For Immediate Release:
June 3, 2008 Colorado receives National Endowment for the Arts award to attend Education Leaders Institute Lieutenant Governor O’Brien Will Lead Team
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DENVER (June 3, 2008) A team of Colorado education leaders will take part in an exclusive "Arts Education Leadership Institute" this July, thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Five state teams will meet with experts from throughout the country to discuss current challenges in the arts education field on such topics as assessment, leadership in arts education, curriculum development and access to arts learning. They will meet in Chicago from July 15-17, 2008.
The Colorado team was assembled by the Colorado Council on the Arts and the Colorado Department of Education. Team members include:
- Lieutenant Governor Barbara O’Brien
- Dwight Jones, Colorado Commissioner of Education
- Randy Zila, St. Vrain Valley Schools Superintendent
- Gerald Keefe, Kit Carson Schools Superintendent
- Vicki Taylor, Academy District 20 School Board Member
- Elaine Mariner, Colorado Council on the Arts Executive Director
Arts education is all too often on the sidelines of discussions on American public education. Through the National Endowment for the Arts Education Leaders Institute, the NEA is building "dream teams" to design powerful state arts education plans. The Institute convenes teams comprised of school leaders, elected officials, policymakers, educators, professional artists, consultants and scholars. Together, these teams will discuss a shared arts education challenge, and jointly create strategies to strengthen their state's arts education policies and programs.
"By participating in this Institute, Colorado will get a head start in exploring the role of arts education in addressing student achievement. We are lucky to be able to participate in this national conversation on public education," said Lieutenant Governor O’Brien.
The states were selected by a panel convened by the Arts Endowment in partnership with the Illinois Arts Council. National speakers and experts attending the event will support state teams, providing information and resources for each state. As participants exchange ideas, innovative partnerships emerge, coupled with renewed commitment to arts education at the school-district level.
The five teams selected to participate in the July 2008 Education Leaders Institute are:
* Colorado (team lead: Lt. Governor and Colorado Council on the Arts)
* Louisiana (team lead: Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts)
* Michigan (team lead: Michigan Department of Education)
* Oklahoma (team lead: the Oklahoma State Department of Education)
* Rhode Island (team lead: Rhode Island Council on the Arts)
The NEA Education Leaders Institute is modeled on the successful Mayors' Institute of City Design (MICD), a 20-year partnership program of the National Endowment for the Arts, The U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the American Architectural Foundation. Since 1986, more than 700 mayors and hundreds of design professionals have attended design institutes dealing with urban planning issues such as downtown and waterfront developments, transportation, housing, schools, and public facilities. The NEA Education Leaders Institute seeks to give leaders a similar platform to school leaders, legislators and policymakers to discuss the challenges of arts education and develop concrete strategies to strengthen their states' arts education policies and programs.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Since its inception in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has not only maintained support for arts education programs in and outside of school, but has provided leadership in the federal sector and among arts, education, business, and government organizations to develop and sustain an agenda for arts education improvement. For more information see www.arts.gov.
About the Colorado Council on the Arts
The Colorado Council on the Arts, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, combines state funds with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and invests in communities across the state to ensure that the cultural, educational and economic benefits of the arts are enjoyed by thousands of Colorado youth and millions of Colorado citizens and visitors every day. For more information see www.coloarts.org.
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