The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education presents:

Arts Front and Center Forum

April 4, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
MSU Riley Center, Meridian, MS

Sponsored by
The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education
Mississippi Association of School Superintendents

 

Purpose of the Forum:
To showcase multiple means available to assist students at all grade levels to learn in and through the arts and, thus, to prepare them for productive citizenship in the 21st Century.

Goal:
To equip forum participants to initiate new strategies that increase students’ access to arts education in their local community and/or school district.

Consider this . . .
A December 2007 national poll conducted by Lake Research Partners reports,

“88% of Americans believe that the so-called basics in education alone are not adequate for the 21st Century workforce without the ability to be imaginative, creative, and innovative.”

This poll and several recent books reveal a widening gap between instructional practices in America’s public schools and what is needed in the 21st Century global economy. A comprehensive education, one that includes the arts, is one way to bridge that gap.

The Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education convened the forum to address this important and timely topic.

Keynote Speaker

Doug Herbert is the Special Assistant on Teacher Quality and Arts Education to the Secretary of Education. Prior to May 2004, he was the Director of Arts Education at the National Endowment for the Arts, a post he held since 1992. Under his leadership, the Endowment partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to support the development of national voluntary standards in arts education, and to establish a framework and testing specifications for inclusion of the arts in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, better known as The Nation’s Report Card. Mr. Herbert served as the program’s assistant director for more than four years. As Assistant Director, he coordinated the Endowment’s cooperative efforts with the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement to develop an arts education research agenda, to recognize schools nationwide for their exemplary arts education programs under the Department’s Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Mr. Herbert was also the national program director for Very Special Arts, an educational affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
 

To see Mr. Herbert's PowerPoint slide presentation, click here.

Regional Meeting Partner Organizations
East Mississippi Center for Educational Development
North Mississippi Education Consortium
Delta Area Association for Improvement of Schools
Southern-Regional Education Service Agency
Gulf Coast Education Initiative Consortium

Visual Art Exhibit Participating Schools
Carver Middle School, Meridian
Clarkdale Elementary School, Meridian
Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Madison
Magnolia Middle School, Meridian
Meridian High School, Meridian
Newton County Elementary School, Decatur
Northeast Lauderdale Elementary School, Meridian
Northeast Middle School, Meridian
Northwest Junior High School, Meridian
Oakland Heights Elementary School, Meridian
Pearl Lower Elementary School, Pearl
Pearl High School, Pearl
Poplar Springs Elementary School, Meridian
Quitman Lower Elementary School, Quitman.
Southeast Elementary School, Meridian
West Hills Elementary School, Meridian
West Lauderdale Elementary School, Meridian

Luncheon centerpieces: Pearl High School, Pearl

Resources for Further Study or Research
Arts and Education Publications

The resources cited below represent recent thinking in education and arts education. Study of these articles and publications influenced the purpose, goals, and agenda of the Arts Front and Center Forum and the development of the publication, Mapping the Future of Arts Education.

Critical Evidence, How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement, written by Sandra Ruppert, contains fact-based, non-technical language documenting the most current and compelling research on the value of arts learning experiences. Published by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in collaboration with the Arts Education Partnership. February 2006   http://www.nasaa-arts.org  

To view the document in PDF format go to:
http://www.nasaa-arts.org/publications/critical-evidence.shtml

Governor’s Commission on the Arts in Education: Findings and Recommendations, published by the Education Commission of the States. July 2006  www.ecs.org

To view the document in PDF format go to:
https://www.ecs.org/html/issue.asp?issueid=211

Third Space: When Learning Matters, is a book that tells the riveting story of the profound changes in the lives of kids, teachers, and parents in ten economically disadvantaged communities, including Pierce Street School in Tupelo Mississippi. They place their bets on the arts as a way to create great schools. Published by the Arts Education Partnership. November 2005

A toolkit and several web-based articles may be found at:
http://www.aep-arts.org/resources/toolkits/thirdspace/read.htm

Arts Scan Policy Database, provides analysis of policies (in statute or code) related to the arts in education for every state. The database is maintained and updated by the Education Commission of the States. http://www.ecs.org

On the site, select from profiles, comparisons or individual state reports.
http://www.ecs.org/html/educationIssues/ArtsinEducation/ArtscanDB_intro.asp

Cross Training, an article by Grace Rubenstein about a high school that emphasizes training in the arts along with other school subjects. October 2006   www.edutopia.org

To view the PDF document and/or view a video about the school:
http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1645&issue=oct_06

From Anecdote to Evidence: Assessing the Status and Condition of Arts Education at the State Level, a policy brief of the Arts Education Partnership, by Sandra S. Ruppert and Andrew L. Nelson. November 2006  

To view the pocument in PDF format go to:
http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=24

Critical Link is the free quarterly on-line newsletter of the Arts Education Partnership. It features articles and resources on emerging issues related to arts education

To subscribe go to: http://www.aep-arts.org/aboutus/cl.htm

From Cradle to Career: Connecting American Education from Birth through Adulthood, National Summary. A special supplement to Education Week’s Quality Counts 2007 report. See also, Mississippi Report, a special state-focused supplement to Education Week’s Quality Counts 2007. January 2007

Purchase the report from Education Week magazine:  www.edweek.org 

Miles to Go – Mississippi, published by the Southern Education Foundation, Atlanta, GA. This document includes recommendations for policy makers, school leaders and education advocates. November 2006   www.southerneducation.org

To view the document in PDF format go to:
http://www.southerneducation.org/showpublications.asp

Tough Choices or Tough Times: the report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, published by the National Center on Education and the Economy. December 2006   www.skillscommission.org

Executive summary: http://www.skillscommission.org/pdf/exec_sum/ToughChoices_EXECSUM.pdf

Setting a Public Agenda for Higher Education in the States: Lessons Learned from the National Collaborative for Higher Education Policy, by Gordon K. Davies, published by The National Collaborative for Higher Education Policy: The Education Commission of the States, The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, December 2006.

To view the document in PDF format go to:
www.highereducation.org/reports/public_agenda/public_agenda.pdf

High Quality Professional Development: An Investigation of the Supports for and Barriers to Professional Development in Arts Education, by Vicki R. Lind, University of California, Los Angeles, published in the International Journal of Education and the Arts Volume 8, No. 2, February 13, 2007

To access the journal, go to:  http://ijea.asu.edu
Search the list of articles by volume and issue: Volume 8, No. 2 

A New Day for Learning, a report from Time/Warner’s Learning, and After-School Taskforce, convened and funded by the C. S. Mott Foundation. January 2007

To view the document in PDF format go to:
www.edutopia.org/anewdayforlearning