Welcome to the EdTA Advocacy Update
August 1, 2017
The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.
EdTA NEWS
The Educational Theatre Association Holds its Inaugural Theatre Education Advocacy Day
The Educational Theatre Association convened its first Theatre Education Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., on July 21, as part of the organization’s annual Leadership Summit that gathers state chapter directors and board members. Ninety attendees from 30 states participated in a day of advocacy training that included sessions presented by co-sponsor Americans for the Arts, before heading to Capitol Hill to visit more than 100 offices of senators and representatives. (schooltheatre.org)
NATIONAL NEWS
A Bill Funding Arts and Humanities Endowments Passes House Committee
Four months after President Trump proposed eliminating the cultural agencies altogether, a bill to continue to finance the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities won approval this week from the House appropriations committee. (New York Times)
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to Shea: shaney@schooltheatre.org
Alabama: Local Teachers Get Hands-On Lessons at ArtBridges Workshop (Troy Messenger)
Arizona: School Arts Program Given a Reboot, New Name (Nogales International)
Arizona Increases Investment in the Arts, Awards $2.4M in Grants (Scottdale Independent)
California: YMCA Program Helps Kids Keep up STEAM During Summer Break (LA Times)
Delaware: Delaware Division of the Arts Announces First Round of Grants in Support of Arts Projects for Fiscal Year 2018 (Delaware.gov)
Florida: Eagle Arts Academy Opens One of a Kind Arts and Technology Preschool in Wellington (PR Newswire)
Georgia: Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts Announces Three Local ALW Scholarship Recipients (Marietta Daily Journal)
Massachusetts: Arts Backers Voice Concerns with Leominster City Council Over School Funding (Sentinel and Enterprise News)
Michigan: DIA, DSO, MOT Look at Ways to Boost Arts Education in Detroit Schools (Detroit Business)
Minnesota: Perpich Center for Arts Education Names New Executive Director (Star Tribune)
New Hampshire: Study Shows Manchester STEAM Ahead Program Yields Higher GPAs (New Hampshire Union Leader)
New Mexico: Keeping the Art Spark Alive: Save the Music II Benefit Concert Supports TISA's School Arts Program (Taos News)
New York: 50 Sing for Hope Pianos to be Permanently Placed in 50 New York City Schools (PR Newswire)
Photo gallery: 50 Photos from Southside Community Center's 14th Annual CUMEP Concert (Ithaca Voice)
North Carolina: Nita Key Enrichment Focused on Saving Music in NC Schools (Black Press USA)
Ohio: Grants Awarded to Arts Organizations (Canton Rep)
Tennessee: Community Raises over $10,000 to Help Lamplight Theatre Following Theft (WJHL)
Texas: Black Dance Theatre Members Share Love of Dance with Local Youth (The Rivard Report)
Utah: St. George Wine Club Contributes $12,500 to Arts, Education Programs (St. George News)
Virginia: Fairfax County Student Art Exhibited in Department of Education (Washington Times)
Washington: New Sales Tax for the Arts? King County Prop. 1 Prompts Debate about Regressive Tax System and Cultural Access (The Seattle Times)
Wisconsin: Catching Up: Sandburg Elementary Strings Program Going Strong (Wisconsin State Journal)
WORTH READING
Why All Parents Should Care About Arts Education
When we think about “the arts,” often we go huge: the Louvre, Broadway, Swan Lake, Picasso. Perhaps without even realizing it, though, many parents instinctively know the value of the arts and incorporate them into our children’s lives in much smaller ways. Otherwise, why would we give our toddlers that first pack of crayons? (Washington Post)