The remaining NAER meetings for 2013 are as follows:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013

All NAER meetings are held at The Newark Museum from 10:00-12:00 noon, unless otherwise noted.

NAER News

• Do you have an interest in serving on the Newark Arts Education Leadership Council (NAELC)?
• Would you like to experience concrete benefits of membership as part of the Newark Arts Education Roundtable (NAER)?

Newark Arts Education Roundtable membership for 2013-2014 and eligibility for election to the Newark Arts Education Leadership Council will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the NAER on May 8th.

Please join us at the Newark Museum on Wednesday, May 8th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for your opportunity to influence the future direction of the Newark Arts Education Roundtable!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BARAT FOUNDATION!

Barat Foundation Executive Director, Chandri Barat and Animodules LLC Managing Director Jeremy Adelman with Governor Chris Christie at Turtle Back Zoo, to celebrate the new Sea Lion Exhibition and the first two permanent outdoor Sea Lion Animodule sculptures. The Sea Lion Animodules were designed by artists Terry Brewin and Dan Fenelon in collaboration with students from the Hetrick Martin Institute and Arts High School in Newark.

(L to R) Gary & Chandri Barat, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr., Governor Chris Christie, Sea Lion Animodule

News from the Schools

Congratulations to Khalil Sabu Rashidi, Ariagna Perello and Rashon K. Hasan on their victory in the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board elections! http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2013/04/newark_schools_children_first.html#incart_river

Opportunities

Arts Day 2013

Arts Day 2013 is a program of ArtPride New Jersey Foundation in cooperation with the NJ Arts Education Partnership, Sustainable Jersey, Creative New Jersey, and the NJ State Council on the Arts.

Arts Day will provide a collaborative atmosphere to:

• Gain points for your municipality for Sustainable Jersey through their arts actions. Learn how to develop a creative team and inventory creative assets for your community,
• Grow ideas for sustaining the arts in an exciting open space convening,
• Learn how ArtPride NJ makes a difference for the arts in our state at the Annual Membership Meeting,
• Connect with Movers and Shakers who guide the development of cultural policy
• Salute recipients of the 2013 Governor’s Awards in Arts Education.

It’s a full day of activities, so plan your schedule to make the most of these opportunities. Be sure to stay to recognize and witness the power of arts education in New Jersey at the 2013 Governor’s Awards in Arts Education which annually honors advocates, educators and students for their outstanding achievements.

Click Here to Register
No Purchase Necessary

9:30 am
Registration

10:00 am
Sustainable Jersey Training
Connect with your Community!

12:00 pm
Luncheon & ArtPride New Jersey Foundation’s Annual Meeting
With remarks by President, Mary Eileen Fouratt
PLUS a performance by the Paper Mill Playhouse Broadway Show Choir

12:30 pm
A Call to Collaboration!
This Convening will create opportunities for intentional, action-oriented discussions among diverse groups of people to explore areas of collaboration, and to share resources and information.
“HOW CAN THE ARTS IN NEW JERSEY TAKE NEW AND CREATIVE APPROACHES TO STRENGTHEN ITS POSITION WITHIN THE FABRIC OF COMMUNITY LIFE?”

3:30 pm
Movers & Shakers Social*
Jersey Arts Advocate Members are invited to join us free of charge.

4:30 pm
Governor’s Awards in Arts Education

6:30 pm
Governor’s Awards Reception
The Governor’s Awards in Arts Education is the culminating event for Arts Day – a full day of workshops, performances, meetings – all to promote that importance of the arts in New Jersey. This event is produced in partnership with Art Pride NJ.
The Governor’s Awards in Arts Education began in 1980 to promote awareness and appreciation of the arts, recognizing the creativity, talent and leadership of the award winners. Each year, awards are presented to approximately 20 educators and 80 students. National and statewide organizations select the students for their exemplary work in creative writing, speech, dance, music, theatre and visual arts and the leaders for their exceptional commitment and contribution to arts education. The program also recognizes arts educators and arts education advocates, whose leadership has helped nurture the development of students in the arts across the state.

