Grants and Funding

The Institute for Education and the Arts is sharing these grant and funding opportunities.

OCTOBER IS FUNDING FOR ARTS MONTH
The Foundation Center offers special events, classes, and web resources aimed at helping artists and nonprofit arts organizations alike become better grantseekers and increase their funding.
http://foundationcenter.org/focus/arts/

COMMUNITY GRANTS FOR DESIGN EDUCATION
Accent on Architecture Community Grants program assists local nonprofit design and civic organizations in producing innovative public education programming.
http://www.archfoundation.org/aaf/aaf/Programs.AccentGrants.htm

ACCESS AWARD
The Award for Excellence in Arts Access is a $10,000 cash award that honors an organization consistently dedicated to its arts access strategies.
http://www.artspresenters.org/services/metlife_awards.cfm

MUSEUM CORE PROGRAMS SUPPORT
The Museums for America grant program support high-priority activities that advance the museum's mission and strategic goals.
http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/forAmerica.shtm

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T.H.E. Journal: Web-Based Professional Development

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this article about web-based professional development from T.H.E. JOURNAL.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS HOT, HOT, HOT!
By Eliot Levinson, T.H.E. Journal

"Steven Paine, superintendent of education for West Virginia, recently mentioned at a conference that West Virginia requires 18 hours of professional development time for teachers every year. Singapore, he noted, requires 100 hours every year. Left hanging in the air was the question of how to close that gap.

"I think we can close that gap by taking advantage of technology-especially the Web-and the tools it is bringing to schools even today. Consider:

* New technologies allow 24/7 professional development
* New Web-based systems link educational content and management of professional development

"While integrated Web-based professional development systems are in the early stages, it is the technology that all educators should be paying careful attention to. The merger of a variety of PD, assessment, and content companies to provide the new high-quality PD has just begun, and the demand for PD services from school systems is heating up. The result will be that PD will be less about lectures on Wednesday afternoon or graduate courses, and increasingly a mix of Web- and human-delivered content linked to teachers' needs to address standards."

Read more here.

Education Policy, The Teenage Brain, and Distance Learning

The Institute for Education and the Arts is sharing these recent articles about education, policy, and learning.

BUSH MAKING EDUCATION BILL A PRIORITY
By Nedra Pickler, Boston Globe, October 5, 2006

"President Bush said that renewing No Child Left Behind will be a priority for him next year but acknowledged the law isn't working as well for parents as it should. Of more than 2.2 million children eligible for tutoring, only 19% of them got it in 2004-05. Even fewer kids take advantage of the option to transfer to another school -- about 1 or 2% of those eligible. The law is scheduled to be reauthorized by Congress next year, but some education observers have speculated it may be bumped until as late as 2009, after the next presidential election. The sooner the better -- that's the view among dozens of education groups that are seeking changes in the law, such as how kids are tested and how schools are graded. Bush outlined a series of ways (http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/education/) which the law could be improved, such as by expanding testing in high schools. He also said he wants the federal government to pay for 28,000 low income students across the country to transfer to private schools, an initiative he has in the current budget request at a cost of $100 million.”

Read the entire article here.

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TEEN BRAIN EXPOSED
Geoff Maslen, The Age (Australia), October 2, 2006

“RESEARCH into the teenage brain suggests teachers should be more flexible in the way they teach.

“Dr Lorraine Hammond, a senior lecturer in education at Perth's Edith Cowan University, says that thinking is a natural activity but some teenage brains are beyond organising, linking and committing new ideas to memory.

“’Because the frontal lobes of their brains are still developing, this affects teenagers' ability to develop an argument, plan an essay, solve maths problems and organise ideas into words,’ she says.

“The research leads to the conclusion that teachers need to focus on how learning occurs in maturing minds rather than teaching to a prescribed formula. ‘They need to coach, mentor and support this development,’ says Dr Hammond.”

Read the entire article here.

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Educational Technology Articles and Resources

The Institute for Education and the Arts shares these links to information about emerging technologies and education.

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SCIENTISTS: VIDEO GAMES CAN RESHAPE EDUCATION
Ben Feller, USA Today, October 18, 2006

“Scientists call it the next great discovery, a way to captivate students so much they will spend hours learning on their own. It's the new vision of video games. The Federation of American Scientists — which typically weighs in on matters of nuclear weaponry and government secrecy — declared Tuesday that video games can redefine education. Capping a year of study, the group called for federal research into how the addictive pizazz of video games can be converted into serious learning tools for schools.”

