 Massachusetts Governor
Deval Patrick Signs
Proclamation Declaring
March as Arts Education
Month!
Arts|Learning is pleased to have worked with the Massachusetts Cultural Council in encouraging Governor Deval Patrick to declare March as Arts Education Month in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His proclamation is posted on the A|L Website. Additionally, the Massachusetts House of Representatives also passed a resolution declaring March as Arts Education Month. Our thanks to the MCC staff, especially Diane Daily and Greg Liakos, for assisting in this effort.
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Leveraging Youth Arts Month in the Community
Arts|Learning encourages citizens across the United States to take the language of the Governor's proclamation and the House resolution and craft similar documents in their local communities. Bring them to your school board or school committee, your town or city council, your mayor, your town manager. Ask them to publicly declare March as Youth Arts Education Month in your community, and get copies of this material to local papers, radio, and television. In Massachusetts, for example, every town and city has a local cultural commission--encourage that organization to help sponsor proclamations and resolutions from your local government.
Next--Celebrate the Arts! Collaborate with your school system and local arts and cultural organizations and museums to promote March as Youth Arts Month through concerts, performances, and exhibits. Promote the talents of your local community, and be sure that local media cover and review these events.
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Leveraging Youth Arts Month in the Schools
One of the best ways to highlight the process of learning in and through the arts is to have school open houses during Youth Arts Month. Invite parents to observe music, dance, theatre, and visual arts classes in action. Whilte performances and exhibits are also important, parents don't often have the opportunity to see how students learn the arts, and are often amazed and intrigued with the artistic process of creating original art or preparing for a performance or learning new knowledge and skills. If you are an arts educator, speak to your principal about hosting a couple of days' worth of open houses. You will get gobs of parents attending, which always makes the school, you the teacher, and your students look good! Prepare engaging lessons that show the artistic process at its best. This will go a long way for garnering support for your programs!
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