IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for December 12, 2007. The newsletter is published each Wednesday and is archived here on the IEA blog. We apologize that technical difficulties have prevented us from sending this newsletter recently.

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BRINGING MORE ARTS AND ARTISTS INTO SCHOOLS
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THE MUSEUM TAKES A FIELD TRIP TO THE CLASSROOM
Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times, 11/7/07
”Armed with a $24-million special endowment, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has begun what its leaders say will be a long-term campaign to help plant visual art instruction securely in county public schools. …Under the program, LACMA-paid instructors should become familiar presences in 18 elementary and middle schools that will be among the primary feeders for a Los Angeles Unified School District downtown arts high school, due to open in 2009. The $1-million-a-year initiative, dubbed LACMA On-Site, will stay in the area, known as Local District 4, for at least four years. Each classroom in seven chosen elementary schools will get an intensive, six-lesson art sequence each year for two years; then the process will repeat in seven other grade schools. Comparable programs will take place in the four middle schools for all four years. Besides working with students, LACMA-sponsored artists aim to be mentors for regular classroom teachers, helping them gain the know-how to keep art learning going after the two or four years are up and the museum's caravan has moved on to a new set of schools.”
Read more (may require free registration)>>


ORGANIZATION USES INNOVATIVE METHODS TO REACH AT-RISK STUDENTS
Pat Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/9/07
"Merryl Goldberg believes the arts can save at-risk students from falling through the cracks by helping them improve their communication, critical thinking and life skills. The Cal State San Marcos professor is so dedicated to her belief that in 2003, she formed Center Artes. The organization helps teach history, language arts, science and math to at-risk students by using art and theater projects. Center Artes educators work with North County middle and high school students enrolled in Advancement Via Individual Determination, a program for at-risk students. 'When we integrate the arts or teach something through the arts, we hear from a lot of teachers, "Oh my God, my students who were underperforming are doing so much better,"' Goldberg said. “What it tells me is that those students weren't necessarily underperforming or low achievers; it's just that now they have this other way to express themselves.' Last month, Goldberg's San Marcos-based organization received a $9,600 grant from the California Arts Council. The funding will allow Center Artes to visit additional middle schools in San Marcos and Vista and work with as many as 900 students. It currently sees between 300 and 500."
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ARTS AND NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
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ARTS EDUCATORS BATTLE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Erika Lovley, The Politico, 11/5/07
”Raising school test scores in reading and math remains the biggest hurdle for No Child Left Behind … But while districts scramble to improve on core subjects, educators say the latest subject to be left behind is arts education. The arts community is hoping to build a partnership with the business community to make music, dance and drawing classes more of a priority in the reauthorization of the education program. Their pitch: Art classes enhance the creative and innovative thinking that drives entrepreneurs. A recent study by the Center on Education Policy indicates that school time spent in art classes has decreased by nearly half since NCLB was passed in 2001 … Arts education was originally included as a core subject in President Bush’s 2001 law — a move the community considered a huge victory. But the arts movement struggled to find both funding and attention after reading and math tests became schools’ main focus. The law also does not require schools to provide the classes. Studies have found that art classes can help students’ performance in other subjects and could even raise test scores. For instance, dance movement can be used to help a child learn rhythm and meter in reading classes, while singing can enrich the memorization of multiplication tables …Although a number of politicians want to see arts funding, money for education is already a touchy subject in Congress, which is trying to allocate money for a host of other domestic priorities.”
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BRINGING MATISSE AND PICASSO INTO THE CLASSROOM
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Lesson Plans: Matisse and Picasso programming
KERA/PBS
Creative lessons for grades 3 – 8 include several ways to integrate study of the painters Matisse and Picasso into the curriculum, including a diamante poem, point of view, diorama, and interviewing a work of art.
Learn more>>



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ONLINE RESOURCES ABOUT ARTS AND ARTISTS
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BRING OREGON ARTISTS INTO THE CLASSROOM
Oregon Public Broadcasting: Oregon Art Beat
For secondary students
”Kids love art. They love to draw, sing, dance and perform. They love using art to express their creativity and personality and to explore their world. Teachers also love using the arts to engage and inspire students, to bring out their creativity, and enhance their learning experiences. That's why OPB has brought together this collection of over 100 video profiles, selected from the OREGON ART BEAT television series, featuring some of the best musicians, dancers, writers, photographers, and visual artists in the state. For each profile, our team of curriculum writers has developed arts-focused lesson plans with related activities, resources and projects to help teachers bring the arts into their classrooms and get kids engaged in learning and creating. Explore the collection of video clips and lesson plans by discipline, grade level, integrated subject or artist name. All of the lesson plans are available to view online and print and have been correlated to the Oregon Content Standards for the Arts. Each lesson plan includes tips on modifying the activities to fit different classroom needs. The video clips are available for you to stream or download to your desktop.”
Learn more>>


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ARTS EDUCATION AND THE RACE TO THE PRESIDENCY
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HUCKABEE SAYS SCHOOL BORES, SO BRING BACK THE ARTS, MUSIC
Jared Strong, Des Moines Register, 11/8/07
November 8, 2007
”One of the biggest problems with the country's education system is that it bores students, Mike Huckabee said Wednesday at a presidential candidate forum hosted by the University of Northern Iowa … Huckabee, who has long complained that education has been largely ignored in Republican presidential debates, proposed an education system that is tailored to each student's needs and places more emphasis on arts and music. ‘We've come to the conclusion that we were behind other countries in math and science, and we've changed requirements,’ the former Arkansas governor said during his 10-minute introductory speech. ‘We've done so at the expense of music and art, and in doing so we've made a huge, stupid mistake.’
Read more>>


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GRANTS, FUNDING, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS
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2008 SMART KIDS YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD|
Deadline: 1/31/08
“Nominations are now open for the fifth annual Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Youth Achievement Award. This $1,000 award recognizing the strengths and accomplishments of young people with learning disabilities and ADHD will be given to a student 19 or younger who has demonstrated initiative, talent, and determination resulting in a notable accomplishment in any field—including art, music, science, math, athletics or community service. Honorable Mentions will also be awarded.”
Learn more>>

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