IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts weekly newsletter for May 9, 2007. The newsletter is published each Wednesday morning to the IEA listserv and is archived here on the IEA blog .

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REPORTS
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WHO’S COUNTED? WHO’S COUNTING? UNDERSTANDING HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATES
Alliance for Excellent Education, 6/06
“Graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of whether or not the nation’s public school system is doing what it is intended to do: enroll, engage, and educate youth to be productive members of society. In today’s increasingly competitive global economy, graduating high school is a critical step towards securing a good job and a promising future. Yet nationally, one-third of our students—about 1.2 million each year—leave high school without a diploma, and graduation rates for poor and minority students are even lower. The failure to graduate every child prepared for the 21st century has serious consequences for both individual students and the rest of American society. Yet, the unacceptably low graduation rates of America’s youth have been obscured for far too long by inaccurate data, misleading calculations and reporting, and flawed accountability systems. Nationally, and for each state, Understanding High School Graduation Rates illustrates the discrepancies in graduation rates reported by government and independent sources, examines why this is important, and describes three core policy areas that are fundamental to calculating, reporting, and improving accurate graduation rates.”
Learn more and download the report>>

2006 NATIONAL ARTS POLICY ROUNDTABLE:
THE FUTURE OF PRIVATE SECTOR GIVING TO THE ARTS IN AMERICA
Americans for the Arts
“Twenty-nine leaders from the public and private sectors convened at Sundance Preserve for the Americans for the Arts National Arts Policy Roundtable in October 2006 to address the serious decline of market share in philanthropy in the arts and The Future of Private Sector Giving to the Arts in America … Research conducted by Americans for the Arts and presented at the Roundtable suggests that the arts are in the midst of a major shift in how nonprofit arts organizations are supported. These groups derive 43 percent of their revenue from private contributions, so sharp declines in philanthropy can radically alter America’s nonprofit cultural landscape. There are signs that this facet of the arts sector is at risk.”
Learn more and read the report>>

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A VIEW OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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DVD: THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SPEAKS
American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
“The Public School Speaks shines a light on all that’s right with public schools today and effectively responds to the harsh criticism schools sometimes face. The film’s inspiring message and powerful visual images make the case for increased financial and public support for the nation’s public schools. The DVD, which features many AASA members, is based on an article written by public education advocate Frosty Troy for AASA’s The School Administrator magazine. It is co-sponsored by AASA and the Indiana Association of Educational Service Centers and was produced by the Central Indiana Educational Service Center’s award-winning video production team.”
Learn more and view a 30-second clip>>

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ARTS IN EDUCATION
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LEADING TO CHANGE / ACADEMICS AND THE ARTS
Douglas Reeves, Educational Leadership, 2/07
“Leaders set priorities. With multiple demands on limited school resources and classroom time, an essential job of every school leader is allocating resources to produce the greatest student success. In some schools—often those serving large proportions of poor and minority students—the imperative to raise test scores in literacy and math has led administrators to sacrifice seemingly nonrelated subjects, such as music and art. The debate about this trade-off is often contentious. Proponents view putting core academics first as a matter of social justice: If economically disadvantaged students lack essential literacy and math skills, then no amount of music or art will give them economic opportunity and self-sufficiency. Proponents of the arts claim with equal vigor that by exposing students in some schools to a rich, varied curriculum and consigning students in other schools to endless reading and math drills, we are only exacerbating opportunity gaps based on race and economics.”
Read more (click on Feb. 2007 and scroll down)>>

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STUDENT ACCESS TO ARTS PERFORMANCES
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PUPILS GET FREE CONCERT TICKETS
BBC News, 4/26/07
“England's eight top symphony orchestras are jointly promising that they will give every schoolchild free entry to a classical music concert. The goal is part of a 10-year plan to promote classical music, which includes a prize for budding composers. The organizers fear that with a crowded curriculum and tight budgets, music easily gets squeezed out of timetables. They say it enriches children's lives, teaches the value of sustained effort and can help disruptive youngsters.”
Read more>>

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ARTS EDUCATION FORUM
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FORUM: ARTS EDUCATION IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA
Arts Education Partnership, 6/10 – 6/11/07
Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma City, OK
“Activities include: plenary discussion featuring Sir Ken Robinson, internationally renowned expert on innovation and creativity as well as advisor to the Oklahoma Creativity Project, and V. Burns Hargis, Vice Chairman of Bank of Oklahoma; plenary by Susan Sclafani, Managing Director, Chartwell Education Group and former counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Education and Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, on ‘Tough Choices or Tough Times,’ a report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce; plenary discussion on ‘From Connectivity to Creativity: Educating a New Generation of Tech-Savvy Students in and through the Arts;; breakout sessions exploring topics ranging from new research to interdisciplinary higher education programs; and Washington Watch.”
Online registration by 5/25/07>>
Learn more>>

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LEADERSHIP IN THE ARTS
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THE COMING ARTS LEADERSHIP BRAIN DRAIN
Lee Rosenbaum, Culture Grrl blog, 4/30/07
“Where are the new leaders of nonprofit arts organizations and institutions going to come from? According to Involving Youth in Nonprofit Arts Organizations: A Call to Action, report just issued by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, there's a crisis approaching: ‘As baby boomers in the arts approach the end of their careers, nonprofit organizations must act quickly to establish a flow of new, qualified, energetic leaders and decisionmakers to take their place. This entails both offering new opportunities for youth involvement and also converting that involvement into long-term commitment. For the field to be green again, arts professionals must develop strategies today to turn interns into administrators, volunteers into board members, and audience members into active supporters.’ The report blames ‘declining participation in the arts by young people’ as the cause for a coming arts leadership crisis, and offers various strategies for ‘engaging the next generation.’"
Read more of Rosenbaum’s blog>>
Read the Involving Youth report from the Wiliam and Flora Hewlett Foundation>>

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PERFORMING ARTS VIDEOS ONLINE
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ONLINE ARTS VIDEOS
ArtsJournal
ArtsJournal online offers a variety of online arts videos, mostly from YouTube. Videos are kept online for two weeks. Recent postings include Chick Corea and Bobby McFerrin in Spain and Michael Feinstein performing Gershwin at the Library of Congress. (Please keep copyright rules in mind if referencing these works.)
View more>>

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GRANT-WRITING ADVICE
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START SMALL!
Stan Levenson, Campus Technology, 5/1/07
“I’ve been writing grant applications for years, and though some weren’t worth a plug nickel, more than 90 percent of my applications have indeed been successful. Here’s why: Over the years, I have discovered that learning how to write mini-grants helped me transition to writing successful major grants. (Note: If you don’t get funded the first or second time you apply for a grant, do not get discouraged! There are usually many more applicants than there are funds for grants, so just keep at it—with some smart grant-writing skills, the monies will start to flow in.)”
Read more>>

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GRANTS, FUNDING, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS
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SUMMER STIPENDS
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing advanced research that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the public's understanding of the humanities. Recipients usually produce scholarly articles, monographs on specialized subjects, books on broad topics, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly tools. Summer Stipends support full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two months. Applicants may be faculty or staff members of colleges, universities, or primary or secondary schools, or they may be independent scholars or writers.” Consult the Web site for a list of ineligible projects. Deadline: 10/2/07.
Learn more >>

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