Welcome to the EdTA Advocacy Update
April 5, 2016
The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education
EdTA NEWS
Playworks, Musicalworks results announced: Dozens of aspiring playwrights and composers submitted an astounding range of material for this year’s Thespian Playworks and Thespian Musicalworks programs—and the judges have completed the hard task of deciding which five to invite to the 2016 International Thespian Festival, June 20-25 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to May mhetzer@schooltheatre.org
California: San Diego Unified Looks to Move Beyond ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ (Voice of San Diego)
Music, arts programs at LA schools increasing after years of decline (LA Daily News)
Florida: Annual exhibition celebrates Youth Art Month (Tallahassee.com)
Georgia: A conversation about the future of the arts with Talia Gibas and Charles Jensen (ArtsATL)
Maryland: A Year Later, Kids Turn Baltimore’s Uprising Into Art (YES! Magazine)
Massachusetts: The Passion of Arts Advocates Driving Change: Kennedy, U.S. Lawmakers, and You (Huffington Post)
Minnesota: The value of arts experiences on education (Rochester, MN)
New Jersey: Paper Mill Playhouse 'Adopts' New Jersey middle schools (Patch.com)
New York: Rosie O'Donnell's Arts Education Nonprofit To Host Annual Spring Benefit (Curve Magazine)
South Carolina: Westminster junior conquers challenges, finds place on stage (Anderson Independent Mail)
Arts are critical part of education (Greenville News)
Utah: Utah Valley University receives millions in state funding for proposed performing arts center (Daily Herald)
Vermont: Vermont Agency of Education Adopts National Core Arts Standards (vtdigger.org)
Wisconsin: First Stage after-school program uses theater to teach literacy and life skills (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
WORTH READING
The Ten-Dollar Founding Father Without a Father: Teaching and Learning With 'Hamilton': Even if they haven’t been to the show itself, teachers all over are using the original cast recording in their classrooms to breathe new life into United States history. (The Learning Network)
What I Hope Students (and Education Policymakers) will see in 'Hamilton': The musical Hamilton tells the captivating story of the first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, and our nation’s founding through songs and hip-hop soliloquys; but from my perspective, the play does much more. (Medium)
Share Your Cultural Equity Grantmaking Strategies with EQUITY 360: Americans for the Arts, with Support from Nathan Cummings Foundation, is developing a new online suite of resources designed to inform and guide grantmaking seeking to establish more equitable funding programs and practices. (Americans for the Arts)