IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, August 1, 2007

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

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COMMUNITY ARTS EDUCATION CONFERENCE
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2007 CONFERENCE ON COMMUNITY ARTS EDUCATION
National Guild of Community Arts Education
Los Angeles, 11/8 – 11/10/07
“As a conference delegate, you'll learn how to attract new students, fill studios in off-peak hours, recruit and retain talented faculty, establish successful partnerships, employ new technology, raise more money, diversify your course offerings, and more. Workshops are led by nationally renowned experts in the fields of advocacy, arts integration, student assessment, board development, evaluation, finance, fund raising, marketing, partnerships, technology and more. Roundtable sessions bring expert practitioners together to share information and ideas. And our showcases highlight successful programs that you can replicate back home. Join us in Los Angeles as we strive to make high-quality, sequential arts instruction available to every interested child and adult in the United States!”
Learn more or register>>

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ARTS IN SCHOOLS
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BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES PLAN TO SHORE UP ARTS IN SCHOOLS
Jennifer Medina, New York Times, 7/24/07
“Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced yesterday that the city’s Department of Education will require all schools to maintain arts programs, and that principals will be rated in their annual reviews on how well they run those programs. The announcement came just months after the department infuriated arts groups by eliminating a multimillion-dollar program to finance arts education. Under a new set of city standards, the arts curriculums will be judged for comprehensiveness, and potential pay bonuses for principals could be affected. ‘An excellent arts education is essential,’ the mayor said at a news conference at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan … Yesterday’s announcement was met with muted praise and skepticism from arts advocates, who have worried that if no money is targeted for the arts, principals in struggling schools will eliminate arts programs to devote more money to basic reading and math programs.”
Read more>>

HOW THE ARTS MAKE KIDS SMARTER
Mary Belle McCorkle and Shirley Kiser, Guest Editorialists, Tucson (AZ) Citizen, 7/9/07
“Both the Tucson Regional Town Hall and the TREO Economic Blueprint recently issued recommendations for improving Tucson's public schools. We, too, want to see the schools improved. But in our zest for improvement, we shouldn't ignore effective programs already providing our children better educations. One in particular, Opening Minds Through the Arts, is creating a buzz across the U.S. It all started in the spring of 2000, when Gene Jones, a businessman, … heard of an experimental program in North Carolina that brought orchestra players into the classrooms not just to expose kids to the pleasures of music, but also to help classroom teachers impart curriculum and teach basic skills. The program had been remarkably successful in raising kids' test scores. Jones, a philanthropist with a lifelong interest in music and education, got so excited that he scooped up several local educators and flew them across the country to see the program in action. They came away ‘on fire’ with the idea of implementing a similar program in TUSD, but, as Jones said, ‘determined to do it better and on a much bigger scale.’
Read more>>

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ARTS IN A CHANGING ECONOMY
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ART AS A COMMUNITY PILLAR
Bridgette Redman, Flyover Blog at Artsjournal.com
“I live in a community that is in the process of transforming itself with several visions competing with each other for what the future will look like. Lansing [Michigan] had always prided its stability on its three-pronged economy. We had the state government, [Michigan State University], and Oldsmobile. When one suffered, another usually thrived, keeping things in balance until adjustments could be made. Well, Oldsmobile is now gone and there is little of the auto industry left here. So the question is asked--as it is in many places around the country--what will we look like now? Some that I've talked to over the past few months want the arts to become a central pillar of the economy. There is a dream that if the many existing organizations were to collaborate and obtain civic support, the arts could start generating the money lost by the auto industry. It's a tough argument.”
Read more>>

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ARTS IN POLITICS
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IS BILL RICHARDSON THE ARTS CANDIDATE?
Lee Rosenbaum, CultureGrrl blog, Artsjournal.com, 7/24/07
“Who would have thought that art would make it into last night's Democratic Presidential debate? It made a cameo appearance during the discussion of education, when Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico actually said the "A"-word. Let's go to the transcript:
RICHARDSON: I would have a major federal program of art in the schools...
(APPLAUSE)
... music, dancing, sculpture, and the arts.
(APPLAUSE)
Read the blog posting>>
Read the debate transcript>>

ARTIST DEDUCTION BILLS CONTINUE TO GAIN SUPPORT
Americans for the Arts Web site, 7/9/07
“The Artist-Museum Partnership Act (commonly known as the 'Artist Deduction bill') has been gaining co-sponsors since it was re-introduced earlier this year. The House bill H.R. 1524 introduced by Reps. John Lewis (D-GA) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) now has 50 co-sponsors. Additionally, the Senate bill S. 548 introduced by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Robert Bennett (R-UT) has 23 co-sponsors. The legislation supports individual artists by allowing them to take a fair-market value tax deduction for tangible works they donate to nonprofit collecting and educational organizations, and it benefits the public by giving them access to more art. Many of the cosponsors are legislators who sit on the tax-writing committees, which would demonstrate a real interest in approving this legislation.”
Learn more>>

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ON THE AIR
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”BYE KIDS” – WHERE TEACHERS GO IN SUMMERTIME
Larry Abramson, National Public Radio, 7/13/07
“Ever wonder what teachers do over the long summer break? Many teachers take classes, travel on exotic exchange programs, or do fancy research, all in preparation for the coming school years. Others catch up on their reading, or use the time to recharge their batteries.”
Listen to the story>>

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GRANTS, FUNDING, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS
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LEARNING & LEADERSHIP GRANTS
National Education Association
Deadlines: 10/15/07, 2/1/08, or 6/1/08
”Grants support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education for one of the following two purposes: grants to individuals fund participation in high-quality professional development experiences, such as summer institutes or action research, or grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, or mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.”
Learn more>>

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