Read more here.

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WIKIS FOR EVERYONE
From wikispaces.com

“Wikispaces offers free wikis -- collaboratively authored sites, like Wikipedia.org, that let anyone add or edit content -- to all K-12 teachers.”

Learn more here.

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NO TEST TUBES? DEBATE ON VIRTUAL SCIENCE CLASSES
Sam Dillon, New York Times, October 20, 2006

“When the Internet was just beginning to shake up American education, a chemistry professor photographed thousands of test tubes holding molecular solutions and, working with video game designers, created a simulated laboratory that allowed students to mix chemicals in virtual beakers and watch the reactions.

“In the years since, that virtual chemistry laboratory — as well as other simulations allowing students to dissect virtual animals or to peer into tidal pools in search of virtual anemone — has become a widely used science teaching tool. The virtual chemistry laboratory alone has some 150,000 students seated at computer terminals around the country to try experiments that would be too costly or dangerous to do at their local high schools . . .

“Now, however, a dispute with potentially far-reaching consequences has flared over how far the Internet can go in displacing the brick-and-mortar laboratory. Prompted by skeptical university professors, the College Board, one of the most powerful organizations in American education, is questioning whether Internet-based laboratories are an acceptable substitute for the hands-on culturing of gels and peering through microscopes that have long been essential ingredients of American laboratory science.”

Read the article here .

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GOOGLE FOR EDUCATORS

Google has launched a new website aimed at connecting teachers to its resources, which include the blogging site Blogger, the photo management and editing software Picasa, Google Earth, Google Maps, and more. Educators can subscribe to the Google Educators’ Newsletter and participate in a seminar to become “Google Certified.”

Learn more here.

Grant Opportunities

BOB COSTAS GRANTS TO SUPPORT EXCEPTIONAL AND INNOVATIVE WRITING TEACHERS
From The College Board

“The Bob Costas Grants support exceptional teachers who through their innovative teaching methods motivate their students to write. Winning teachers are awarded grants to enhance successful projects currently under way. Projects can be carried out in school (public or nonpublic), through an after-school writing workshop, or during a summer program. Maximum Award: $2000. Eligibility: Teachers from all academic disciplines grades 6-12. Deadline: November 17, 2006.”

Learn more here.

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AWARDS FOR INNOVATIVE AND PROGRESSIVE THINKING IN EDUCATION
Sponsored by ING

“The ING Unsung Heroes awards programs recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education.” 100 finalists will receive awards of $2000 each; there are larger awards of $5000, $10,000, and $25,000 for the top three award-winners. Full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and classified staff members at accredited public or private US K-12 schools are eligible. The application deadline is April 30, 2007.

Learn more here.

Himalayan Art Website

The Institute for Education and the Arts shares this website about Himalayan art.

Explore Art

"The Explore Art website of the Rubin Museum explores Himalayan and world art through the use of images, sounds, timelines, essays, and stories. The Web site serves as a model for the use of interactive technologies to present a museum collection and scholarship about it."

Visit the site.

Grant Opportunities

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting information about upcoming grants.

$6,500 for arts teachers

Grant Title: Surdna Foundation Arts Teachers Fellowship Program
Organization: Surdna Foundation
Eligibility: Full- and part-time high school arts teachers
Value: $6,500; number of awards varies
Deadline:November 17, 2006
Contact: http://www.surdna.org/programs/programs_show.htm?doc_id=326426&attrib_id=1204

"The Surdna Foundation announces the seventh year of a national initiative to support the artistic revitalization of outstanding arts teachers in specialized, public arts high schools. Surdna recognizes that arts teachers often lack the time and resources to reconnect with other arts professionals and with the artistic processes they teach. Through the program, fellows will design individualized courses of study that will provide both immersion in their own creative work and the opportunity to interact with other professional artists in their fields. Surdna believes that this approach to professional development will enhance the effectiveness of arts teachers and will directly benefit the young people they teach. All fellows accompanied by school leaders will convene in fall 2007 to share experiences and discuss relevant issues and concerns. (Convocation expenses will be paid by Surdna.) Fellows will also be expected to work with colleagues and school administrators to carry out post-fellowship plans, and submit a report on the impact of the fellowship."

$22,500 for teachers who support visual learning and technology

Grant Title: 2007 Inspired Teacher Scholarships for Visual Learning
Organization: Inspiration Software
Eligibility: Educators
Value: 30 awards of $750 each
Deadline: January 11, 2007
Contact: http://www.inspiration.com/scholarship

"Educators are encouraged to apply online or download scholarship forms. Inspired Teacher Scholarships support professional development activities for educators who champion the integration of visual learning and technology into the curriculum. Scholarships will be awarded in February 2007."

