The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education
EdTA NEWS
Thespian Troupe Director Corey Mitchell Wins Theater Education Tony: Corey Mitchell, theatre teacher and director of Thespian troupe 5634 at the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina has been selected to receive the first-ever Excellence in Theatre Education Award. In 2013, Mitchell brought a memorable production of The Color Purple, with a cast, crew, and orchestra of more than a hundred students, to the main stage of the Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska.
NATIONAL NEWS
White House Committee Announces Expansion of Turnaround Arts Program: The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities will expand its successful Turnaround Arts initiative into five additional school districts, as the program continues to help turn around low-performing schools, narrow the achievement gap, and increase student engagement through the arts. (Globe Newswire)
Winner of Inaugural Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award Announced: The Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University have announced Corey Mitchell, Theater Arts Teacher at the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina as the winner of the inaugural Excellence in Theatre Education Award. This special honor recognizes a K-12 theatre educator in the US who has demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students. (Broadway World)
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to Anna amarsala@schooltheatre.org
Arizona: Arts and Culture Venues Offer Learning Opportunities for Families (Arizona Daily Star)
California: Out of Town Students Could be Banned from San Francisco’s Premiere Arts School (San Francisco Chronicle)
California: Los Angeles United School District Seeks Ties with Entertainment Industry (Southern California Public Radio)
California: San Francisco Funnels $7 Million to the Arts (San Francisco Classical Voice)
Colorado: Colorado Nonprofits Receive NEA Funding (Castle Rock News-Press)
Connecticut: Torrington High School Teacher Named Outstanding Art Educator (The Register Citizen News)
Georgia: Georgia Department of Education Creates Fine Arts Position (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Hawaii: Three Hawaii Schools Join National Turnaround Arts Program (Honolulu Star)
Kentucky: Elementary School Turned Arts Magnet in High Demand (The Courier Journal)
Kentucky: VSA Kentucky Provides Cultural Arts Experience for Auburn School (News-Democrat & Leader)
Minnesota: Minnesota Districts Left in Limbo after Gov. Dayton Education Bill Veto (Inforum)
Oklahoma: Allied Arts Works to Reach 2015 Fundraising Goal (The Oklahoman)
Oregon: Right Brain Initiative Receives Increased NEA Funding (Lake Oswego Review)
Pennsylvania: Allentown Schools May See Return of Arts, Music, and Gym (Lehigh Valley Live)
Virginia: Virginians for the Arts Calls for ArtStars Awards Applicants (The Roanoke Times)
Washington: Arts Education in Central Seattle Area Expands with Creative Advantage Partnership (Capitol Hill Times)
Wisconsin: Bicyclists Support Performing Arts in United Performing Arts Fund’s “Ride for the Arts” (Fox6 News Wisconsin)
WORTH READING
Physics Website Posts Pitch for Arts Education: The next big thing in technology probably won’t happen without the arts, according to an article published recently on, of all places, a physics website. Phys.org published a story promoting arts education and other science-driven organizations are beginning to follow suit. (Education Week)
From STEM to STEAM - Arts Education and the Marketplace: STEM curriculum is a significant educational response to concerns that younger Americans lack the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century. Increasingly, the arts, a component left to simmer on the back burner of education priorities, is receiving greater attention and even reintegration into school district curriculums. (Times Bulletin)
Nonacademic skills are key for success. But what should we call them?: More and more people in education agree on the importance of learning stuff other than academics, but no one agrees on what to call that “stuff”. There are least seven major overlapping terms in play. New ones are being coined all the time. (National Public Radio)