As school begins for the 2013-2014 year, we look back on summer and take a moment to highlight the work of one of our critical partners in arts education. The Alaska Arts Education Consortium (AAEC) is a group of member districts and partners from across the state. The AAEC mission is to promote high achievement for all Alaskan students in and through the arts; preparing and supporting educators through professional development is one of the cornerstones of AAEC's mission. The AAEC's Arts Institutes are in their 10th year, and 11,800+ Alaska students are now receiving more arts education from teachers trained at AAEC institutes. AAEC has documented and reported the longitudinal progress of its model in three reports: Lasting Impact, Lasting Impact II and III 

At the AAEC's Sitka Basic Arts Institute, participants were able to observe and learn with students participating in the arts at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. Photo courtesy Dr. Annie Calkins.

This summer there were two Basic Arts Institutes (Nome and Sitka) and one Special Topics Institute on Alutiiq Cultural Arts (Kodiak).

Nome teacher Lisa Leeper attended the Basic Arts Institute in Nome and writes of the experience, "Much of the arts institute will resonate in my teaching practices. Connecting arts to brain development and learning was a powerful way of saying that arts integration is needed in all subject areas. I will be doing several Alaska Native cultural art projects and will try to model how to do these activities, rather than explain with written or oral directions. It is more culturally relevant to quietly work and be observed, and that is what I will try to do as often as possible." 

According to the third report from the AAEC Lasting Impact III, "The Institute had a strong, positive impact on increasing teacher confidence-and consequently willingness-to teach the arts no matter the grade or subject area. It gave participants a pedagogical rationale and strategies for teaching drama, movement, music, story-telling, Native arts and the visual arts-both as discrete subjects and integrated with other disciplines" (2012). Leeper said that the impact of the Nome BAI is already being felt in Nome Public Schools. "At our first two days of in-service, participants were invited to integrate arts into the agenda.  All our artwork from the institute hung around the wall and on tables. We sang to get the group to cue to lessons, we made art cards to trade throughout the day, created a time-lapse of our coffee break to demonstrate how easily a lesson could be turned into digital art, we practiced Inupiaq words for movements around the room, and we showed the community video which advocates for arts integration."

Kim Sweeny is the art program coordinator for Bering Strait School District, an ASCA New Visions District, AAEC Board Member, and one of the organizers of the Nome BAI. Sweeny shared with me some of the experiences from the two-week institute just completed in early August, and advice she would give to anyone providing this kind of intensive training for teachers. The key is to develop a strong plan with clear goals, and then to be flexible. "Sometimes what a presenter feels drawn to sharing is just what the audience wants to hear, even though it's not on the program."

The Nome BAI included guest presenters: ocean researcher Julie Raymond-Yakobian shared results of her three-year research project on ocean currents-giving the group a chance to discuss the interweaving of local culture and science. Guitarist Sarah Hanson visited with the teachers. She had been in Gambell on a grant-supported residency to bring music and guitars after another suicide in the village. "We were able to discuss the place and importance of music in our schools and our communities." As a last minute opportunity, the King Island Dancers also visited the Nome Institute. "The dancers invited us to dance to several of their dances enabling participants to hear and feel the powerful drumbeat and dance alongside professional native dancers," Sweeny said.  

The King Island Dancers visit the AAEC's Nome Basic Arts Institute in August. Photo courtesy Kim Sweeny.

Dr. Annie Calkins, a project evaluator and advisor for the AAEC, shared some key points that have served the AAEC in building this model:

1. Two week duration, so that participants can practice and reflect on the art forms they are learning, and figure out how to integrate into their teaching style and local curriculum.              
2. Centralized Teacher Leader selection process and planning session, ensuring continuity and fidelity across the state and over the years. When a teacher from urban Anchorage is talking to one from a rural, remote village school and says he/she has been to a Basic, they both know what that means and can immediately share their experiences.
3. Commitment to keeping brain research and theory central to the experience.
4. Doing art....not just presenting about it, describing it. "Showing, not telling."
5. Mix of urban and rural teachers from across the state sharing the institute experience and their teaching contexts - in our far flung state this is important, according to the evaluation data we collect and analyze.
6. Travel stipends - funded by districts and/or federal grants - for rural teachers.