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Creative Community Builder's Handbook

The Institute for Education and the Arts posts this link to a handbook for building communities through culture.

Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts, and Culture

Fieldstone Alliance, 2006

Provides practitioners with an understanding of how creative, culturally based projects have played catalytic roles in community change. Includes a summary of research and emerging ideas behind culturally-driven community development; strategies illustrated by case studies; and steps for planning.

Learn more here.

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Getty Museum Leadership Institute

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this information about a professional development program for museum leaders.

MLI: The Museum Leadership Institute, July 8-27, 2007, Los Angeles, CA

The Getty Center

The Museum Leadership Institute, a program of the Getty Leadership Institute, is a three-week residential leadership program for museum directors and senior executives that addresses critical thinking, strategy, the exercise of influence, change management, vision, and values. Admission is competitive. Deadline January 9, 2007.

Read more here.

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Ohio Arts Council publication

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting a link to the latest Ohio Arts Council publication for educators and their partners in arts-integrated learning.

Links and Threads

Ohio Arts Council, Fall 2006

The latest issue of Links and Threads, is now available. Links and Threads is “an electronic newsletter for district and school leaders and their partners who value arts learning as an integral part of the core curriculum. The current issue highlights the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Out Loud program and the first national champion, Ohio’s Jackson Hille.

Access Links and Threads here.

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School Administrators' Perceptions of Public Education

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this article about school administrators’ perception of public education.

The Insiders: How Principals and Superintendents See Public Education Today

Jean Johnson, Ana Maria Arumi and Amber Ott

“The fourth in a series of Reality Check reports finds that most public school superintendents -– and principals to a lesser extent -– think local schools are already in pretty good shape. In fact, more than half of the nation's superintendents consider local schools to be "excellent." Most superintendents (77%) and principals (79%) say low academic standards are not a serious problem where they work. Superintendents are substantially less likely than classroom teachers to believe that too many students get passed through the system without learning.”

Read more here.

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Veterans History Project: Voices of Prisoners of War

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting information about the online Veterans History Project.

Prisoners of War

Library of Congress

"In these videos and audio recordings from the Veterans History Project, an informal history of American war is told through the personal narratives of former prisoners of war. An enlightening collection not just for students of history but also for followers of the current debate on how the U.S. government should handle detainees."

Read more at the Library of Congress website.

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Arts at the Center of Boston Arts Academy

The Institute for Education and the Arts is sharing this article about a public school with arts at the center of its educational mission.

Cross Training

Edutopia, October 2006

”The arts often are sidelined these days in an educational landscape of soaring expenses and standardized exams. As school officials across the country take the red pen to their arts budgets, they generally reason, ‘How do we justify the time and expense of music, dance, or drawing when we have federal benchmarks to meet and little money to spend?’ At the Boston Arts Academy, however, there's nothing dispensable about singing -- or dancing, acting, drawing, and painting. The arts at this public school are central to the mission of educating students in math, science, and the humanities. What could singing lessons possibly have to do with science class? As teachers here see it, tough training in the arts is training for everything important, and it's a kind of preparation teenagers passionately want and need. ‘There's a deep-seated belief here that art allows young people to develop a creative and entrepreneurial understanding of the world,’ says headmaster Linda Nathan, who helped found the school. ‘In arts, kids learn there's not just one right answer. They learn that judgment counts. They learn to connect.’ Using a carefully calibrated mix of rigorous high school academics and classical arts training, this seven-year-old academy aims to help 415 teens become capable, creative men and women -- artists and scholars with a faculty for self-reflection and the drive to continually refine their work. Students, many of whom enter ninth grade with no prior artistic training, choose a major from among theater, dance, instrumental music, vocal music, and visual art. Arts and academics are not separate endeavors here; they are deeply connected disciplines, and teachers draw on the rigors of one to feed another. The results are impressive, reports Grace Rubenstein.”

Read more here.

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Digital Divide Between Immigrants and U.S.-Born

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this article about the digital divide between immigrants and those born in the United States.

Crossing the Divide: Immigrant Youth and Digital Disparity in California

UCSC Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community, 2006

"A study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, finds that the digital divide between immigrants and the native born is widening in the United States, with some immigrant groups less than half as likely to have computer access at home as nonimmigrants. Only 36 percent of Latino immigrant youth have a computer at home, compared with 77 percent of U.S.- born non-Latino youth."

