Partners for Arts Education

It's All About Connections
As PAE continues to bring your expertise into our technical assistance repertoire, we are discovering quite a few trends that we hope to incorporate into programs this year.

Look for greater integration of technology into the education and administration in our practice. You will also see much more information about the development of global citizenship and partnerships with higher education. Finally, we are hearing a shift in vocabulary for our work from “standards” to “habits of mind”, from “multi-cultural” and “interdisciplinary” to “trans-cultural” and “global”.

So back a little closer to the home, all of these elements and terms are beautifully connected within the larger context (and sometimes controversy) of arts integration by the release of “Arts Integration – Frameworks, Research, and Practice,” a literature review compiled by Gail Burnaford and published by the Arts Education Partnership.

How can we take advantage of these connections in our day-to-day work? Examine the blossoming interest in arts in ed in the higher education community through “Working Partnerships,” another study released by the AEP. Higher education institutions in partnership with the schools and arts communities are expanding professional development of the arts teaching workforce, which includes classroom teachers, arts specialists, teaching artists, higher education faculty, and members of cultural institutions who provide arts instruction.

We are all invested in making the arts “part of the everyday life of every child.” Big picture thinking can play one critical role in strengthening enduring connections for children and society at large. As always, more to come.

Technical Assistance

CommonGround 2008 – Submit your RFP

Mark your calendars – the 2008 CommonGround Conference for the New York State arts-in-education field will be held April 9 – 11 at the Crowne Plaza in Albany. Interested in presenting? The RFP process for workshops is beginning, so start brainstorming! Online RFP’s are now available through our website, and are due by November 2, 2007. We’re looking forward to another delicious blend of inspiration, information, and conversation, and we hope you’ll be there with us.

Scholarships will be available through the CommonGround Scholarship program. This grant offers up to $400 toward the registration, lodging and travel expenses associated with attendance at the conference. The application will be on the PAE website December 1, and the deadline for submission will be February 1, 2008. The selection of recipients is determined by lottery.

Ready to Go to the Next Level? TAP Grants Can Help
Do you want to get better at doing what you do in your arts-in-ed partnership? The Technical Assistance Program Grants (TAP) can help.

If you are looking for assistance in the creation of a strong foundation for your arts-in-ed partnership, or for expertise in a specific element of effective partnership practice, you can apply for up to $2500 for the TAP SERVICES: Strategic Foundation Building Retreat (SFB) program to have a NYSCA SFB facilitator work with your team for a day. If your AIE partnership wants to develop new skills, you can apply for a TAP GRANT for up to $2000 to hire a consultant or trainer of your choice. If you want to attend a conference or specialized training to develop your skills in a particular AIE area, you can apply for a TAP SCHOLARSHIP of up to $1000. Scholarships to the CommonGround Conference are handled separately through the CommonGround TAP program (see above).

Please note a change in the deadlines for this year: September 1, November 1, February 1, April 1, June 1. Check the website for more details and for the application. Questions? Email Sue Stonecash.

Funding
Featured SAP Project: "Knowledge Alive! The Struggle for Freedom against Tyranny"
Maplewood Elementary 4th grade classroom teachers and the school music teacher partnered with teaching artist Dafna Soltes Stein on a curriculum that reveals powerful historical truths about slavery on Long Island using storytelling, visual arts, and dramatic role play. Students used a script to act out an Underground Railroad escape story taking place in Huntington, where our students live.

The program constantly sparked higher level questions, and students became very reflective, making connections to stereotyping, tolerance, bullying and popularity issues. Students who rarely volunteer to speak raised their hands and had things to say. Students of all abilities and learning styles were eager to participate and made important contributions.

2006 – 07 was the third year of partnership, and Maplewood has received SAP funding for the 2007 – 08 year to extend the project. Read more about their project at http://www.arts4ed.org/funding/SAPreports/maplewood.shtml .

Resources
Website of the Month
Keep Arts in Schools highlights the efforts of arts education organizations throughout the country, using the power of the web to make tools and resources available to anyone seeking to make the arts a top priority in public schools and communities at large. It functions as a hub with links to major arts-based school reform initiatives in several cities, research on the arts in schools and communities, and other arts ed information.
http://www.keepartsinschools.org/index.php

Media Buzz
We’re going to use this new segment of the News to highlight books, podcasts, radio spots, TV broadcasts, etc., that feature topics relevant to arts-in-ed. This time we’d like to feature a piece on PBS’s News Hour with Jim Lehrer. They recently ran a great 3-part series on the impact of NCLB, and the last installment on how NCLB is affecting schools and especially teachers was particularly pertinent. Download streaming audio/video or read a transcript at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/july-dec07/nclb_08-16.html .

Directory of Assessment Tools for Youth Programs
Toolfind from the United Way is a free directory designed to help professionals in youth-serving programs find measurement tools for up to 11 youth outcome areas. All of the 46 tools listed address one or more of the outcome areas, are tested, low-cost and have few restrictions. Tools included in this database address elementary, middle and/or high school students and youth, parent, staff and teacher respondents. http://www.toolfind.org/

Opportunities
Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program
The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) Teacher Program, sponsored by the Government of Japan, provides American primary and secondary school teachers and administrators with fully-funded short-term study tours of Japan. The program is designed to increase understanding between the people of Japan and the United States by inviting about 400 U.S. elementary and secondary educators to visit Japan and share their experiences with fellow Americans upon their return. JFMF participants travel to Japan with other outstanding educators, learn about Japanese culture and education, and return to implement a self-designed plan to share their knowledge and experience with their students, colleagues and community.

The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program seeks primary and secondary educators who demonstrate potential for success and a long-term commitment to education. Go to http://www.iie.org/Website/WPreview.cfm?WID=194 to find out more.

News
PAE Seeks Director of Strategic Development
PAE is expanding its staff and is accepting applications for the position of Director of Strategic Development. this person will be responsible for the development, management, implementation, and evaluation of a fund-development program to strengthen the capacity of arts-in-education partnerships in collaboration with a variety of funding stakeholders.

Duties include: managing staff and volunteers in planning and executing agency-wide sponsorship, capital, endowment, and planned giving programs; collaborating on fund-raising events and benefits with the Community Development Director; making grant applications to federal, state, and local government agencies that provide education and arts funding; researching and applying to private foundations and corporations that provide education and arts grants; and recommending fund-raising policies and procedures to the Executive Director and Board with the goal of building a year-round development program.

For more information about this position, please visit our website. Position begins Fall 2007. Search closes when position is filled.

From Our Office
If you hear a different voice answering our phone, you’ve reached our new administrative assistant, Maureen Foster. She’s working mornings in our office, helping us all stay focused and be more efficient. We’re delighted to have her on board!

· It’s All About Connections