 Don't forget to apply for the 2010 Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant by May 3 at PTA.org/ArtsGrants. Imagine what your PTA could do with $1,000 to support arts education? Matching grants of up to $1,000 to enrich your students' arts education in the classroom or other learning environments are available. Local PTAs in good standing may apply. Special consideration given to programs reaching at-risk students. |
 April is National Poetry Month. To celebrate, edutopia.org is having a
Here's how it works:
:: Post your limerick on how to best improve education.
:: Invite others to vote on your limerick.
:: At the end of the month, the top five limericks with the most "thumbs ups" will have their limericks promoted on edutopia.org's homepage and in their enewsletter! Plus, you'll get a fabulous bag of art/poetry-inspired goodies!
Deadline is April 30 at midnight. |
California
State PTA featured at National Arts Event Carol
Kocivar, President-elect of California State PTA and a member of the
association's Special Committee for Arts Education, helped spotlight the work of PTA and the California County Superintendents
Educational Services Association (CCSESA) at the recent national forum of the Arts Education Partnership in
Washington, D.C. In a series of
workshops, Kocivar and several arts leaders shared strategies for
building leadership capacity for arts education. Participants also received
copies of the joint California State PTA-CCSESA Be a Leader for Arts
Education guide.
Click here to download the guide from the www.capta.org website.
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U.S. Education
Secretary Arne Duncan highlights the importance of the arts
At the same forum held in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered remarks about the critical importance of a well-rounded curriculum.
"The arts can no longer be treated as a frill," Duncan said. "As first lady Michelle Obama has said, 'The arts are not just a nice thing to have or do if there is free time or if one can afford it. ... Paintings and poetry, music and design ... they all define who we are as a people.' "
Duncan went on to say that President Obama, the
first lady, and he all "reject the notion that the arts, history, foreign
languages, geography and civics are ornamental offerings that can or should be
cut from schools during a fiscal crunch. The truth is that, in the information
age, a well-rounded curriculum is not a luxury but a necessity."
The time is right to promote arts education, Duncan added: "Now, as we move forward with
reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - is the time to
rethink and strengthen arts education."
Click here to read Secretary Duncan's remarks. |
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Send a letter today!
Join the effort to support arts in schools and arts-integrated instruction
for all children. The Alameda County Office of Education's
Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership
is spearheading a statewide effort to generate letters to the president,
first lady and Congressional representatives.
To join the Public education needs You! campaign
you can Customize
and send a letter simply by going to the ACOE website and entering your zip code - and make sure to personalize the third paragraph of the draft letter and insert your own local county. It's easy and takes only a couple
of minutes!
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Arts Learning Tools and Resources:
Bringing the ARTS to All Students
The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) Arts Initiative has released another publication entitled Arts Learning Tools and Resources: Bringing the ARTS to All Students. One component of the publication is a web-based advocacy toolkit to help promote arts education.View the toolkit for useful information that can be used to promote the value and benefit of arts education for California students.
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| Now that you've received this great information to help you make full use of PTA resources, please be sure to share it with other PTA leaders and members, using the "forward e-mail" feature below. |