Read more at http://www.cjtc.ucsc.edu/docs/digital.pdf .

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Listserv not currently available in digest/weekly format -- try our blog

Recently, a listserv subscriber inquired about the possibility of a weekly version of the listserv. The Institute staff is exploring possibilities to make the listserv available in a digest format or weekly newsletter. Unfortunately, these options are not available at this time.

In the meantime, you can get the same listserv content in blog format here at edartsinstitute.blogspot.com. This allows you to browse the listserv content at your convenience. You can post comments or send colleagues an email link to a blog posting.

If you use Bloglines or another RSS feeder to organize your blog reading, you can get alerts about the IEA listserv postings to the blog. You can learn more about those options in this previous blog posting.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or ideas on how to improve the listserv.

Music for All Merges with Bands of America

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this article about the merger of two arts organizations.

Music for All Merges with Indiana Organization

Newark Star Ledger (NJ), 9/20/06

”New Jersey's Music for All Foundation is merging with Indiana-based Bands of America, a 31- year-old organization providing instrumental music programs to students, to create "a significantly larger company dedicated to promoting arts education." The new organization, Music for All, Inc, will ‘focus on arts education advocacy, research and public policy and Bands of America's work with music educators and students.’”

Read more here.

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Canadian Study: Music Lessons Help Brain Develop

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this article on the positive relationship between music lessons and brain development.

Music lessons help brain develop: Study

Toronto Star - Canadian Press, 9/19/2006

"Music lessons can help children as young as four show advanced brain development and improve their memory, even when it sounds like a budding musician is banging out little more than noise, a new Canadian study suggests. . . . Even when parents hear only what sounds like random notes or nonsense, it's likely their children are developing their brains in ways that could enhance their overall thinking, said professor Laurel Trainor. . ."

Read more here.

Raising Car Rental Tax to Support the Arts

The Institute for Education and the Arts is information about a plan in North Carolina to use an increase in car rental taxes to support arts projects in Mecklenburg County.

Car rental tax hike OK'd for arts plan
Charlotte Observer (NC), 9/20/2006

In North Carolina, "Mecklenburg County commissioners Tuesday [September 19] approved an increase in the car rental tax, the final major piece of a plan to build $158.5 million in arts projects expected to change the face of uptown. On Dec. 1, the car rental tax will go from 11 percent to 16 percent."

Read more at http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/15560590.htm.

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New IEA Report: Role of the Arts in Teaching and Learning

The Institute for Education and the Arts announces the publication of its latest report, The Role of the Arts in Effective Teaching and Learning, a panel discussion among educators and cultural leaders in Stark County, Ohio. Panelists discussed their own childhood experiences learning through the arts and how those experiences impacted their adult lives. The discussion concludes with specific suggestions and a call to action to increase this generation’s interaction with the arts.

Read the report at http://www.edartsinstitute.org/pdfs/roleofthearts.pdf .

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Developing Artists' Spaces in Massachusetts

The Institute for Education and the Arts is information about a coalition’s effort to develop work and living spaces for Massachusetts artists.

Arts & Civic Groups Launch New Effort to Develop Artist Space

from the Massachusetts Cultural Council

(Boston, MA)… A coalition of major cultural and civic groups today announced the public launch of ArtistLink, an ambitious new effort to help artists, real estate developers, and communities develop work and living space for artists across Massachusetts. ArtistLink and its two new web sites - www.ArtistLink.org & www.ArtspaceFinder.org - mark a new commitment to help artists in Massachusetts advance their work and make a living. Long identified as a priority by arts advocates, developing quality space for artists is also central to efforts to foster the growth of the state's creative economy.

"We have seen time and again how artists provide the creative spark that revitalizes neighborhoods and downtown centers," said Paul Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation, one of the key supporters of the initiative. "But we've also seen those same artists shut out by the rising cost of real estate. ArtistLink will help Massachusetts attract and retain artists, and the creative energy and ideas they bring to our communities."

Led by Director Jason Schupbach, ArtistLink provides technical assistance and advocacy on the development of affordable and permanent spaces where artists can create their work. ArtistLink works primarily on behalf of Massachusetts artists, and also collaborates with arts organizations, real-estate developers, municipalities, and other proponents of artist space. ArtistLink helps create networks among artists, developers, local officials, and funders.

