We're
Planning for the Future – and
You Can Help Us!
Big ideas are blooming as the
season for planning begins. At
PAE, two critical themes for the
year ahead include:
- Standards Reform: The
Regents for the NYS Department
of Education are conducting a
review of their learning standards
and the arts are “at the table”.
This week they completed their
regional work sessions on English
Language Arts (ELA) and English
as a Second Language (ESL)/English
Language Learners (ELL). Many
representatives from the arts
in education community were in
attendance at these meetings,
yet, they almost did not have
to show up. The administrators,
teachers, higher education leaders,
and students spoke frequently
and passionately about the place
for the arts in each standard.
In case you did not attend, all
of the big questions and critical
information can be found at: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/standardsreview/ .
- 21st Century Citizenship: With
a grant from the Kauffman Foundation,
we have been researching “Hyphenated
Artists” the entrepreneurial
nature of artists and what the
arts bring to our students as
we prepare them for the next
generation of citizenship. In
support of this endeavor, we
have been reviewing our own Technical
Assistance offerings and our
plans for CommonGround in 2009.
We have also been referring to
the vision that is being shared
through the Imagine Nation initiative http://www.theimaginenation.net/ and
through the Partnership for 21st
Century Skills http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ .
Research,
Research, Research: As
we all become survey savvy (thanks
to easy-to-operate software) there
is also micro-research surfacing
to help us with our arts-driven
lives. (Thank you, Gail Burnaford
and the Arts Education Partnership – you
can download Gail’s Literature
Review at:
http://www.aep-arts.org/resources/integration2.htm )
If you have been engaged in arts-in-education
partnerships, PAE invites you to
participate in an anecdotal survey
as we reshape our Technical Assistance
Program. Please follow this link
to respond:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zHR3cPOy0T4Ci0q4mO5Smg_3d_3d
If you'd like to give it a little
thought beforehand, here are the
main survey questions; they have
been passed along to us via Anne
Rhodes and Eric Booth:
- What are five claims that you
can make about your work?
- What is one larger claim that
you can make as a result of these
five claims?
- What has changed in your arts
or education practice over the
past five years? Over the past
10 or more years?
We hope that all of your big
ideas are poised for promise this
year.
Laura Reeder, Executive Director
Technical
Assistance
TAP
Expands in the Coming Year
We
are looking forward to a greatly
enlarged capacity to provide Technical
Assistance to NYS Arts in Education
practitioners in the 2008-09. Our
funding is increasing September
1 and therefore the field’s
ability to take advantage of expertise
that will support their AIE work
will be greatly enhanced. TAP funds
will be available for hiring AIE
consultants, for attendance at
workshops or conferences and for
the creation of partnership team
retreats. Basically, it will support
whatever your partnership needs
to improve and/or expand your practice.
Deadlines for TAP in the coming
academic year 2008-09 will be September
15, November 17, January 15, March
16 and May 18. Depending
upon availability of funds, we
may consider a June 2009 deadline
as well.
The 2008-09 TAP application and
guidelines will be posted on the
PAE website by July 31, 2008.
A look at TAP this
past year:
With the support of the Snow Foundation,
NYSCA and the contributions to
the CommonGround Scholarship fund,
35 scholarships were awarded to
help cover the registration fees,
hotel and travel expenses for CommonGround
08 participants.
The General TAP fund has funded 18
of the 32 projects we received applications
for so far this year. The last 2007-08
cycle deadline of June 1 is still
under consideration. $33,875 has
been put into the field to support
10 Strategic Foundation Building
Retreats, 6 professional development
grants and 2 scholarships to workshops.
You can find out more about the TAP
funding recipients for this year
at: http://www.arts4ed.org/funding/TAP/TAP_08_summary.shtml
CommonGround 2008 and 2009
Pictures from CommonGround 2008 are up on our website!
There are a few people whose names escaped us – if you see yourself or
a friend up there uncredited (or, heaven forbid, mis-credited), please let
us know.
You can also download materials
from many of the workshops – go
to the CommonGround main
page and click on the name of the
workshop facilitator. You'll find
documents, PowerPoints, archived
webinars, and more.
And – mark your calendars
for next year – CommonGround
2009 will be March
25 – 27 in Albany. We're looking forward
to it already!
Funding
SAP-Level
Funding Changes
Funding through
the NYSCA/PAE School Arts Partnerships
(SAP) Program is no longer available. Beginning
July 1, 2008, the funds that were
awarded to PAE by NYSCA to support
the SAP grants will be used to
expand the Technical
Assistance Program (TAP). PAE
will continue to manage the distribution
of TAP funds.
If you are seeking support for
a “starter” partnership
between a school and a cultural
organization or teaching artist,
please consult your school’s
designated Local Capacity
Building site. If you are seeking support for a more advanced partnership
between a school and a cultural organization, please consult the guidelines for
the Empire State Partnerships (ESP) grants, which are available through the Arts
in Education Program at NYSCA. Projects that formerly would have qualified
for SAP-level funding can be submitted for consideration to NYSCA Arts in Education
program.
Feel free to call
Sue at PAE at (315) 234-9911 or
NYSCA AIE staff at (212) 741-5256
or 5257 if you have any questions.
