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The Oregon Arts Commission has awarded $75,000 in Arts Education Leadership grants. "The program acknowledges the Commission's belief that the arts are fundamental to education and make an invaluable and unique contribution to the educational process, helping students develop problem solving and creative thinking skills as well as gain knowledge and expertise in the arts, " said Christine D'Arcy, director of the Oregon Arts Commission.
"It's a privilege for the Oregon Arts Commission to support projects implemented by organizations that range from the statewide Oregon Alliance for Arts Education to Eugene Ballet to Caldera in Portland," said Steve Forrester, new chairman of the Arts Commission who chaired the review process. "Support of these projects exemplifies the Arts Commission's commitment to the best in creative arts education, including community partnerships, high artistic quality, and dedication to enriching the lives of young people."
The Commission received a total of 35 applications for funding in this competitive program. The twelve projects selected for funding are:
Ashland Oregon Shakespeare Festival, $7,600
To support the School Visit Partnership program designed to give rural and/or low income high schools in Oregon a comprehensive program of teacher training and evaluation [live and via video teleconferencing], plus curriculum materials and actor residencies, all in support of the state's literature and arts standards. Each school will participate for 3 successive years with 3 schools added each year. Programs goals: 1) provide teachers with long-term professional development opportunities; 2) support schools facing declining budgets; 3) support schools having difficulty with teacher recruitment and retention due to professional isolation and lack of training; and 4) complement state curriculum standards. Rural and low-income urban students will receive an arts education experience of similar or higher quality than their suburban and urban peers, for 36 months and at a fraction of the cost.
Contact: Deborah Small, 541-482-2111 x249, deborahs@osfashland.org
Eugene Eugene Ballet, $5,380
To support the Eugene Ballet's Educational Outreach/Residency/Curriculum Project that will provide Oregon schools with educational curriculum and teacher training that supports the Department of Education benchmarks in the performing arts. Created in collaboration with School District 4-J curriculum writers Alice Neel and Marrily Walker, and Lane County Planetarium Director John Alvord, the 3-week lesson plans titled, 2001: A Dance Odyssey, will provide Oregon teachers with resource materials that are interactive with Eugene Ballet Company performances and residencies in 15 Oregon cities.
Contact: Riley Grannan, 541-485-3992, riley@eugeneballet.org
Oregon Festival of American Music, $8,100
To support Musical Roots & Rhythms to develop nine and pilot three, thematic modules of American traditional songs, featuring classroom instruction by American Music Institute musicians, curriculum materials, songbooks, and CDs specifically tailored to K-12 history units in conjunction with the Lane ESD's 3-year federal teaching American History grant. Two guitar/ukulele inservices requested by teachers will support follow-up instruction. Materials will initially be available to 400 history teachers in Lane County's 16 school districts.
Contact: Ginevra Ralph, 541-687-6526, gralph@ofam.net
LaGrande Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council, $8,000
To support ten arts education workshops for rural K-12 teachers in Eastern Oregon communities. Proposed outcomes are: 1) to provide teacher training in the arts; 2) to build community support for strong arts education programs; 3) to promote local K-12 arts education goals in accordance with State Arts Standards; 4) to identify community, regional and national arts partners and resources, and 5) to develop an arts education support network via the Internet for the development of quality arts assessments and communication. The Council will partner with the seven ESD's in the region as well as Co-Arts, Four Rivers Cultural Center, Fishtrap, Crow's Shadow, Tamastlikt, LaGrande Arts Commission and the Pendleton Arts Center.
Contact: Jane Howell, 541-962-3624, jhowell@eou.edu
McMinnville Oregon Alliance for Arts Education, $7,000
To support the Arts Education Leadership Project that will conduct 4-6 regional professional development and advocacy workshops and convene arts education leaders forums. Partners include the Oregon Department of Education, Oregon PTA, Arts for Learning consortium, regional ESD's, the Regional Arts Education Network and local arts agencies. Outcomes include greater awareness and commitment to arts education; more arts taught and integrated by classroom teachers and specialists and stronger grassroots and statewide advocacy coalitions.
Contact: Sharon Morgan, 503-434-1263, oaae@onlinemac.com
Milwaukie Ardenwald Elementary School, $3,940
To support continued integration of visual arts and writing into other curriculum areas at Ardenwald Elementary School. Funds will support a local artist co-teaching with classroom teachers on lessons that focus on line, shape, color, value, form and texture. Lessons will be designed to integrate art and writing into other areas of the curriculum.
Contact: Cathy Lehmann, 503-653-3656, lehmann@nclack.k12.or.us
Newport Writers on the Edge, $5,710
To support free admission to students attending the Nye Beach Writers' Series regular and special events, scholarships for students participating in Writers on the Edge workshops and underwrites two Summer 2003 Poetry Workshops for teenagers. The first workshop (July) provides instruction in writing poetry. The second workshop (August) provides instruction in performing poetry. Workshops culminate in a printed anthology and a Teen Performance Showcase at the Newport Performing Arts Center.
Contact: Carla Perry, 541-574-7708, cperry@pioneer.net
Portland Caldera, $7,900
To support Year-Round Discovery to bring Caldera's unique arts and nature-based curriculum into selected community organizations and schools throughout the school year. The programs builds on a six-year history of residential summer youth workshops and the successful "Caldera Year Round Pilot" project. In bringing the curriculum into partner organizations, Caldera will continue to work with kids during the non-summer months and enhance the variety of programs offered by its partners.
Contact: Julie Mancini, 503-227-2583, julie.mancini@wk.com
Profile Theatre, $3,630
To support The Roosevelt Project, an outreach effort to an identified group of low and middle-income students. By eliminating its drama program, Roosevelt High School limited educational and extracurricular opportunities. Profile brings in theatre professionals to lead students in producing their own production, at no cost to school or students. Using theatre as a learning tool, the elective Project includes workshops, discussions, and strategies to involve students with interests outside theatre.
Contact: George Taylor, 503-242-0080, profiletheatreproject@juno.com
Regional Arts and Culture Council, $2,240
To support the Regional Arts and Culture Council's initiation of an ongoing program to inform and train the region's education community in the implementation of comprehensive, quality K-12 arts instruction. In year one, RACC will collaborate with the Arts Action Alliance of Clackamas County, Clatskanie Arts Commission, Oregon Alliance for Arts Education and others to provide informational presentations to district leaders in underserved areas within their education service areas.
Contact: Cindy Knapp, 503-823-5111, info@racc.org
Young Audiences, $8,000
To support Arts for Learning, an innovative multi-year statewide program based on a vision that all children can meet and exceed learning goals and at the same time develop a lifelong affinity for the arts. Arts for Learning combines structured professional development and training for educators who seek to teach through the arts with a dynamic website, www.arts4learning.com
Contact: Sarah Avery Johnson, 503-225-5900, sarah@ya-or.org
Salem Salem Art Association, $7,500
To support the 2nd year of the Salem Art Association's partnership with Western Oregon University Colleges of Education and Art and Young Audiences to prepare WOU Term 2 and Term 3 preservice teachers to meet Oregon Standards and Benchmarks in the arts, and to provide the methods and sustainability for the program within WOU.
Contact: Sara Swanberg, (503) 581-2228, sara@salemart.org
The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine Commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities.