Resources

The ARTSblog from Americans for the Arts is a great resource from Kristin Engenbresten, Arts Education Program Manager. Here is are a few gems that may be of interest. Enjoy!

Ask Yo-Yo Ma about Arts Education
On April 9, Yo-Yo Ma took a break from his Arts Advocacy Day visits with members of Congress to participate in a Google Hangout video chat about arts education with Matt Sorum (drummer for Guns N’ Roses); Damian Woetzel (Former Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet); Lisa Phillips (arts educator and author); Gigi Antoni (President of Big Thought in Dallas); and Bob Lynch (President & CEO of Americans for the Arts). We collected questions beforehand via Twitter and email. To watch the recording of the Hangout, just visit our YouTube page:

Yo-Yo Ma Spins an Inspiring Tale of “Art for Life’s Sake”
Watching Yo-Yo Ma’s combined lecture and performance of a speech called “Art for Life’s Sake: A Roadmap from One Citizen Musician” as our 26th annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy last night was priceless. Not only did it feature eloquent points about the power of arts education and being a citizen musician, but it also featured memorable performances by Lil’ Buck, Cristina Pato, and MusiCorps—two of which brought tears to the eyes of those around me in the Concert Hall.

http://blog.artsusa.org/2013/04/09/yo-yo-ma-spins-an-emotional-tale-of-art-for-lifes-sake/

Embracing Arts Education to Achieve Title 1 Goals
At last week’s Arts Education Partnership National Forum in Washington DC, the California Alliance released their white paper, “A Policy Pathway: Embracing Arts Education to Achieve Title I Goals.” Co-authored with Danielle Brazell of Arts for LA and Dr. Lauren Stevenson of Junction Box Consulting, the paper maps a path for schools and districts to embrace the arts among their strategies for achieving the goals of Title I and improving educational outcomes for low-income students who are often underserved in public schools.

Our interest in this issue was spurred by the substantial body of research demonstrating that certain forms of arts education can be an asset to schools and districts in achieving Title I goals. Despite that research evidence, we have found a lack of clarity about whether and how the arts might play a role in Title I programs. In response, CAAE worked to clarify a policy pathway—a shared understanding aligned across school, district, state, and federal levels of leadership regarding what is allowable when it comes to expending Title I funds on arts education. Read their report here:

http://www.artsed411.org/blog/2013/04/embracing_arts_education_achieve_title_1_goals

Wolf Trap Early STEM Learning Through the Arts Propels Science Learning
Posted by Akua Kouyate On March – 19 – 2013

At a Congressional Briefing about the national dissemination of Wolf Trap’s Early Childhood STEM Learning Through the Arts (Early STEM/Arts) project—now in the third year of a U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education—Model Development and Dissemination grant—a District of Columbia Public Schools classroom teacher who had participated in an Early STEM/Arts residency approached me.
The teacher talked excitedly about one parent who came to her in tears of joy as she shared how her four-year-old explained to her that the sun does not rise and fall, but stays still while the earth orbits around the sun. The teacher also described how her children spent time in the dramatic play area of the classroom taking turns being the sun while directing their playmates and teachers to “orbit” around them.

What happened in that Wolf Trap residency that had such a strong impact on that classroom? I was able to see it myself a week earlier, when I’d visited the teacher’s classroom during an Early STEM/Arts session. This is what I witnessed:

Through the drama techniques of imaginary journey and utilizing sensory experiences, a classroom of four-year-old preschoolers prepares to embark on an outer space expedition. Before they leave, they put on their imaginary space suits, like the one that is projected on the big screen/smart board.
Wolf Trap Teaching Artist Valerie Bayne Carroll and her partner classroom teacher pass out the special cameras (cardboard cutout props) and two sets of “goggles” (yellow and blue cellophane strips, which are used to help imagine the temperature extremes of hot and cold) that the children will need in order to visit the planets Mercury and Neptune. A picture of the shuttle and rocket boosters is the next projected image.

