The Art of Leadership Conference

The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education worked in partnership with the Mississippi Association of School Administrators (MASA) and the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) to host “The Art of Leadership” conference, October 15-17, at the Hilton Hotel in Jackson. The MAAE offered a full day of conference sessions focused on arts education for school administrators from across the state. MAAE sponsored activities included a panel session, keynote address presented by Dr. Grant Wiggins of Understanding By Design, afternoon breakout sessions, and an evening reception. In addition, there were bus tours to local schools that use the arts to teach as well as an exhibit of student visual art. Performances by two student groups opened the morning and luncheon sessions. The day’s agenda highlighted the positive impact of the arts and art education on student learning.

Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Leadership Meeting

The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education is a member of the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, a national organization of state alliances dedicated to a common purpose: promoting arts education. Once a year representatives of the MAAE attend the conference of the KCAAEN in Washington, D.C. Three members of the MAAE attended the conference in February 2007. The MAAE has been recognized as a leader among the state alliances at the national level and has been invited from time to time to participate in special programs sponsored by the KCAAEN. Since 2003, an MAAE board member has served on the KCAAEN’s National Leadership Committee, the administrative component of the national group. This is a significant honor and responsibility for the MAAE. Mississippi has benefited immeasurably from its partnership with the Kennedy Center.

Day at the Capitol

The MAAE annually joins the Mississippi Arts Commission and other arts advocates to sponsor a Day at the Capitol, a time set aside for visiting with state legislators. Significant budget cuts statewide in recent years have stimulated the need for a special response in support of arts programs. This year the MAAE and others joined with the MAC to encourage public awareness and a positive legislative response by direct contact, and/or e-mail and letter-writing.

Creative Ticket Schools of Distinction

Each year the MAAE submits nominations of schools from across the state for a “Creative Ticket School of Distinction Award” sponsored by the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN). This national award is designed to recognize individual schools for excellence in arts education practices. Two Mississippi schools were nominated for the 2007 award. The MAAE has nominated schools for this national awards program since its inception in 1999. In the inaugural year, Starkville High School was named a Creative Ticket School of Distinction. Announcement of schools selected for this national honor are made in the fall.

Arts Front & Center Forum

The “Arts Front and Center Forum,” convened by the MAAE March 23, 2007, at the MSU Riley Center in Meridian, brought together a large and diverse audience from across the state. The purpose of the Forum was to seek ways to equip individuals to respond to arts education issues in K-12 schools and to discuss ways they might be effective in shaping the future of arts education in Mississippi. The centerpiece of the Forum was a new MAAE publication, “Mapping the Future of Arts Education.” The document provides recommendations for arts education stakeholder groups: policy makers, higher education, Pre-K-12 education, artists, and citizens. Break-out groups meeting during the Forum reflected on these categories, reviewed the recommendations, and identified the top three recommendations from each group. It is hoped that recommendations arising from these discussions will serve to stimulate strategies for action that will secure a stronger place for the arts in the participants’ respective communities as well as to promote arts education in a broader context across the state. The day’s activity also included a luncheon and keynote address, a student choral performance, and a young artists’ exhibit of visual art that showcased pieces from nearly 100 students from five school districts.

Take Part! Community Audit and Arts Education Survey

Over the past four years, the MAAE has worked directly with a number of communities around the state to assess the status of arts education through the use of A Community Audit for Arts Education. The purpose of the project was to help develop strategies for improving or implementing arts education programs and for encouraging participation in the arts. A statewide survey of arts education and public broadcasts to report findings of the work were also included in the proposal. The MAAE was awarded a large-scale “Take Part” grant from the Lila Wallace Foundation/Mississippi Arts Commission to conduct the audits and survey work. The Arts Front and Center Forum held in March 2007 and the publication of the roadmap document, “Mapping the Future of Arts Education,” fulfilled the requirements of this very important work. The larger overall purpose of the “Take Part” initiative was to increase capacity and to develop new ways to build diverse audiences for arts activities within Mississippi communities. The project proved especially effective in helping to establish new collaborations and in promoting the mission of the MAAE.

