ARTSblog

Here’s a great example of how for-profit and non-profit organizations can work together to generate top leaders.  American Express has asked Americans for the Arts to gather nominations for 4-7 individuals to participate in their Leadership Academy.  Participants are typically 25-45, have between 5 and 10 years of work experience, represent a diverse background of all kinds, and show a commitment to the non-profit sector.

Anyone who is selected will need to take a week off of work in October, as well as cover your transportation costs to NY.   There are three pieces of relevant information: an overview of the American Express Leadership Academy; and the application for the Academy; and the American Express letter to Bob Lynch, President & CEO of Americans for the Arts.

Competition for these spaces will be very limited.  If you are interested please email your completed application materials to leadership@artsusa.org by July 1, 2009. Americans for the Arts will compile nominations and send our selections to American Express by the final deadline of July 7, 2009.

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Blogger, evaluation expert, professor, and consultant Dr. Patricia Saraniero writes about the arts education and ethics. Her latest entry discusses the “ethical ramifications of cutting arts from schools.”

It’s well-reasoned, well-researched and well-written. I’d suggest a good once-over for any arts education supporter who appreciates a good intellectual argument.  Here’s a lovely excerpt:

The reality for children from low-income communities is that they don’t have access to many if any arts experiences or education outside the school day. School is their best shot at getting this. By denying poor children exposure to and education in the arts during the school day we immediately begin to limit their future options. We limit their creative and artistic literacy. We literally deprive them of a way to communicate with and understand the world… The arts are part of the escape route from poverty. They allow students to imagine other possibilities, to understand the complexities and nuances of the world and of life, and to communicate their thoughts, beliefs and ideas.

Well said!

The full blog post is here.

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We’ve all heard the bad news. According to The Conference Board, corporate giving is expected to be down 41 percent in 2009, with arts giving taking the brunt of the cuts. Many companies are cutting back their arts support or cutting their programs completely. Americans for the Arts estimates that 10,000 nonprofits will close their doors this year as a result of the economic situation.

However, it is not all bad news. Led by President Obama’s call to service and a desire at companies to give back to their communities and engage employees, volunteerism has gained momentum. 45 percent of companies surveyed by The Conference Board are increasing volunteer resources in 2009—the biggest increase of any program area.  Volunteering is beneficial to companies because it aids in recruitment, retention, and engagement—all key areas for businesses trying to navigate through a treacherous economic landscape.  Arts organizations also benefit from the addition of skills and resources that they would not otherwise be able to afford.

A volunteer management consulting service like Business Volunteers for the Arts (BVA), a program of Americans for the Arts, can greatly increase the mutual success of both the volunteer and nonprofit experience. BVA assesses capacity and needs of a nonprofit and then carefully matches a business volunteer’s skills with these needs. This program can be hosted by a local arts agency, united arts funds, Business Committees for the Arts, or Arts & Business Councils.

BVA has proven results. Between 2003 and 2007, more than 7,200 BVAs have been involved in the program nationwide. During those years, 64,443 hours have been donated to the arts. At the hourly consulting rate of $160 per hour, donated services add up to $10,310,920. At a time when each dollar is carefully accounted for, 10 million dollars of donated time adds up to a lot of value.

Even when corporations can’t provide sponsorship or grants, they can still retain their relationship with the arts in a way that is good for everyone.

Have you ever worked with business volunteers? How were they able to help you or your organization?

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A group of dedicated and inventive parents, teachers, and arts professionals saved the arts education work of the Office of Visual and Performing Arts at the San Diego Unified School District yesterday in a 4-1 vote.

With much of the leg work done by Victoria Saunders’ homemade arts education advocacy web page, and huge support from dozens of others within the San Diego district, the school board chose not to cut any more dollars than had already been cut. Just a week ago, they were considering an elimination of the office.

The work of the SDUSD VAPA office is lynchpin in creating equal access to arts education for all students–regardless of income level. They work to ensure that teacher quality is high and that arts instruction is standards-based and sequential. They support schools, principals, arts teachers, and classroom teachers in making sure that the students these educators serve are getting the instruction they deserve. Its elimination would strike a blow at quality assurance and parity in arts education for students in classrooms.

The final takeaway for some wasn’t so specific: “Don’t mess with the creative kids.”

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When I first introduced myself as a blogger I vowed to write about my top ten concerns for education.  This blog outlines my utmost and number one concern, and that is: passion, or lack of it in schools these days.  I believe that a deterioration of schooling is directly related to a lack of passion in learning. Between frameworks, worksheets, testing, and enormous structures forced upon teachers, there is little time in the day to learn to love learning, or to be excited by learning.

Yesterday, I witnessed just the opposite.  I joined Carol Channing and her husband Harry Kullijian as they visited a magnet arts school, Lisa J.  Mails Elementary School in Murrieta, California. David Long, former California State Secretary of Education, had arranged this visit, and accompanied us as well. He has been a proponent of the art’s place in successful education, and has worked to partner Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian with the state P.T.A. and School Board Associations.  Read the rest of this entry »

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A colleague sent me this brilliant letter advocating for arts education. It uses financial, ethical, and socioeconomic arguments for retaining the Visual and Performing Arts office of the San Diego County Office of Education. And each point is research-based. As the sender noted, “I think it takes the cake for most inventive and well researched. ” Thanks to our tipster, Victoria, for keeping Americans for the Arts and our readers up-to-date.

May 31, 2009

Members of the Board:

In the face of unprecedented financial hardship, the Board of Education is charged with the unenviable task of meeting the needs of the public while concurrently addressing budgetary limitations. Given this economic climate, it is understood by all parties involved that concessions must be made in order to protect the integrity of the educational experiences provided to San Diego’s youth.

With this in mind, I must adamantly insist that the board not proceed in considering the elimination of the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program. There are a number of grounds that suggest that the elimination of such a program from the district would prove to be both financially and educationally ill conceived.

The elimination of the Visual and Performing Arts Department will, according to district figures (i.e. the entire VAPA budget), save approximately $3.2 million dollars for the 2009-10 academic year. While the financial benefit of this will help meet the needs of the immediate budgetary constraints, the long-term effects of this decision will far outweigh the short-term benefits.

Read the rest of this entry »

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