Way back in 2011, The Kennedy Center selected Tulsa, Oklahoma to participate in their “Any Given Child” program; an initiative dedicated to ensuring unique arts education for students throughout every grade level in K-8 schools.  Through a partnership between Tulsa Public Schools and the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, local students just recently completed their first year of an arts curriculum in May of 2014 and are now entering a second year of deeper arts integration into their curriculum.  These two organizations firmly believe that the arts are not only a key means of helping their public schools bounce back from relatively low rankings, but also that access to arts education will help their many diverse residents and at-risk youth. 

Part of a much wider turnaround plan for Tulsa Schools, this past year of rich arts programming in local K-8 schools – including classes in fine arts, performing arts, vocal and instrumental music instruction, and more – was designed primarily by the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa and partners with over 11 local arts organizations.  While the curriculum in schools was developed to work with Common Core Standards and integrate into non-arts subjects, one of the other key goals of Tulsa’s Any Given Child plan is to ensure that students have had no less than nine “live arts experiences” by the time they reach high school.

Tulsa Public Schools and the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa seek to ensure that “every K-8 child will engage in high-quality [arts] standards-based curriculum that encompasses both district and community resources.”  Above all, they believe that the arts are essential to the success of their students, schools, and community.  Read more about Tulsa’s Any Given Child goals, strategic plan and recent work here: http://anygivenchildtulsa.wordpress.com/about/