Featured SAP Project: "Building
a Culture of High Expectations" at
Automotive High School with Epic Theatre
From November 2007 to January 2008, Epic Theatre Ensemble worked with three 10th
grade English classes at Automotive High School. After seeing Epic’s
professional company perform Antigone, Epic Teaching Artists Godfrey
L. Simmons Jr. and Brandt Adams partnered with classroom teachers Mike Sill and
Haseeb Khawaja on a major playwriting and performance residency. On January
16, all three classes performed their own adaptations of Antigone for
their parents, teachers and peers. Here are extracts of some of Mr. Sill’s
comments on his students’ work with Epic.
“O. had been recently suspended,
and had missed a few days of rehearsal.
D., a very high-achieving student,
saw him walk in (late) on the day
of the performance, and walked
straight towards him. I figured
D. would take O. to task. Instead
I found him being supportive and
helpful. He walked O. through
the scenes they had together,
allowing him to perform beautifully
as well. It was one of the more
pleasant moments of this whole
experience.”
“In the two months before
EPIC came into my classroom, R.
was rarely in class. As soon as
the project began, R’s attendance
improved. She took on a
leadership role in the classroom,
and it was clear early on that
she would have a starring role
in our production.”
“D. was without a doubt,
my most difficult student this
fall. He remained lethargic through
about two weeks of working with
EPIC. Then one day, during an improvisation
activity, D. volunteered. I chuckle
to think about the looks that were
exchanged between the teaching
artists and me when we saw D’s
talent unleashed. It seemed as
though he had shrugged off a
great burden. I daresay he showed
signs of genius. He began working
to write the book as well. The
change was monumental.”
“E. is painfully shy, and
he has extreme difficulty interacting
with peers and adults. E. volunteered
for the role of the general. I
remember one of the teaching artists
asking him if he was sure. He wasn’t.
He said yes anyway. He threw himself
into writing his role with great
devotion. He labored over
every word, reaching often for
his tattered dictionary. Soon
he was beaming at the praise
he garnered from his peers. On
the day of the performance, his
voice boomed to the back row.
Just today, as we reflected,
he spoke out in class discussion
without being called on. It was the first
time. I almost cried.”
Resources
Featured
Website
DonorsChoose has created a website
that links teachers with individuals
who want to make a charitable contribution
to students’ learning, but
want to make their own decisions
about where the money will go.
Teachers submit project proposals
for learning materials or experiences
their students need. Concerned
individuals browse through the
projects on offer and fund the
student projects of their choice
in whole or in part. Donors get
feedback on how the project went
via photos, a teacher letter, and
students’ thank-you notes.
Donations are tax deductible. Everybody’s
happy! Find out more at: http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html
Media Buzz
"Not on the Test"
Got the NCLB-testing-curriculum blues? Watch this video by Tom Chapin – you’ll
laugh, you’ll cry. . . http://www.notonthetest.com/
Opportunities
TA Training/Internship
through Community Word Project
Teaching
Artist Training and Internship
Program 2008-09
Application due: September
15, 2008
Contact: Keith Kaminski, Program
Coordinator, 212~962~3820 or
by email
Community Word Project in
New York City offers two levels of training; one for beginning and new teaching
artists, and another for those that have at least two years experience working
with underserved youth in the public school environment.
The application is due by 10:00
am on September 15, 2008 and can
be downloaded directly from CWP's
website using CWP
TATIP Program Overview and Applications. Early
applications are encouraged. Applicants
will be notified of acceptance
before September 26. Please contact
CWP with any questions about
the application or TATIP.
Epic Theatre Citizen Artist Conference
June 13th- 15th, 2008
Registration Deadline: June 9
Register at: http://epictheatreensemble.org/education/citizen/index.php
Contact: Email Darci
Fulcher
Our
conference will be an enriching, interactive
experience where members of
the arts-in-education community will
immerse themselves in Epic's methodology
and techniques which place theatre
at the center of civic dialogue. Please
note that the $30 fee is waived for
participants traveling to NYC from
out of town for the conference. The
conference includes interactive
workshops that use theatrical
techniques to explore power, status,
empathy, perspective and ethics; consultation
with Epic's Lead Teaching Artists
on how to integrate Citizen Artistry
into your work; a complementary
ticket to Epic's Off-Broadway production
of Palace
of the End by Judith Thompson;
student performances; and a curriculum
guide.
News
Three New Members Join
PAE Board
PAE is pleased to welcome
three new members to its Board
of Directors.
June
Choi is a
member of the staff for the Rockefeller
Philanthropy Advisors in New
York City, where she works primarily
on the New York State Music Fund.
She was formerly Executive Director
of the Asian American Arts Alliance,
where she rapidly grew the organization
into a nationally prominent arts
service organization. Her independent
consulting practice specifically
focused on change issues, organizational
effectiveness, and philanthropy.
Mark
Ciaralli is a Certified Public
Accountant and Supervisor with
Green & Seifter, Certified
Public Accountants in Syracuse.
A graduate of LeMoyne College,
he has a special interest in school
and not-for-profit accounting and
auditing. Mr. Ciaralli will be
assuming the duties of Board Treasurer.
Tim
Frateschi is an attorney with Harris Beach
PLLC in the Public Finance and
Economic Development Practice Group.
During the 1990’s
he served as Chief of Staff for
State Senator John A. DeFrancisco.
He has previously served on the
board of, among others, Literacy
Volunteers of Greater Syracuse
and the Education Information Centers.
He received his law degree from
Syracuse University.
We at PAE are
grateful for the opportunity to
work with a board that demonstrates
such a high level of commitment
and enthusiasm.
