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In This Issue
- Send a Thank-You for Arts Education Today
- California Budget Update
- 2008 Arts Leadership Convergence
- Merced Music Teacher Awarded Teacher of Year
- California Poetry Out Loud
- Violins in the Classroom
- States Press Ahead on '21st-Century Skills'
- Corporate Bands Emerge as Executives Turn to Music for Team-Building, Stress Relief and Fun
- Cutting Arts in Schools is Counter-Productive
- Statement of Common Cause: Orchestras Support In-School Music Education
CONFERENCES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- CAEA Annual Conference
- Building Bridges: Collaboration / Innovation / Risk
- International Artist Teacher Exchange Offers Study in Italy Program
- Americans for the Arts and LA's Arts for All Host Knowledge Exchange
- Arts Education: Creating the Future
- Art in Education Teaching Institute
RESOURCES, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
- Funding for Inclusive Public School Arts Programs
October 22, 2008
ArtsEdMail provides all the latest information to connect the Arts Education community in California. Our free e-newsletter is published every two weeks.
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Become an advocate or make a donation today!
Send
a Thank-You for Arts Education Today
This year we have reason to say thank you to our elected officials.
We recognize and appreciate the state's ongoing support of arts education
through the continued budget allocation. Add your voice to our campaign
thanking the Governor and our state representatives. Several hundred
supporters just like you have done so already. It's easy and will only
take a few seconds of your time. Let's flood the inboxes of arts education
supporters so they'll stand strong for our children in the future.
Click
here
to take action for arts education today.
California
Budget Update
These were supposed to be the days of relative calm following the endless
summer of budget discontent. But shortly after the state budget was
signed, we began to get indications that the economic picture of the
state was not looking good, with unknown implications for the coming
year.
Since then, national economic crisis erupted, and it’s increasingly clear that the anticipated revenues the state was counting on to fund the budget may not live up to expectations. What this suggests is that there may be revisions coming to the state budget, with cuts likely to make up the shortfall. Our concern is that education funding may be targeted for cuts.
We don’t yet know what the exact shortage will be, nor what adjustments will be made to make up for the lack of funds. During the past week the state of California sold bonds to solidify our state economy in the short term, and according to economic leaders across the country, these sales were a huge success. The bonds will come due in the Spring of 2009 . The budget discussion may be accelerated to those dates. We know that there are weekly meetings/calls with the Governor and legislative leaders and updates to each caucus weekly. It is anticipated that the legislature may need to return before the end of the year or to put some budget measures in place earlier than usual. As we gain additional information we will pass it on to you.
As for the existing Arts and Music and Block Grant, the budget has allotted $109,757,000 for the coming year. Each school district will receive its allotment based on per pupil enrollment. An adjustment in apportionment amounts for school sites with 20 or fewer pupils of enrollment for a minimum allocation of $2,228.00 (it was $2,500.00 for fiscal years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008) and a minimum of $3,564.00 for school sites with more than 20 pupils (it was $4,000.00 for fiscal years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008).
The Arts and Music Block Grant will require a Summary Report and accompanying narrative to be submitted to the California Department of Education postmarked no later than 5:00 p.m. February 2, 2009. CDE will not be accepting faxed or emailed copies for 2008-2009 reporting. Updated FAQs and an adjusted Summary Report template will be provided on the CDE web site between late November and December.
It is also worth mentioning that the both the ongoing funding and the portions of the one-time allotment of $500 million in 2006-07 (to be shared with physical education) that districts have received are not subject to any budget negotiation, and are to be spent by districts for the purposes for which they were intended. Additional questions regarding the block grants should be directed to Nancy Carr at ncarr@cde.ca.gov.
2008
Arts Leadership Convergence
On October 1st, Arts for LA gathered 200 arts, civic, and education leaders
at the Skirball Cultural Center to review a arts policy platform that will
focus collective advocacy efforts over the next two budget cycles. The
goal of the platform is to help focus on collective advocacy efforts,
and to provide tangible ways in which stakeholders can effectively participate
in our regional advocacy strategy. Read
more by clicking here.
Merced
Music Teacher Awarded Teacher of Year
Greg Christiansen has been teaching in Merced since 1987, and has
been at Golden Valley High School since the school opened in 1994.
“As soon as I started playing music, I knew that it would by my vocation,”
Christiansen said. “I wanted to be a teacher from the start.” He
said his ultimate goal is that his students value and appreciate
what they have learned from music and become advocates for arts education.
Click
here for more information.
California
Poetry Out Loud
The California Arts Council has partnered with the National Endowment for the
Arts and the Poetry Foundation to support the expansion of California Poetry
Out Loud, which encourages the state's youth to learn about great poetry through
memorization and performance. This exciting program helps students master public
speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage.
For more information see Click
here for more information or contact Kristin
Margolis at the California Arts Council.
Violins
in the Classroom
Classroom music at Nord Country School means learning to read music and play
the violin with a professional music teacher. All fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders
at the small charter school near Chico, California participate in a violin program,
an integral part of the school's curriculum. Launched 3 years ago, the music
program was established at the school at a time when many districts were cutting
theirs. Executive Director Cathy Oviedo pointed out the school made huge progress
in raising its standardized tests scores last year, and she credited the music
program as one reason for her students' academic success. Click
here for more information.
States
Press Ahead on '21st-Century Skills'
States are trying to revamp
education so that students obtain not only academic skills, but also intellectual,
social, and life skills needed to excel in college and the workplace. In
Wisconsin, more students are doing their work by collaborating with peers
in other countries. In North Carolina, high school students must show that
they can do an in-depth research project and oral presentation to graduate.
