The Advocacy Update is where you can find state and national news about theatre and other arts education
EdTA NEWS
Thespian Scholarship and Teacher Grant Applications Due April 1: Apply for EdTA’s grants and scholarships now! Grants are available to thespians, troupes, and educators. Applications are due on April 1.
Thespian Festival registration is now open:. “Hit your mark” at Thespian Festival 2015 in Lincoln Nebraska, June 22-27. Registration closes May 1.
NATIONAL NEWS
Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts Applications Now Open: The College Board Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts annually recognizes and celebrates the achievements of arts initiatives for students in grades 6-12 that promote learning and creativity in exemplary and innovative ways. Applications due April 13.
National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week March 15-21: Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) is proud to announce the National Young Audiences for Arts for Learning Week. The YA network plans to raise awareness of arts and education initiatives in schools and communities through public programming and special arts events.
Arts Education Partnership State Policy Symposium: Saturday, March 21, 2015, the Arts Education Partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, in collaboration with Americans for the Arts and the Kennedy Center, is hosting a one-day Art in Education Symposium. With a strong federal and state policy environment in support of K-12 arts education, the arts can lead the way for student success.
“Love Arts Ed” Campaign Promotes Access to Arts Education: Americans for the Arts and the cast of Pivot’s “Freestyle Love Supreme” have joined forces to launch “Love Arts Ed”. The campaign champions the belief that the arts should be prioritized in core curricula in schools across the country.
John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Receives $1 Million Grant: The Kennedy Center has announced a $1 million grant from Newman’s Own Foundation in honor of A. E. Hotchner and his many contributions to the success of Newman’s Own. The grant will assist underserved communities participate in the Kennedy Center’s Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child program.
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to Anna amarsala@schooltheatre.org
Arizona: High School Students Could Sub Career Education Courses for Fine Arts Requirement In Near Future (Arizona Central)
California: Senators Fuller and Allen Help Declare March 2015 as “Arts Education Month” (Office of Senator Ben Allen)
Colorado: Denver Center for Performing Arts Gala Raises $907K for Theater Education Programs (The Denver Post)
Florida: Record Results for the Cathedral Arts Project (Jacksonville Daily Record)
Iowa: Sioux City School to Offer an Arts-Centered Education in 2015 (Sioux City Journal)
Massachusetts: Arts Group Stands Up to Governor Baker and Limited Arts Funding (WHAV)
Missouri: Monsanto Fund Awards $25,000 to Arts and Education Council for Programs in Rural Communities (St. Louis Today)
Texas: Texas Cultural Trust Gives Grants to Inspire the Arts (Tyler Morning Telegraph)
WORTH READING
Arts Education Poised for a Comeback: After years of budget cuts, and a narrowing of curriculum at public schools across the country, urban school districts, such as New York and Chicago, are taking bold steps to expand the school day curriculum and once again invest in arts education. (Huffington Post)
Arts-Based Education Will Power the Creative Economy: “Robots and foreign labors will never be able to replace creative people in creating sectors making new and desirable products and services,” says UCLA economist William Yu. “Therefore, arts education, which is an investment in our future creative workforce, will become a crucial element in our education system”. (Big Think)
National Endowment of the Arts’ Jane Chu Calls for Focus on Education: Amid a national conversation about the decline of arts education, NEA Chairwoman Jane Chu visited Southern California and area arts programs. As the agency celebrates its 50th anniversary, Chu said she wants to continue the conversation about the importance of arts and arts education. (LA Times)
Why We Need Art – A Conversation with Playwright Marcus Gardley: Some people fight injustice through the courts, others with civil disobedience, and still others with their art. Award-winning playwright Marcus Gardley falls into the third category. “Somehow art gets at the soul of who we are as a people. Histories get rewritten and changed…But art, for some reason, manages to remain untainted”. (National Endowment for the Arts)