MAAE Arts Education Awards

Each year, the MAAE honors schools, cultural institutions, programs, and individuals for their positive contributions to arts education in the state. The seventh annual Arts Education Awards Recognition program was held during the “Arts Front and Center Forum,” March 23, 2007, at the MSU Riley Center in Meridian. Awards presented: Thad Cochran Distinguished Arts Educator Award (4 individuals honored); Exemplary Arts Service Award; Higher Education Award; Distinguished Community Arts Agency Award; Outstanding Administrator of the Year; and Lifetime Achievement Award. An audience of over 200 people attended the event. The MAAE believes this awards program will not only continue to grow, but will also increase public awareness of high quality arts education programs across the state and the accomplishments of students who are the beneficiaries of them.

Kennedy Center / National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute

Two student musicians were selected to participate in the 2007 Kennedy Center/National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute held in Washington, D.C. Students who are juniors/seniors in high school or freshmen/sophomores in college may submit applications and audition tapes for consideration. Applications are reviewed and up to five students from the state may be nominated, though only one is selected. The Alliance sponsors student participation in the institute with the assistance of arts patrons. This program has stimulated communication among musicians across the state about opportunities available to students at the national level.

Mississippi Department of Education Summer Education Conference

For the past two years, in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Education, the MAAE has developed and implemented an Arts Education Professional Development Track for participants at the MDE’s Summer Conference, the state’s largest education conference. Arts education sessions presented by MAAE facilitators have drawn significant numbers of participants who responded with high marks for the sessions attended. In addition, the MAAE convened an Arts Education General Session with a keynote speaker within the conference schedule, awarded registration scholarships, hosted an exhibit booth and distributed information packets along with promotion/awareness items. The strong partnership between the MAAE and MDE provides an opportunity for the MAAE to work directly with large numbers of teachers within a broad venue.

DANA Foundation Artists’ Training Workshops

In 2007 the MAAE received a large-scale Rural Initiatives Grant from the DANA Foundation. The award will support a project designed to increase student access to arts education. The MAAE will offer professional development training for teaching artists who wish to work with teachers in K-12 classrooms. During 2007 and 2008, the MAAE will conduct six training sessions that will be held in north, central and south Mississippi. Several workshops will be conducted in partnership with the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Whole Schools Initiative beginning in July 2007. The remaining sessions will be scheduled separately. Performing and visual artists will be selected for the workshops through an application process. The goal of the series of workshops is to increase the number of artists included in the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Arts in Education Roster.

Ongoing — Mississippi Arts Commission Whole Schools Initiative

The MAAE works closely with the Whole Schools Initiative (WSI) and its host institution, the Mississippi Arts Commission, by providing speakers, Field Advisors, presenters, and by promoting partner events. MAAE publicizes accomplishments of the initiative, provides technical assistance at statewide and local venues, and facilitates the involvement of higher education in the ongoing work of the initiative. The WSI provides a venue for MAAE advocacy and membership activities at its annual Whole Schools Institute, a week-long gathering for over 300 teachers, administrators, and stakeholders. This federally recognized arts education model continues to bring favorable attention to the state, and has inspired school districts outside the program to seek ways to implement the model in their own districts.

Ongoing — Arts Education Advocacy

The primary work of the Alliance is arts advocacy which takes many forms, from face-to-face presentations at state conferences to print publications to one-on-one contact at the grass roots. Means to advocate to a statewide constituency has been broadened over the years to include an advocacy and research website (www.msartsalliance.com) and advocacy alerts (mail, e-mail, phone, fax), in addition to the more traditional approach through brochures and newsletters.

Ongoing —MSArtsAlliance.com

This well maintained website provides up-to-date advocacy tools and information at http://www.msartsalliance.com. A photo gallery celebrates accomplishments in Alliance programming. In addition, links to state arts organizations and institutions, Mississippi community colleges and four-year institutions are available. Further, links to arts education resources connect the visitor to numerous national resources via the Internet. Individuals who wish to attend various MAAE-sponsored programs may also register online through access to the website. The website has become a major means of disseminating information for the Alliance.

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