West Virginia teachers are being trained to infuse skills such as teamwork
and creativity into mathematics, social studies, and other core courses.
Leaders in business and academia increasingly argue that in a highly globalized, technology-driven age, young people need to know how to innovate, solve problems, and work with people from other cultures as much as they need to know algebra and U.S. history. Read more about The Partnership for 21 Century Schools and how other states are addressing this demand by clicking here.
Corporate
Bands Emerge as Executives Turn to Music for Team-Building, Stress
Relief and Fun
"After a long day at the office, many executives are choosing to
put in extra hours with their colleagues on the live music circuit due
to a burgeoning trend of top corporations encouraging their employees
to make music together. . . . Music has often been shown to encourage
the development of interpersonal communications skills, enhanced problem-solving
capabilities and a greater ability to work as a team. Additionally, making
music is now becoming a more heavily integrated part of the work/life
balance as many companies look to bolster morale and encourage creative
thinking." Click
here to read more.
Cutting
Arts in Schools is Counter-Productive
Cutting the arts in schools is narrow-minded and counter-productive,
says creativity guru Sir Ken Robinson, who was in Ottawa Thursday to
speak to educators and business leaders. Click
here for article.
Statement
of Common Cause: Orchestras Support In-School Music Education
The League of American Orchestras has put forward a statement of common cause, "Orchestras
Support In-School Music Education." The statement was drafted with input
from more than 50 orchestras and reflects a collective opportunity for all orchestras
to take individual, community-specific action to improve access to music education
in schools nationwide. More than 200 orchestras have endorsed the statement to
date. Click
here to read the statement.
Conferences, Professional Development
CAEA
Annual Conference
California Art Education Association (CAEA) will hold its annual conference
in Burlingame (San Francisco Airport area) on November 13-16th. The theme is "Art
Bridges the Gap." Numerous workshops, Master Artists Classes, tours, and
keynote speakers are planned. For more information about the conference click
here. There is still time to signup.
Building
Bridges: Collaboration / Innovation / Risk
The 2009 California Association of Museums’ conference will be held in
San Francisco on February 25-28. The conference will feature over 32
educational sessions and several half and full-day workshops - with presenters
from over 50 museums, including a keynote program with the directors
of San Francisco's largest museums, moderated by Don Sanchez, the arts
and entertainment reporter for ABC7. To learn more, click
here.
International
Artist Teacher Exchange Offers Study in Italy Program
Co-sponsored by the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance, the International
Artist Teacher Exchange (IATE) will provide an opportunity for educators
to obtain George Mason University graduate credit while gaining professional
development training in arts integration during a week-long Italian cultural
exchange. Participants will identify and link teaching methods, discover
strategies for motivating students, and then develop lesson plans based
on their findings that they will then implement in the classroom. Up to
45 participants will join a cohort of teachers, administrators, and educators
from Collegio San Carlo in Milan for this cross-cultural and cross-curricular
experience. The trip's focus of study will be on how the Renaissance era
influenced the development of the region's arts and culture. For additional
program and registration information, contact John Ceschini at: jceschini@aems-edu.org.
Americans
for the Arts and LA's Arts for All Host Knowledge Exchange
District-Wide Change in Arts Education, American for the Arts’ inaugural
Knowledge Exchange, will feature
Los Angeles County's successful Arts
for All, an initiative focused on enabling sequential K-12 arts education
in Los Angeles County school districts. Over the course of two days,
participants will share knowledge, grapple with key questions, and actively
synthesize information for applicability to participant communities anywhere
in the nation. Workshops will highlight the consensus-building process
utilized by the California Alliance for Arts Education coaches in their
work throughout Los Angeles County.
October 27–28, 2008 in Los Angeles.
Click here
to register.
Arts
Education: Creating the Future
Silicon Valley Education Foundation is hosting a forum examining the merits
of the arts in improving our education system will be held October 27,
2008 in San Jose, CA at the Historic Hoover Theater. Leaders from the private
sector, academia, and the education community will focus on issues around
the benefits of arts education. Click
here to register.
Art
in Education Teaching Institute
Art in Education Teaching Institute launched the Center for Art and Public Life
and introduced year-round professional classes for artists and teachers in San
Francisco in, 2007. For information about ongoing classes the Institute, click
here.
Resources,
Funding Opportunities
Funding
for Inclusive Public School Arts Programs
VSA arts and MetLife Foundation today announced their 5th annual "Arts Connect
All" grant opportunity for arts organizations to create or enhance inclusive
educational programs by strengthening partnerships with local public schools. Click
here for more information.
Communications
Manager
California Alliance for Arts Education is seeking a Communications Manager
to expand public education, engagement and advocacy initiatives.
The communications professional(.75 FTE) will implement online engagement
strategies, build media relations and editorial outreach, develop and manage
web content, set up visibility opportunities, train advocates. Required
minimum 3 years experience in communications, public relations, or marketing
and track record of successfully implementing communications tactics in
an issue advocacy campaign. Click
here for full job description. Email cover
letter, resume, 3 references to caae@artsed411.org.
ArtsEdMail provides all the latest information to connect the Arts Education community in California. Our free e-newsletter is published every two weeks.
We rely on you to support our efforts.
Become an advocate or make a donation today!
Redistribution of this e-mail news bulletin is encouraged.
Copyright. California Alliance for Arts Education.