jan Hanvik.  (Not pictured: Lisa Cotanch, Pete Headd, Lucinda Ingalls, Bonnie Nizamis)

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Our staff is always available to help you!