NEA Arts Partners Grant Enhances Projects
In 2004, when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) selected Ohio as its partner in planning and implementing a Summer Institute for School Leaders, teams from 12 Ohio school districts and two Educational Service Centers deepened their knowledge about the value of arts learning. Many returned to their districts with renewed commitment to strong arts education programs and new partnerships with artists and arts organizations.
A second grant from NEA enables the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) to widen the circle of involvement through the Arts Partners Program. Some new sites will join Arts Partners, and interested original sites will receive additional support.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to extend and sustain the work that started in 2004," says Nancy Pistone, arts consultant for visual arts and dance with the Ohio Department of Education.
Strengthening the position of the arts in K-12 academic programs is a key goal of Arts Partners. Participating districts and schools will implement site-based projects and professional development that deepen students' arts experiences and promote partnerships between schools, artists and arts organizations. In addition to help from local resources and guidance from Ohio's Academic Content Standards for the fine arts, they will have access to consulting and professional development from ODE, OAC programs, such as Poetry Out Loud, and OAC grants for arts partnerships and artist-in-residence projects. Both agencies also provide a number of online tools and other resources that will add value to the projects.
The following descriptions of projects in the Lima City Schools and at Joseph F. Landis Elementary in Cleveland—two teams that are taking advantage of the Arts Partners Program to enhance established projects—provide a flavor of what this NEA supported program will mean to students in Ohio.
The Lima City Schools—Shrines for Lost Schools
In a reflective professional development experience with Professor Doug Blandy of the University of Oregon, arts educators in the Lima City Schools shared what they learned about history and memory through a year-long project to build shrines memorializing 12 Lima schools that were demolished or renovated recently. The "Shrines for Lost Schools" Initiative produced a series of 12-foot high cylindrical shrines, each containing a unique collection of artifacts that were selected after interviews with former pupils, teachers and neighbors of the schools. The shrines were exhibited at Lima's ArtSpace and then—after much discussion—were recycled.
Mike Huffman, Lima's director of arts and magnet programs, said the project was an arts-integrated experience that included English and social studies components. Its success has heightened interest in deeper professional development experiences and more extensive collaboration with the ArtSpace.
Some of the 12 Shrines for Lost Schools by Lima City students.
Cleveland's Joseph F. Landis—Inside the Opera
Some of the 12 Shrines for Lost Schools by Lima City students.
Through a seven-year partnership with Opera Cleveland, students at Joseph F. Landis Elementary School take part in an enriching cultural experience. "They love the opera," says Principal Sandra Brinson. "It's wonderful to see them experience different music."
But attending an opera and talking with performers is only part of the learning. The Cleveland children take part in creating an entire performance—from designing costumes and scenery to singing in the chorus or even solos in two Opera Cleveland performances.
"They really get a taste of what an opera is and what it takes to put an opera together," says music teacher Harold Trujillo.
Involvement with the opera also serves as the doorway to literacy skills and academic content in social studies, science and math. The students always read the stories behind the opera, but this year's performance of the Pirates of Penzance also has sparked considerable interest in history.
This article was published in January 2007, Volume 3, Issue 1.
