The newest United Arts Fund in the country, Arts Alliance Tulsa (AAT), recently announced that 39 local arts nonprofits will be the recipients of funds raised in its inaugural campaign season. As a group, the organizations serve more than 1 million people every year, and produce more than $62 million in revenue for the local economy.
Today, the 39-member team of U.S. House and U.S. Senate members approved a conference agreement to rewrite K-12 federal education law. The text of the agreement will be publicly released within a few days, with a House vote as soon as December 2. The agreement will bring about new federal education law impacting a whole generation of students.
Today, the U.S. House and U.S. Senate held its first conference meeting to continue work to bridge differences and reauthorize the expired Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), impacting a whole generation of students.
Members of the committee made public, opening statements in anticipation of a final agreement, which has been anticipated to occur as soon as the week of November 30, given the framework now in place. The committee will meet again on Thursday, November 19th, to continue their work and consider amendments.
In April 2014, New York City Comptroller Scott Springer released the report, “State of the Arts: A Plan to Boost Arts Education in New York City,” which revealed unequal access to arts education for children living in New York City’s lowest income communities. It also revealed violations of the state’s mandates for the number of middle and high school arts teachers employed in New York City schools. To help address these issues, New York’s Department of Education (DOE) received $23 million in additional funding in its 2015 budget to help support new arts teachers, programs, and facilities.
In collaboration with the Maryland State Arts Council and the Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland’s First Lady Yumi Hogan opened the First Lady’s Gallery, which is located in the House of Delegates Office Building in Annapolis, the state capitol. The gallery’s inaugural show features a selection of student artwork from more than 20 Maryland school systems and will run through November 13. The student art program will continue with future showcases every fall and spring.
Last night, at a ceremony and reception held at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, The Ovation Foundation, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and Americans for the Arts recognized eight schools as recipients of the innOVATION STEAM Grant Awards. The innOVATION STEAM Grant Awards acknowledged public K-12 model STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) programs in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of integrating the arts into educational curriculum.
Stefani Germanotta, better known to us all as Lady Gaga, took home the Young Artist Award last night at Americans for The Arts 2015 National Arts Awards at Cipriani 42nd St. Lady Gaga was among six honorees who were recognized last night for their leadership in the arts and arts education. The Museum of Modern Art’s Klaus Biesenbach introduced the award winner, with a story about her genuine openess and generosity as an artist.
Every year there are new buzzwords which affect our work. Each day during the week of September 14–18, we will gather thought leaders to unpack these terms, where they came from, and their impact on our day to day work in arts education. These daily webinars will be held at 3:00 p.m. (EST) and last approximately 20 minutes. To continue the conversation, join Jeff Poulin (@JeffMPoulin) and special guests for a Twitter chat from 8:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. (EST) by following the specified hashtag.
Turnaround Arts and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announce a national partnership to support arts-integrated learning in early childhood classrooms across the country. Through in-class services for young children, ongoing training for educators, and resource development for the early childhood community at-large, the two organizations will work together to use the arts as a tool to improve student outcomes and school culture.
Each year, Americans for the Arts honors the best businesses partnering with the arts in America through the BCA10 awards. This summer, two of our previous honorees, Golden Artist Colors, Inc. (BCA 10 2012) and Scholastic Inc. (BCA 10 2013) have partnered to provide an unprecedented opportunity for art educators. Teachers of students who received recognition in the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were invited to submit painted art-pieces for a chance to participate in a weeklong artist residency through the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation.
A newly released half-hour documentary tells the story of The Science and Technology High School in Springfield, Massachusetts, where dropout rates are so high and standard test scores so low that the state rates it Level 4. At Level 5 the state has the right to take over the school and possibly send its 1500 students out into the city’s struggling public school system.
Stephen Colbert announced that he would fund every single request made by South Carolina public school teachers on the website DonorsChoose.org. The total donation clocked in at $800,000 and covered almost 1,000 projects at more than 375 schools.
The leaders of the House and Senate education committees met today to discuss the next step for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Words have the power to transform and, in the case of 16-year-old Aidan Kingwell of Oak Park, Illinois, they even have the power to save lives. Struggling with crippling depression, Kingwell read poet Mary Oliver’s “When Death Comes” and came to realize that her life was worth living, even at a time when she doubted it the most.
This month, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed SF 510, which directs the Iowa Department of Education to fund at least a 0.5 Fine Arts consultant position. Cut to 0.23 a year ago, the position is restored to its original status. It also means that Iowa Code now mandates this position, and the law directs that the position be funded on an annual basis.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, recently announced a major new initiative that will see thousands of London schoolchildren being given the chance to participate in and learn about dance. The initiative is backed by award-winning choreographer Wayne McGregor and leading dance organizations.
Through the deft work of the Senate education committee, the leadership team of Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) succeeded in crafting and maintaining a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Today, the Senate voted to approve the Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177), by a vote of 81-17, a remarkable finish, especially considering the number of amendments that were filed (nearly 200 in all) and several other controversial provisions that could have sunk the bill.
The House voted 218-213 to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Congress is now a step closer to renewing ESEA, which has been expired since 2007 and is long overdue.
South Carolina arts advocates were shocked on June 30 when Governor Nikki Haley announced that she would veto 87 budget items—among the vetoes was #21 which would eliminate $1 million in new, recurring funds for grantmaking in arts education from the South Carolina Arts Commission’s budget.
Matt D’Arrigo is Founder and CEO of A Reason To Survive | ARTS, a nationally recognized non-profit agency dedicated to changing the life trajectory of youth facing adversity through the arts and creativity. D'Arrigo and ARTS were recently featured in the San Diego Tribune in an article highlighting the arts center's newest endeavors.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Poetry Out Loud competition, a recitation contest offered through partnership between The National Endowment for the Arts and The Poetry Foundation. The contest strives to help students, “master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and explore their literary heritage”.
Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America, announced today that it has been awarded a $100,000 Art Works: Arts Education grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the State Policy Pilot Program, a three-year program aiming to strengthen the focus and attention being put on arts education through advancing state-level education policy.
We know that the arts are integral to the innovative thinking needed in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math), which is why Americans for the Arts is partnering with Congressional leaders, the private sector, educators, and researchers to make visible the amazing work happening around the country in STEAM education. On May 7, 2015, Americans for the Arts attended a STEAM Assembly hosted by VH1 Save the Music in New York City.
At the start of 2015, singer-songwriter Jason Mraz became part of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities’ signature Turnaround Arts program as an ambassador. He recently spoke on The Today Show about the experience.
After 3 days of co
nsidering bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and nearly 60 amendments, the Senate HELP Committee advanced the legislation, enabling it to be next considered on the Senate floor under an open amendment process. Floor action is now expected before the end of May.
On April 7th, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) released their long-awaited bipartisan draft bill to reauthorize the long-expired Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The title of the new bill is Every Child Achieves Act. The Senate education committee began consideration of the draft bill on April 14th with nearly 90 amendments filed.
The Annual Leadership Awards are presented each spring in conjunction with Annual Convention and recognize the achievements of individuals, organizations and programs committed to enriching their communities through the arts.
Today, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) will expand its successful Turnaround Arts initiative into five additional school districts, as the program continues to successfully help turn around low-performing schools, narrow the achievement gap, and increase student engagement through the arts.
