National Endowment for the Arts Announces First Round of Participants in Education Leaders InstituteInstitute will convene arts education stakeholders November 14, 2007
Washington, DC -- While there is increasing support for arts education in the K-12 curriculum, it remains on the margins in many schools. To help put more muscle behind the mandates for arts education, today the National Endowment for the Arts announces the first round of grant recipients to participate in the Education Leaders Institute. Five multidisciplinary teams from states and municipalities across the country will receive NEA support to discuss arts education challenges at the first Institute March 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. The NEA Education Leaders Institute will convene the five teams, which are comprised of school leaders, legislators, policymakers, educators, professional artists, consultants and scholars. Together, these teams will discuss a shared arts education challenge, and jointly develop strategies to strengthen their state's arts education policies and programs. “This is an ideal time to convene decisionmakers on arts learning," said NEA Education Director Sarah Cunningham. “There are resources and opportunities available now, and the Education Leaders Institute will bring national focus and momentum to this issue." The five teams were selected by a panel convened by the Arts Endowment in partnership with the Illinois Arts Council. Each state will supply a team of up to six members including state department of education officials, governor's cabinet members, superintendents, district-level school leaders, artists, and arts advocates. These state teams will discuss a shared arts education challenge, such as assessment, leadership in arts education, curriculum development, and access to arts learning. As participants exchange ideas, plans for innovative partnerships and programs are expected to emerge, coupled with renewed commitment to arts education at the school-district level. A professional evaluation firm will conduct an independent assessment of the workshop, and an executive summary of the evaluation findings will be available to the public. The five teams selected to participate in first Education Leaders Institute are:
The NEA Education Leaders Institute is modeled on the successful Mayors' Institute of City Design (MICD), a 20-year partnership program of the National Endowment for the Arts, The U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the American Architectural Foundation. Since 1986, more than 700 mayors and hundreds of design professionals have attended design institutes dealing with urban planning issues such as downtown and waterfront developments, transportation, housing, schools, and public facilities. The NEA Education Leaders Institute seeks to give leaders a similar platform to school leaders, legislators and policymakers to discuss the challenges of arts education and develop concrete strategies to strengthen their states' arts education policies and programs. The NEA is working in cooperation with the Illinois Arts Council to implement the Education Leaders Institute. The Illinois Arts Council has broad experience with state and local government collaborations, and ample expertise in arts-in-education issues. The Council will partner with the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Arts Alliance, a statewide advocacy agency. The first NEA Education Leaders Institute takes place in March 2008, to be followed by a second institute in the summer of 2008. NEA Learning in the Arts Since its inception in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has not only maintained support for arts education programs in and outside of school, but has provided leadership in the federal sector and among arts, education, business, and government organizations to develop and sustain an agenda for arts education improvement. The agency has led efforts to make the arts a part of the core education for all pre-K through grade 12 students and to increase opportunities outside of school settings for additional arts learning. The Arts Endowment provides direct grants in Arts Learning, collaborates in federal, state, and public-private partnerships, and conducts research on arts education for the K-12 community and lifelong learners. About the Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, is committed to the cultural, educational and economic growth of the diverse people and communities of our state through support and encouragement of artists and the arts. About the National Endowment for the Arts The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts -- both new and established -- bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency |