Below are recommended informational resources for parents and families to promote the arts in school and at home. Also be sure to visit the Baltimore Family Fun Guide and Programs Directory for specific calendar events and programming here in Baltimore City!
A+ Schools Network: Provides model arts integration curricula you can replicate. Also visit A+ Oklahoma Schools at www.aplusok.org/.
American Alliance for Theater and Education: Offers resources, publications, conferences, and awards.
Americans for the Arts: Monitors arts education legislation. Offers links to arts organizations and resource centers, research abstracts, and news articles.
Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance: Mission is to build support for high-quality, systemic arts education—in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts—for all Maryland school children.
Arts Education Partnership: A national coalition that promotes the importance of the arts in education, offering forums, updated state policy databases, research materials and advocacy. This is the primary source of research and publications that help make the case for arts education.
Artscan: This ECS database supports the analysis of state-level policies (in statute or code) related to the arts in education. You can generate profiles of the state policies for arts education in individual states, create comparisons of specific types of arts education state policies across several states and view compiled reports on state policies for arts education.
ARTSEDGE: The National Arts and Education Network provides tools to develop interdisciplinary curricula, including professional development resources, free student and teaching materials and guidelines for assessment.
Association for Theatre in Higher Education: Advocates for theatre in K-12 education.
The Dana Foundation: Publishes books and other resources on arts education, including an ongoing newsletter.
Editorial Projects in Education Research Center: Research and resources, including the arts. See Quality Counts 2007, which describes efforts by some states to mandate inclusion of the arts in college-prep programs.
Education Commission of the States: Several arts-related articles are listed. Under search, put in “arts.” In particular, read The Arts in Education by Mike Huckabee.
Education Research Service: Part of The Informed Educator Series, Arts Education in a High-Stakes Environment (Stock #1E-0682) provides information, examples and resources on the place of arts in our schools.
Keep Arts in Schools: Provides advocates with tools and resources that can be used to increase the effectiveness of their work to keep arts education in public schools.
Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education: A national coalition of state affiliates that promotes learning in and through the arts. A Community Audit for Arts Education is available on line (www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/resources/CAudit6-9.pdf.); local districts can apply national research to assess the state of their arts education program.
National Art Education Association: Professional organization for art educators to promote art education through professional development, advocacy, publications, and research.
National Association for Music Education: Professional organization that offers music educators information, conferences, networking, professional development.
National Dance Association: Promotes and supports creative, artistic and healthy lifestyles through programs and services in dance education.
National Dance Education Organization: Promotes standards of excellence in dance education. Provides a network of support and resources and access to successful projects and programs.
National Endowment for the Arts: Provides research and publications (www.arts.gov/pub/pubArtsed.php). New Education Leaders Institute shares arts education challenges and makes strategic plans to advance arts education. Jazz in the Schools is a free on-line jazz curriculum. Teachers can also request physical toolkits (www.neajazzintheschools.org/home.php).
State Education Agencies: Consult with your arts education manager and fine arts consultant for state resources.
Support Music: An advocacy website with tips for taking action, evidence of importance of music education and links to arts organizations.
U.S. Department of Education: Office of Innovation and Improvement provide resources on arts-related topics. A free, monthly e-newsletter, The Education Innovator, (www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/innovator/index.html) highlights promising programs, practices and information, including those in arts education.
VSA Arts: Network of local, state, national and international arts organizations, in collaboration or partnership with educational and cultural institutions, arts agencies and associations for people with disabilities. Provides resources and tools to support arts programming in schools. Sponsors international young soloist’s award for artists with disabilities.
Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts: Offers regional programs in music, drama and movement for children ages 3-5, their teachers and families. Recognized experts in early childhood arts education.
Young Audiences, Inc.: Thirty-three chapters bring students together with professional artists to learn, create and participate in the arts. Its Arts for Learning program connects community resources to curricula.