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 Greetings!
Happy New Year from EPLC in Harrisburg.
The Arts and Education Initiative is progressing steadily toward the production of the Pennsylvania Arts and Education Policy Report, which will be released in just eight weeks!
Thank you for your ongoing interest in, and support of, the past two years of work on behalf of the arts in Pennsylvania spearheaded by The Education Policy and Leadership Center. Whether you've attended our meetings, completed our surveys, engaged online, met one-on-one with me and/or Ron, or provided leadership in research and reporting from our fields, your participation is the springboard to our continued work in 2012.
AEI will be entering into its second phase in March, which is the dissemination of the Report and the subsequent construction of a largescale coalition of organizations and individuals who are committed to effective advocacy at the state and local levels.
Please follow AEI on Facebook and Twitter (#EPLCarts) to read news and share your ideas about supporting arts learning in communities across the state, and do visit aei-pa.org for timely information about the Initiative and how you can stay involved.
I look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the new year.
Warm regards,
Jordan Crosby
Director, Arts and Education Initiative
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AEI and EPLC News
AEI Focus Shifting to Advocacy Campaign in 2012
After nearly two years of travel, interviews, research, events, and web-based engagement, the Arts and Education Initiative will release during the final week of February the Pennsylvania Arts and Education Policy Report, including actionable recommendations for state policymakers and other key audiences. This platform will support the formation of an AEI Advocacy Coalition, as well as a series of community meetings over the course of the spring across the Commonwealth. Stay tuned to aei-pa.org for meeting dates and locations, which will offer opportunities to participate in the Campaign at a grassroots level.
Final Meeting in January of the AEI Study Group
On Thursday, January 19, members of the AEI Study Group will convene in Harrisburg for their fourth and final face-to-face assembly. In addition to a number of supportive leaders who have joined the Group at recent meetings, members of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and a representative from the Pennsylvania Department of Education will also be welcomed that day. The meeting will mainly be a review of draft language for portions of the forthcoming Report.
Upcoming EPLC Events in Your Area of PA
Stay tuned in the new year to EPLC's online events calendar to find Policy Forums, Symposia, and Education Conferences in your area of Pennsylvania. Of note, EPLC will host the second School Choices Symposium, during which special guests broaden the state-wide discussion about the hot topic of school choice, on Wednesday, February 1 in Pittsburgh. |
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Policy News
Your Legislative Districts May have Changed
Every ten years, states are required to reapportion their state and federal legislative districts in the wake of the United States Census, which acts in compliance with the U.S. Constitutional requirement that all legislative districts consist of approximately comparable populations. New Pennsylvania legislative district reapportionment maps (federal and state) are now available. You can find the maps showing the boundaries of your current House of Representatives and Senate districts online. Not sure who your legislators are, or in which districts you reside? WIth one click, this information is available on both aforementioned sites along the right side of your computer screen under the blue question mark ("?").
Governor Corbett Delivers Budget News
On January 5, Corbett announced his decision to freeze approximately three percent of funding for most state agencies. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts will face a ten percent cut--specifically, in state funding of grants to Pennsylvania artists and arts organizations--which is the largest freeze amount targeted at Executive Offices. Corbett's office says that the total spending reduction amounts to almost $160 million, less than one percent of the state's $27.2 billion budget. Do make note that the Governor will deliver the annual state budget address on Tuesday, February 7. |
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Arts and Education News
Erie Art Museum Receives National Medal of Honor
On December 6, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Susan Hildreth, presented five libraries and five museums with our nation's highest honor for museum and library public service at a ceremony on Capitol Hill. Pennsylvania's Erie Art Museum was one of the ten recipients this year thanks to its innovative programming and the diverse audiences it serves. If you find yourself in Harrisburg before the end of April, be sure to visit the State Museum of Pennsylvania to check out Making it Better: Folk Arts in Pennsylvania, which is on loan from the Erie Art Museum. The exhibition offers a fascinating look at the culturally rich traditions and practices of over 30 master Commonwealth artists.
2012 Youth Art Month Show & Contest at PDE
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is pleased to host a K-12 student visual art exhibition in its Honors Suite Gallery at 333 Market Street in Harrisburg from March 3 - April 28, 2012. The exhibition will be curated by Wendy Sweigart of the Susquehanna Art Museum and will celebrate, in March, the national annual observance of Youth Art Month, which calls attention in America to the value of arts education for all children and encourages ongoing support for high-quality school arts programming. Sargent Art, Inc., the nation's leading supplier of quality art materials to educational and retail markets, will grant a series of Young Artist Awards to individuals represented in the show. Based in Hazleton, PA, Sargent will support the selection of a "Best in Show," and the artist responsible for the chosen piece will compete in a Sargent national art contest and receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York City in July of 2012.
New Study Released on Quality in Arts Integration
Real Visions, a consulting firm based in West Virginia, has produced a new book that defines essential factors for quality arts integration programming: The ARTS Book: Designing Quality Arts Integration with Alignment, Rigor, Teamwork, and Sustainability. The assertions of Dr. Linda Whitesitt and Dr. Elda Franklin are based on seven years of research and evaluation in the context of eight classroom-based projects. The book includes detailed sections with practical tips on items such as the alignment of rigorous professional development with an arts integrated curriculum and ensuring that teamwork is embedded in the foundation of arts integration projects.
New Executive Director at PHMC
James A. Vaughan was appointed Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission this past November. He brings over 30 years of museum and historical site management to the position, in which he leads the oversight of the Commonwealth's architectural, archaeological, and cultural heritage. PHMC was established in 1945. It is now made up of 14 representative members. The agency has faced significant budgetary challenges in recent years. Of note, the 2010-2011 state budget zeroed out the Museum Assistance Grant line item, through which PHMC delivered general operating support to museums and historical organizations across the 67 counties. Funding for these grants was not restored in the 2011-2012 budget.
Congratulations to Philip Horn
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) recently announced the election of its 2012 Executive Committee and five new members of its board of directors. At the 2011 NASAA Leadership Institute in West Virginia, state art agency representatives from around the country elected Philip Horn, 18-year Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, to the NASAA Executive Committee. In the position of 2nd Vice President, Philip's exemplary leadership demonstrated in Pennsylvania, California, and Michigan will serve the arts on a national level. |
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Items of Note
Pennsylvania's Teacher of the Year
Education Secretary Ron Tomalis announced in December, at the Keystone Awards of Excellence ceremony in Hershey, that Tricia Miller, a literacy coach in the Penns Valley Area School District, is Pennsylvania's Teacher of the Year, 2012. The Keystone Awards of Excellence program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the PA chapter of the National State Teachers of the Year, which was founded in 1995.
Educational Technology Event in Hershey
Arts, Sports, and Entertainment Law Clinic
The Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University is currently offering free services to individuals involved in the arts, sports and entertainment fields through its Arts, Sports and Entertainment Law Clinic. Founded in 1980, the clinic has provided a variety of clients in the Central Pennsylvania area with information, educational services and legal representation on a case-by-case basis. The clinic, which operates by appointment, is headed by Professor Geoffrey Scott and is staffed by Penn State Dickinson law students at both the Carlisle and University Park campuses of the law school. |
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