Welcome to the EdTA Advocacy Update
October 24, 2017
The Advocacy Update is where you can find current national and state news concerning arts advocacy and arts education.
EdTA NEWS
Broadway Stars Give Back to School Theatre at Educational Theatre Association Event
The evening featured Broadway stars performing alongside high school students who are inducted members of the theatre honor society for students, the International Thespian Society (ITS), and supports access and excellence in theatre for underserved schools. (Broadway World)
NATIONAL NEWS
Musical Theatre Songwriting Challenge
The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts partnering with the American Theatre Wing and in collaboration with Playbill, Inc. and Disney Theatrical Productions. The Songwriting Challenge is a national competition for high school students who have a passion for writing songs that could be part of a musical theater production. (American Theatre Wing)
Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow Nominations
The Kennedy Center, a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, honors our 35th President everyday by uplifting ideals from his legacy (service, justice, freedom, courage, and gratitude) that live through the arts. As part of this celebration of legacy, the Kennedy Center launched the "Citizen Artist Fellow Recognition" in 2016, which celebrates emerging artists across the country who utilize their art form for positive impact on communities. (Kennedy Center)
STATE NEWS
Got state theatre and other arts education news you want to share? Send it to Shea: shaney@schooltheatre.org
Alabama: UNA Education Students Have Art Festival for Special Needs Students (Times Daily)
California: Downtown Riverside Event to Celebrate Arts, Education, Innovation (Banning Patch)
Newhall Board to Form Foundation for Family Theatre (The Signal)
Festival Napa Valley Donates Local Arts (Napa Valley Register)
Florida: Art Meets Commerce: Kia Program Fueling Creativity (Tallahassee Democrat)
Karen Pence Promotes Art Therapy Initiative at Florida State (Tallahassee Democrat)
Arts Classes Give STEM Kids the STEAM to Succeed in Life (Orlando Sentinel)
Georgia: News: Georgia Council for the Arts Launches New Arts Education Campaign (Arts ATL)
‘Touch the Face of God’ Play Finds Challenges of Challenger Disaster (Valdosta Daily Times)
Illinois: Local School District Awarded Millions in Federal Grant (WAND)
Iowa: How a First-Grade Teacher’s Love for the Arts Just earned $10,000 for her Des Moines School (Des Moines Register)
Kansas: Lied Center to Host Fundraiser Tonight for Lawrence Public Schools Arts Education (The University Daily Kansan)
Maine: Brunswick Junior High School Musical Hits Close to Home (The Forecast)
Midcoast Harvest of Arts Grants (The Republican Journal)
Massachusetts: $740K Federal Grant to Fund Arts Education Professional Development for 4 School Districts (The Berkshire Eagle)
Michigan: State Arts and Cultural Funding gets $1 Million boost for 2018 (MiBiz)
Mississippi: Bringing Vintage Photos to Life. . . Mississippi Humanities Council and Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education Present Bicentennial Celebration Recounting Unheard Stories of Unsung Heroes (Meridian Star)
North Carolina: Arts Council Marks 50th Anniversary (The Robesonian)
New Hampshire: Arts Conference to Emphasize Teaching Innovation, Creativity (US News & World Report)
New York: New Initiative Aims to Have Every New York City Public School Student See a Broadway Show (Playbill)
Student Shakespeare Festival Loses Funding, is Put on Hiatus (Southold Local)
Harlem School of the Arts, Once Shuttered and in Debt, Now Dreams Big (New York Times)
Ohio: Lake County Visitors Bureau Partners with Fine Arts Association, Mentor High School to Raise Music Education Awareness (The News-Herald)
Oklahoma: NSU Center for Tribal Studies Plans Indigenous Arts Education Series (Tahlequah Daily Press)
CCC Hires News Arts/Public Programming Leader (The Newberg Graphic)
Oregon: Portland’5 Centers for the Arts Makes “Billy Elliot: The Musical” a Family Affair (Metro News)
Pennsylvania: District Launches Initiative to Expand and Redesign Arts Education (The Notebook)
Tennessee: Bonnaroo Words Fund Supports Regional and National Organizations with $255,000 in Grant Funding (Herald Chronicle)
Texas: 5 Waco Arts Organizations Win State Funding for Local Projects (Waco Tribune Herald)
Utah: State School Board Approves ‘Hamilton’ Education Program Over Objections of Cost, Vulgarity, and Inaccuracy (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Washington: Edmonds Candidate Forum: School Board Hopefuls Talk About Funding, Diversity, and More (My Edmonds News)
West Virginia: VHI Helps to Give Local Schools Grants to Purchase New Musical Equipment (The Journal)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Canada: Play Creation Project for High School Students, Called the Collective Creation Project (Lake Superior News)
WORTH READING
Music Education for Creativity, Not a Tool for Test Scores
Backers of music education have responded to that pressure by pointing to the academic benefits of learning music, like better grades and improved attendance. But now, some advocates say that rhetoric is missing the point and overlooking the virtues of music that can't be tested. (NPR)