Vol, 7, No. 3: January 22, 2008		Get SEAchange by email

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3. Wisconsin chosen for arts education institute

Wisconsin is among five states chosen to participate in the first Education Leaders Institute that will bring a national focus to the importance of arts education.

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with the Illinois Arts Council, the March 11-13 institute in the Chicago area will address the challenges of arts education and work to develop concrete strategies to strengthen states’ arts education policies and programs.

The institute will include teams led by the Alaska State Council on the Arts, Kentucky Department of Education, Nebraska Arts Council, North Carolina Arts Council, and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster, former music teacher, drama director, district fine arts coordinator, and principal of a creative arts magnet school, will lead the Wisconsin team.

“The arts contribute vital skills in the K-12 curriculum,” Burmaster said. “Our participation in the first Education Leaders Institute provides a wonderful opportunity to strengthen arts education and use the arts in our efforts to close the achievement gap.”

According to the NEA, while there is increasing support for arts education in K-12 curriculum, it remains on the margins in many schools. The institute is modeled after the successful Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a 20-year partnership program that has brought together more than 700 mayors and design professionals to focus on urban planning issues. The Education Leaders Institute seeks to give a similar platform to school leaders, legislators, and policymakers on arts education.

A panel convened by the Arts Endowment, in partnership with the Illinois Arts Council, selected the five state teams from among many proposals. The panel commended Wisconsin for including K-12 and higher education, state and non-profit arts organizations, and business representatives on the team it is sending to the institute.

State teams will discuss a shared arts education challenge, such as leadership in arts education, curriculum development, and access to arts learning. As participants exchange ideas, plans for innovative partnerships and programs are expected to emerge, coupled with renewed commitment to arts education at the school-district level. A professional evaluation firm will conduct an independent assessment of the workshop, and an executive summary of the evaluation findings will be available to the public.

More information is available in a DPI news release.

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Last updated on 1/22/2008