IEA Newsletter - Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts weekly newsletter for January 31, 2007. The newsletter is published to the IEA listserv each Wednesday morning and is archived here.

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REPORTS
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THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP 2006 STUDY
Northwest Evaluation Association
"NWEA researchers have released a new study on the achievement gap. The achievement gap is the difference between the academic performance of students in poor versus wealthy schools and between minority and non-minority students. The study revealed that for every group at every grade, students from poor schools grew less than students from wealthy schools and minority students exhibited less growth than their non-minority peers."
Register and download the report here:
http://www.nwea.org/research/achievementgap.asp

STUDY: BROADEN EDUCATION
SCHOOLS NEGLECT HIGH ACHIEVERS, FORUM ARGUES
Todd Silberman, News & Observer (North Carolina), 1/17/07
"North Carolina's intense focus on boosting passing rates on math and reading tests has meant less emphasis on subjects such as science and foreign languages and has left high-achieving students with too little attention, a new report asserts. The study, issued Tuesday by the influential N.C. Public School Forum, urges state education leaders to make the state's schools more internationally competitive by rethinking a decade-old accountability system, do more to strengthen the skills of teachers and broaden students' knowledge about the world."
Read the article:
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/533115.html
Read the report:
http://www.ncforum.org/


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BLOG FOR ARTS ADMINSTRATORS
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BARRY’S BLOG
Western States Arts Federation
Barry announces changes to his blog, including roundtable discussions with members of the Hessianus group of arts leaders, one-on-one interviews with arts leaders, and blogging from arts administration conferences.
Read more or sign up to receive postings by email:
http://www.westaf.org/blog/

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EDUCATIONAL POLICY
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NCLB 2.0 PART I
Interview of Congressman George Miller by James Daly, Edutopia, 1/17/07
"Congressman George Miller (D-CA) took the helm of the Committee on Education and Labor, one of the most important positions on Capitol Hill. Miller, a long-term advocate for improvement in public education (and a member of The George Lucas Educational Foundation's advisory board) has a busy year ahead: The No Child Left Behind Act is up for reauthorization. Tech challenges face many districts. Some schools are physically crumbling. Dropout rates are unacceptable. A few days before Miller left for his leadership position in Washington, DC, Edutopia editor in chief James Daly sat down with him at his office in Walnut Creek, California."
Read the interview:
http://edutopia.org/php/interview.php?id=Art_1764


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ARTS ADVOCACY DAY
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ARTS ADVOCACY DAY: MARCH 12 - 13, 2007
Americans for the Arts
This year's events include a day of legislative training, guest speakers, the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy presented by Emmy Award-winning journalist Robert McNeil, receptions, the Congressional Arts Breakfast on Capitol Hill, and lobbying visits.
Learn more:
http://www.artsusa.org/events/2007/aad/default.asp


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ARTS AND SCIENCE
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MAKE BEAUTIFUL BRAIN MUSIC
Robert Andrews, Wired News, 1/22/07
"Move over, woodwind and strings -- in the future, the ultimate musical instrument could be the human brain. Artist Luciana Haill uses medical electroencephalogram, or EEG, monitors embedded in a Bluetooth-enabled sweatband to record the activity of her frontal lobes, then beams the data to a computer that plays it back as song. Now Haill is taking her gig on the road, joining 30 experimental artists this week to showcase creative and wacky new audio technologies on the Future of Sound tour of England. Audience members will be asked to don the electrodes so they can jointly think up a harmony."
Read more:
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,72528-0.html?tw=wn_index_17


AWARD FOR ART BASED ON SCIENCE
Scenta (UK), 1/12/07
"February will see the launch of the Arts Awards, a new funding scheme to encourage original arts projects inspired by biomedical science. The initiative is funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest medical research charity, which spends £500 million each year to support scientific research. By funding artistic projects the Trust hopes to increase public awareness of science and stimulate debate about biomedical issues."
Learn more:
http://www.scenta.co.uk/scenta/news.cfm?cit_id=1423942&FAArea1=widgets.content_view_1


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LIBRARIES AND TECHNOLOGY
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GATES FOUNDATION RENEWS LIBRARY VENTURE
Donna Gordon Blankinship, AP/Washington Post, 1/18/07
"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is renewing its effort to support free access to the Internet in U.S. libraries by providing new computers and high-speed connections to those that have struggled to keep up with technology. A new series of grants beginning with an $11.5 million investment last month will continue to put millions of dollars into libraries in 32 states, said Jill Nishi, program manager for the foundation's library initiative. The foundation bought new hardware for libraries in the other 18 states last year."
Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/18/AR2007011800153.html


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GRANTS, FUNDING, AND AWARDS
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DROP EVERYTHING AND READ BOOKSHELF AWARDS
NEA Foundation and the National Education Association
“In celebration of National Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) Day, these awards are made possible in part with support from HarperCollinsChildren's Books as part of the NEA's commitment to promote children's literacy and motivate readers of all ages. This program awards $500 to public schools for the purchase of books and reading materials that will entice students to drop everything and read.” Deadline: March 12, 2007
Learn more:
http://www.neafoundation.org/programs/DEAR%200607.htm

LEARNING IN THE ARTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
National Endowment for the Arts
To advance arts education for children and youth in school-based or community-based settings. This category supports in-depth, curriculum-based arts education experiences that occur over an extended period. Projects must provide participatory learning and engage students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art. All projects must include the following components: 1) the opportunity for students and their teachers to experience exemplary works of art, in live form wherever possible; 2) study of the art experienced including the acquisition of skills for practicing the art form where appropriate; 3) the performance/making of art within the discipline(s) studied; and 4) assessment of student learning according to national or state arts education standards. Deadline: June 11, 2007
Learn more:
http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/Artsed.html

MUSIC: ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE
National Endowment for the Arts
"Access to Artistic Excellence encourages and supports artistic creativity, preserves our diverse cultural heritage, and makes the arts more widely available in communities throughout the country. While projects in this category may focus on just one of these areas, the Arts Endowment recognizes that many of the most effective projects encompass both artistic excellence and enhanced access. Support is available to organizations for projects that do one or more of the following:
* Provide opportunities for artists to create, refine, perform, and exhibit their work.
* Present artistic works of all cultures and periods.
* Preserve significant works of art and cultural traditions.
* Enable arts organizations and artists to expand and diversify their audiences.
* Provide opportunities for individuals to experience and participate in a wide range of art forms and activities.
* Enhance the effectiveness of arts organizations and artists.
* Employ the arts in strengthening communities.
The Arts Endowment is particularly interested in projects that extend the arts to underserved populations -- those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability." Deadlines: March 12 & August 13, 2007, depending on the type of grant.
Learn more:
http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/GAP08/MusicAAE.html

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