The Alaska State Council on the Arts is fortunate to have such dedicated partners in support of providing equitable access to high quality arts education in Alaska. We are grateful to the AAEC for all that they do to support teachers in Alaska, and encourage anyone interested in finding out more about these institutes to contact them through their website.

Cultural Collaborations Arts Excursion and Access Grants are available for arts education projects in the 2013-14 school year, on a rolling deadline. Contact Laura Forbes for more information.  

NEA Live Webinar: How to Build Collective Impact Initiatives

September 11, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. EDT

As the benefits of using a common agenda to solve complex social problems become better understood, the concept of using collective impact to advance arts education continues to gain traction. In a follow-up to the Spring 2013 webinar that provided an overview of the topic, the NEA will host a public webinar on how to begin and build collective impact initiatives on Wednesday, September 11, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. NEA Arts Education Director Ayanna Hudson will be joined in the conversation by two leaders in the field: Giselle "Gigi" Antoni, president/CEO of Big Thought in Dallas, Texas, and Denise Grande, director of Los Angeles County's Arts for All initiative. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A discussion.  

Click here for information and Registration.  

Out of a Jam Web Design Workshop

September 14th and 15thm 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies , 708 Smoky Bay Way, Homer, AK 

$499 for two days

Haines, September 25-28, 2013. 

Join Museums Alaska in Haines for engaging programming and active learning opportunities with state-wide benefits to museums, libraries, and historical agencies across Alaska.  Exciting sessions, constructive workshops, keynote speakers, and informative local tours around Haines and Klukwan village!

For more information about this year's conference program and events, visit http://sheldonmuseum.org/Conference/conference.htm  or http://museumsalaska.org/conferences/annual-conference-2013/.

Christina Baskaya, Interim Director, Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center, P.O. Box 269, Haines, AK 99827, 907-766-2366, director@sheldonmuseum.net , 

Then It's For Winter: An Exploration of Dena'ina History and Culture

Saturday, Sept. 14, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  

A one-day symposium at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center on Dena'ina history and culture. This event is held in conjunction with "Dena'inaq' Huch'ulyeshi: The Dena'ina Way of Living," the first major exhibition ever presented about the Dena'ina Athabascan people. Lunch included. Register online by September 10. $25.

October 17-20 | Tacoma, WA

This will be the largest gathering of artists, their management and presenters of the performing arts in the region.  Attendees will enjoy activities including dynamic performance showcases, an expanded roster of late night showcases, keynote speakers, professional development seminars, workshops, block-booking sessions, networking opportunities, a packed exhibit hall, sales spotlights and social events, all adding up to four highly productive and professional days. Presenters of the performing arts will discover untapped resources, ideas and inspiration. Performers / artist's management have a medium that allows them access to the presenting organizations and individuals throughout the northwest, and helps get them in front of the audience most capable of booking them into the western U.S. market! All attendees must be current Arts Northwest Members. 

Click here for information and registration. 

Teaching Artist Training Academy in Homer

November 8-10 at Kachemak Bay Campus

$50 fee

Keynote speaker and lead presenter: Alison Marshall, PhD 

Alison Marshall, Ph.D., is a teaching and performing artist, choreographer, and arts consultant who designs and presents dance and theatre based learning programs in schools and communities. 

Interested in cross-curriculum collaboration?

Here is a great professional development opportunity to connect Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Math! Alaska Art Education Association invites you to attend their Fall conference in Girdwood, Alaska, for an educational and artful weekend of workshops.  A one credit course will be available through the University of Alaska system.

For additional information please visit: http://alaska-aaea.org/

Join arts leaders, funders, policy-makers, board members, educators, artists, and others from around the country and across the globe this fall to explore the ways in which we advance today's artists. All are welcome!  One part passion and two parts innovation, San Jose is a growing nexus of dynamic arts organizations, rich cultural centers and the world's premier technology industry. Come explore the bustling SoFA arts district, GORE Park (an award-winning outdoor arts lounge), ZERO1's technology think tank, and some of the region's most scenic and inspired residency programs.  

This year's keynote speakers include acclaimed performance artist, writer, and activist Guillermo G�mez-Pe�a, the artists behind Los-Angeles based collaborative Fallen Fruit and Alaskan native artist and weaver Teri Rofkar.  

 Announcements and Articles of Interest