ments will be publicly reviewed in August 2013 with drafts to come in the fall and winter.


Chad Badgero: MCACA


The last item before a lunch break was a presentation by Chad Badgero, the Arts Education Program Manager for the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Bad- gero presented on the Council’s “Arts and Culture Bus Grants” and “Arts Education Grant Programv.


Small Group Discussion ,” developed


as a result of a recent $2 million increase in state grant funding. Badgero noted there had not been an arts educa- tion grant program since 2009. “Bus Grants” are $500 grants to put toward transportation to cultural events, and “Arts in Education Residency Grants” are aimed at inserting visiting artists into schools. These latter grants have a minimum funding level of $5,000 and maximum of $20,000. Badgero noted a few stipulations of the grant process: grant monies must be matched by district fund- ing, there must be a certified arts instructor involved in the planning of the proposed projects, and the artist(s) must be involved in a minimum of 30 hours of in-classroom activi- ties. Application deadline for the current grants is October 1, 2013.


Jerry Jennings: Keynote Talk


After lunch, we heard from Jerry Jennings from the Michi- gan Association of School Administrators. Jennings’ talk was titled “Think ‘To’ Rather Than ‘From’,” and was intended to be a call to action for arts educators. Jennings encouraged those in attendance to move beyond the “status quo” of education and to embrace change. He also urged his audience to be leaders in the pursuit of arts opportuni- ties for all students, and to advocate not only for what the arts would do for students’ future employment, but for their future citizenship.


Sarah Gonzales Triplett: ArtServe Michigan The last speaker of the day was Sarah Gonzales Triplett, who is Director of Public Policy for ArtServe Michigan. Triplett’s policy presentation included a number of issues that ArtServe considers urgent matters. First among these is the proposed $71 million cut to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These cuts are especially problematic, Triplett noted, because they force the NEA to decrease funding and direct grants to state arts agencies and organi- zations. A second major concern focused on the recent con- gressional debates over reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Proposed changes to the bill could have major impacts on arts education both in terms of funding and accountabilityvi.


. Triplett ended her


presentation with a list of ways to advocate and make a difference in support of arts education in the midst of these issues and others. Her recommendations included drafting


22


The day finished with small group discussion time on three questions. The first question concerned what we thought were the biggest obstacles to arts education and what could be done to increase arts education opportunities. The second question began with the premise that arts education flourishes in districts where both school leaders and com- munity leaders prioritize arts programs, and asked us to dis- cuss the scenarios in which we had seen this occur. Finally, we brainstormed ways to help arts educators collaborate and advocate. There were a number of points of agreement when the small groups “shared out” with the full group: arts educators should avoid being “siloed” into discipline- specific professional groups that do not speak with each other, and arts educators should stay in the public eye so that their communities know of their students’ work.


While the forum was brief and the issues numerous, there seemed to be a feeling of collegiality and shared purpose among those in attendance. I hope that future events will involve even more teachers and arts providers and will provide more opportunities to both hear from policy leaders and to discuss some of the tough conversations surrounding arts education.


i. www.michiganyoutharts.org/advocacy/survey


ii. National data can be found at http://www.culturaldata. org. The MI Cultural Data Project launched in 2010 and


can be found at www.miculturaldata.org iii.


www.creativestatemi.org iv. www.mi-arts.wikispaces.com


v.www.michiganadvantage.org/Arts/ vi.


See some details at http://advocacy.nafme.org/blog/ house-passes-esea-reauthorization-bill/


Ryan Shaw is a Ph.D. student in music education at Michi- gan State University. His research interests include music teachers’ lives and arts policy. Before coming to MSU, Ryan taught middle and high school band in Berkley, Michigan and Cedar Springs, Michigan. You can contact Ryan at rydshaw@gmail.com.


action alerts, writing letters to the editor, getting involved on social media, and making personal contacts with legisla- tors.


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