"Artists are the lifeblood of our creative community," said Mary Kelley, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), another key supporter of the project. "But many artists need help working through a very competitive and complex real estate environment. ArtistLink will give them the tools to succeed in that environment, making our communities more vibrant places."

ArtistLink is now facilitating twenty-six artist space projects in eighteen ommunities across the state. When completed, they will account over 300 units of affordable artist live/work space and approximately 350,000 square feet of studio, community arts, gallery, and creative industry spaces.

ArtistLink is also working in an advisory capacity with the cities of Cambridge, Malden, Pittsfield, Somerville, Hyannis, Turner's Falls, Peabody and Worcester on artist zoning, building assessment, and artist certification.

The new web site, www.ArtistLink.org, includes over 85 pages of comprehensive information for artists, developers and municipalities on finding, developing and securing artist space. ArtistLink has also partnered with the Artists Foundation to develop a searchable web database of permanent artist spaces around the state: www.ArtspaceFinder.org, where people can post space and search for artist space in their community for free.

ArtistLink is a collaborative effort of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), the Boston Foundation (TBF), Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), LEF Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), Boston Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Mayor's Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events. It was catalyzed by a grant from Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC).

For more information, visit www.ArtistLink.org.

K-2 Music and Math Grants

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this grant opportunity from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Using Music to Teach Mathmatics Grants for Grades K – 2 Teachers
From the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics:

The purpose of this grant is to incorporate music into the elementary school classroom to help young students learn mathematics. For 2007–2008, grants with a maximum of $3,000 each will be awarded to persons currently teaching mathematics in grades K–2 level. This award is for individual classroom teachers or small groups of teachers collaborating in one grade or across grade levels. Any acquisition of equipment must support the proposed plan but not be the primary focus of the grant. Proposals must address the following: the combining of mathematics and music; the plan for improving students’ learning of mathematics; and the anticipated impact on students’ achievement. This grant is supported by the Esther Mendlesohn Fund and NCTM. Read more at the NCTM website.

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Math Forum at Drexel

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting a link to a math website for classrooms.

Math Forum @ Drexel

The Math Forum Internet Mathematics Library is a comprehensive library of weblinks and the section on math and applications leads to links on math and music, math and arts, and math and literature and poetry. Visit the Forum.

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Schools Creating Conceptually-Thinking Students

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting this article about closing the “Reality Gap.”

Analysis: Schools Must Turn All Students into Conceptual Thinkers
American School Board Journal, April 2006

Former Memphis schools chief Gerry House challenges educators to create a new type of school to close what she calls the Reality Gap, or a combination of the racial achievement gap with one in curriculum rigor. She says successful schools offer a demanding, inquiry-based curriculum in small, personalized learning communities. Read more here.

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Literacy and Boys

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting an article on the role arts can play, along with other approaches, in helping boys learn literacy skills.

With Boys in Mind/Media and Literacy: What's Good?
ASCD/Educational Leadership

In the film Apollo 13, there is chaos at NASA's Mission Control after the explosion in the space capsule. Even during the most serious systems failures, some parts of that system still work-and any solution must build on these working parts, not simply focus on problems or deficiencies. The latest Educational Leadership examines how this concept can be used to improve the literacy among boys. Read more.

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Funding Opportunities and Competition

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two notices of funding opportunities and one arts competition.


New $50M arts program will reach every San Francisco student
San Francisco Chronicle, September 28, 2006

Thanks to funding from a 2004 voter-approved initiative and the state, the San Francisco school system will offer a comprehensive district wide program in the visual and performing arts. Under the $50 million Arts Education Master Plan, due to be formally unveiled Thursday, every school will have an arts coordinator and receive a budget that can be used for such items as arts supplies, teachers or visiting artists. Read the article here.

Grants to Create and Implement Fine Arts Program
From the National Education Association (NEA) Foundation

Fine Arts grants are awarded to teachers, through local NEA affiliates, to enable them to create and implement fine arts programs that promote learning among students at risk of school failure. Programs must address the arts (painting, culpture, photography, music, theater, dance, design, media, or folk arts). Eligibility: members of the National Education Association teaching grades 6-12 working in a U.S. public secondary school serving economically disadvantaged students. Maximum Award: $2,000. Deadline: December 15, 2006. View the guidelines website.

NCCREST Art Contest
From NCCREST

The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems invites K-12 students and adults to submit artworks on the subject of the impact of race, class, and culture in our schools. The grand prize is $300 and a trip for two to Washington, D.C.; submissions are due October 31. For more information visit the NCCREST website.

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