Two grants are awarded, one to VSA and the other to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center).

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' impact and responsibility reaches Across America, and this is particularly the case with the Center's education programs. For more than 35 years, the Kennedy Center's Education Department has provided quality arts experiences for students, teachers, families, and the general public throughout the U.S. Its education programs annually impact more than 10 million people. The resources of the Department are focused on producing, presenting, and touring performances and educational events for young people and their families; school and community-based residencies and other programs that impact teachers, students, administrators, and artists through professional development; systemic and school improvement through arts-integrated curriculum and partnerships; creating and providing educational materials via print and through ArtsEdge; and the development of careers in the arts for young people and aspiring professionals, such as the American College Theater Festival. A special initiative of the Center's Education Department, Any Given Child, is seeking to bring access, balance, and equity to each child’s arts education by creating long-term arts education plans for students in grades K-8 in selected cities and communities across the country.

Resources:

• John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Education Activities:
  www.kennedy-center.org/education

• Performances for School Groups: http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/schoolguide/schoolguide.cfm

• Explore the Arts: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/plus and
  http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/ceta

• Partnerships in Education Program: http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/partners

• Arts Edge : http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/

• American College Theatre Festival: http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/actf

• Special initiative, "Any Given Child": http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/anygivenchild

VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, was founded more than 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and to increase access to the arts for all. With more than 50 international affiliates and a network of nationwide affiliates, VSA's various programs impact an estimated 7 million people of all ages annually. VSA provides educators, parents, and artists with the resources and tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities through a number of national programs, from its International Young Soloists Competition to the annual Young Playwright's Award to national visual arts exhibitions. It partners with both the public and private sectors to increase education opportunities, such as through the VSA and CVS Caremark All Kids Can initiative. VSA also offers a wide range of curricular and instructional resources to its affiliates and the public and sponsors a number of professional development programs and initiatives such as the VSA Institute in locations nationwide and Communities of Practice, which provides ongoing professional development opportunities for teaching artists who work with students with disabilities. Every five years, VSA sponsors the International VSA Festival, the most recent of which occurred in June 2010, in Washington, D.C. VSA is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Resources:

• Welcome to VSA: www.vsarts.org

• Worldwide Affiliates: http://www.vsarts.org/x103.xml

• USA Affiliates: http://www.vsarts.org/x302.xml

• Meet VSA's Artists: http://www.vsarts.org/x203.xml

• International Soloist Awards: http://www.vsarts.org/x22.xml

• Playwright Discovery Program: http://www.vsarts.org/x244.xml

• Volkswagen Group of America Exhibition: http://www.vsarts.org/x5796.xml

• VSA/CVS Caremark Partnership: http://www.vsarts.org/x5795.xml

• VSA Education Programs: http://www.vsarts.org/x1590.xml

• Professional Development in Art, Education and Inclusion: http://www.vsarts.org/x170.xml

• Communities of Practice: http://www.vsarts.org/x2252.xml