The Advocacy
Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts
advocacy and arts education
EdTA
NEWS
Amy Bennett Foundation Awards
Inaugural Scholarships: At
this summer’s Thespian Festival, the first ever Thespian scholarships awarded
by the Amy Bennett Foundation were presented to two Thespians. The foundation
was created September 2014 in memory of Arizona Thespian alum Amy Bennett.
Performing Arts Public Radio Show
Features EdTA: This
month, Executive Director Julie Theobald made a guest appearance on public
radio show “The Voice of the Performing Arts”. EdTA’s International Thespian
Society, JumpStart Theatre Program, and Thespian Festival were among topics
covered in the broadcast. The podcast is currently available online.
Chris Hunt Tribute Fund: EdTA Director of Marketing,
Christopher Hunt, passed away from an apparent heart attack this past weekend,
September 11-13. Chris made a profound impact on our organization and aided in
EdTA’s tremendous growth over the past 15 years; he will be missed dearly. A
tribute fund has been set up in his memory to award the “Chris Hunt
Scholarship” to a student in 2016. Donations to the Chris Hunt Tribute Fund can
be made here.
NATIONAL
NEWS
National
Arts in Education Week: The arts are an essential part of a complete
education, no matter if it happens in the home, school, or community. Students
of all ages benefit from artistic learning, innovative thinking, and
creativity. Celebrating National arts Education Week, September 13-19, is a way
to recognize this impact and share the message with friends, family, and
communities. (Americans for the Arts)
What’s
Your Arts Story?: This year is the 50th anniversary
of the signing of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of
1965, which created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National
Endowment for the Humanities. To better recount the story of the NEA and the
arts in America, we want to share your story of how the arts have influenced
your life. (National Endowment for the
Arts)
High
School Arts Educators Called to Pilot Standards: The
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) has issued a call for high
school arts educators to pilot the National Core Arts Standards Model
Cornerstone Assessments (MCAs) in dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual
arts during the 2015-2016 school year. Twelve to fifteen pilot educators from
each arts discipline will be selected with an effort to achieve a balance of
rural, suburban, and urban classroom settings across the country. (NCCAS)
Broadway
Back to School Benefit for Theatre Arts Education: On
September 20th, the International Thespian Society and the
Educational Theatre Association will proudly present “Broadway Back to School
2015”, a benefit to support theatre arts education for underserved students and
schools. Susan Blackwell and Hunter Bell of [title
of show] will be co-hosting the musical event full of Broadway’s brightest
stars. The event will take place in New York City at Feinstein’s 54 Below. (Playbill)
STATE
NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts
education news you want to share? Send it to Anna amarsala@schooltheatre.org
Connecticut:
Jim Reilly runs for Greenwich First
Selectman; Pushes Arts (Greenwich Time)
Delaware:
Delaware Division of the Arts Announces
Grant Opportunity for Schools
(Delaware.gov)
Idaho:
Boise City Department of Arts and
History Announces 2016 Grant Recipients (Idaho Statesman)
Illinois:
Decatur Area Arts Council Brings
Culture to the Masses (The Herald Review)
Indiana:
Indianapolis Public Schools, Arts
Council, Kennedy Center Join to Push Arts Education (Indianapolis Star)
Michigan:
White House Announces University of
Michigan Society as National Medal of Arts Winner (Farmington-Farmington Hills Patch)
Minnesota:
Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council
to Award 2016 Arts Grants
(LaCrosse Tribune)
Missouri:
St Louis’ Grand Center Arts
Teachers Explain Unionization Push (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
New
Jersey: Englewood’s Bergen Performing Arts
Center’s Arts School Now Open
(Broadway World)
North
Dakota: Arts Council Fellowship Represents
Artist’s Validation (Grand Forks Herald)
Ohio:
Cleveland Schools’ Arts Guru Takes
Reins of Karamu Theater (Cleveland.com)
Pennsylvania:
Lehigh Valley Charter High School
for the Arts Celebrates New School (Lehigh Valley Live)
South
Carolina: South Carolina Arts Commission
Awards $3.2M in Grants (The Times and Democrat)
Tennessee:
Austin Peay State University Moves
Forward with $21.3M Fine Arts Building (The Leaf-Chronicle)
Utah:
Arts Leaders Call on Governor
Herbert to Invest in Arts
(The Salt Lake Tribune)
WORTH
READING
Does
ESEA Reauthorization Connect to the National Core Arts Standards?: The
Senate version of ESEA, “Every Child Achieves Act”, contains language which is
supportive of the intent and the content of the 2014 National Core Arts
Standards. The Senate bill includes a listing of core academic subjects which
funding in the bill can support. The bill also includes language which is
supportive of states creating rigorous academic content standards in all core
academic subjects, including the arts. (Americans
for the Arts)
Part of Your World – On The Arts
and Wellbeing: A
large and emerging literature on the topic of wellbeing has a lot to teach us
about the arts’ role in society. Describing the benefits of arts ecosystem
outcomes in the language of wellbeing could earn the field a proper seat at the
table in conversations about human progress without downplaying the so-called
“intrinsic” benefits of the arts. (Create
Equity)