Arts Education Network News November 2004

In this Issue:

National policy, local impact
Now that the election has passed we cannot take our eyes off national education news.  Although education is largely a function of the states, the federal government has a huge impact on us at the local level.  For example, the president has nominated as our new Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, a long-time member of Bush's inner circle since his days as Texas governor. She helped to craft that state's education reform policies that later helped to guide our national education policy known as "No Child Left Behind." 

What does this mean for us in the field?  Well, that's difficult to say, but we can assume that the boost we received from having The Arts listed as a "Core Curriculum Area" along with the "big dogs" of Math, Science, and Reading (among others), will continue to be tempered by the unyielding pressure of "research-based" strategies and standardized testing.  Another proposal on the horizon is the provision in the U.S. education budget of $100 million for a new Striving Readers program, which would target resources toward literacy efforts at the middle and high school level. 

We need to think strategically and act with vision if we are to be prepared to move quickly on opportunities such as these.  I could go on and on, but to summarize: keep an eye on national issues in education . they will be YOUR school district's issues before you know it!

RJ Rapoza
Administrative Director, Partners for Arts Education

Technical Assistance
CommonGround '05
How we plan the conference
Regional advisory committees have met around the state (Buffalo region, Rochester region, Southern Tier, CNY, Hudson region, Capital/Adirondack region, NYC, LI).

These regional committees encourage the local arts-in-ed community to develop workshop proposals (see below), remind their colleagues about TAP funds available for CG05 (see below), generate energy and excitement, and revisit evaluation outcomes from last year's conference to shape development for this year. 

If you were unable to get to these regional meetings, please know that you can still contact us and do some advisory support before and during the conference.

Keynote Speaker
We're very excited to announce that our keynote speaker will be Douglas Herbert, Special Assistant on Teacher Quality and Arts Education at the U.S. Department of Education and former Director of Arts in Education programs for the NEA.   See http://www.arts4ed.org/conference/CG05/dherbert.shtml to find out more about him.

Workshop RFP's due Dec 3
The deadline for workshop proposals is fast approaching - December 3.  We're looking forward to a wide range of physically involving, thought-provoking, heart-stirring, spirit-lifting experiences. If you have an idea for a workshop at CG05 you can access the RFP at http://www.arts4ed.org/conference/CG05/RFP.shtml.

TAP funds available
TAP funds will be available to help cover conference fees. There are three deadlines for TAP CG05 - December 1, February 1, and March 1. It never hurts to plan ahead. Information on the special TAP CG05 grant application is available on our website at http://www.arts4ed.org/funding/TAP/TAP_CG05.shtml.

Resources
Website of the Month
The Arts Education Partnership is committed to increasing resources for quality education in and through the arts in schools, school districts, and partnering arts and cultural institutions. All AEP publications are available in pdf format. Most AEP publications are also available for purchase.
http://aep-arts.org/Publications.htm

Other conferences
VTS BEST PRACTICES: Museum & School Partnerships
April 25-28, 2005
The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs
Presented by: Philip Yenawine and colleagues
Registration Fee: $50 per person
This Institute will bring together representatives of museums and schools in upstate New York to develop a set of best practices to implement Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a way of teaching beginning viewers to find meaning and pleasure in works of art. By bringing together experienced New York State educators to support VTS implementation, we will help to smooth the way for other upstate museums and schools to access this important art education program.

Elementary school administrators and teachers and museum educators are invited to participate. School and museum staff are strongly encouraged to register as partners.For more information please visit VUE's website at http://www.vue.org , or contact Yoon Kang-O'Higgins (ykang@vue.org , 206-568-5383).

 Major funding for this Institute is generously provided by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

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Our staff is always available to help you!

Partners for Arts Education ~ Delevan Studio 221 ~ 501 West Fayette Street ~ Syracuse ~ NY ~ 13204

Partners for Arts Education inspires learning and leadership for arts-in-education in Central New York and throughout New York State. We provide funding and support to deepen and enrich educational experiences in and through the arts for students, teachers and artists.

The Arts Education Network News is a free service of Partners for Arts Education. All of our programs are made possible with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts and individual sponsors.

  State of the Arts

NYSCA