In preparation for the journey, the teacher leads the students in a song that describes the solar system. A recording of orchestral music is then played in the background, further setting the environment for the adventure.

The children, with the Teaching Artist (TA) and classroom teacher, start their countdown from ten as they move from a low level squat to a high level stretch upright, ending in blastoff! (If you were teaching in this classroom, how do you think you would use this moment as an opportunity to assess math skill development?)

New images are projected on the screen: the sky, then night stars. The children shift their bodies in various directions as they hold their imaginary navigational sticks with both hands to guide their shuttles. As a rocket booster is released, the children make sound effects for it.
The teacher asks, “What do you see?” One child says, “I see the sun,” and another says, “There’s the asteroid belt!” (The classroom teacher later communicates her amazement that the child remembered content that she learned in an earlier session and included it in her imaginary journey observation.)
The TA asks the children what planets they see on their journey from Earth to Mercury. As a visual aid, there is a large poster on an easel that shows how the planets are aligned in relation to the sun, so the children can see that they’re only passing one planet on this part of the trip. The TA starts a hot air dryer and as the air blows on the children, one exclaims, “It’s getting hotter! We are getting closer to the sun!”

The journey continues with the children landing on Mercury, putting on yellow goggles, and taking pictures as they describe what they see on the surface by observing the image of the planet on the screen. They take off again, the music changes, and their adventure continues as the children guide their shuttles past Earth in the opposite direction, farther away from the sun.

The TA and teacher ask lots of questions: what planets and how many are they passing? What planet that they are visiting is closest to or furthest from to the sun? The children enthusiastically shout out their responses as they continue taking pictures with their space cameras and describing what they see. (In addition to science content, can you see the other skills that the children are developing through this process? How do you think this partnership approach impacts the teacher’s professional development?)

A new image is projected as another orchestral interlude changes the mood. The children land their shuttles on the planet Neptune, put on their blue goggles, and feel cool air blowing on them as they also touch the ice pack that the TA passes to them.
Their journey comes to an end when they return to Earth and then their classrooms, and finally remove their space gear. The classroom teacher asks the children to describe what happened on their journey, and the classroom erupts with discussion about what they did or saw on their space flight.

Through this partnership between the Wolf Trap Teaching Artist and a classroom teacher, the children experiencing this Early STEM/Arts classroom residency have embodied the content and concepts related to their science and math studies about the universe and planets through drama and music experiences. For these young children, this knowledge empowers them, allowing them to actively engage in multi-sensory learning as they take on the characters of space travelers.

In addition to the science and math content and the drama strategies (perform a character, interact within a setting or environment, use a prop–real or imaginary), what other learning has occurred? The use of the performing arts enabled the classroom teacher to readily assess other skills development that she witnessed in her children: vocabulary/language development, collaboration, cooperation, creative representation.

After the residency, the teacher told her Teaching Artist how she is continuing to use the drama strategies on her own using imaginary journey, sensory experiences, and music together with factual information and images. Her Wolf Trap experience has given her tools to help her children learn and experience other science concepts while developing social, emotional, literacy, and arts skills—tools she’ll use for the rest of her career.

Please join us at the Newark Museum on Wednesday, May 8th . . .for your opportunity to influence the future direction of the NAER!

NAER/NAELC News

On May 8, we look forward to greeting each of you at the second NAER meeting for 2013! The meeting will feature committee work on NAELC structures and NAER membership. Your input is crucial and we look forward to seeing you at the Newark Museum from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon!

2013 Newark Arts Education Roundtable Meeting Dates:

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

All NAER meetings will be held from 10:00-12:00 noon at The Newark Museum (49 Washington Street)

News from the Schools

NPS Dance Festival – April 27, 2013. The Newark Public Schools Dance Festival will feature dance Performances from NPS Elementary Schools and Arts High School. The event will take place at Science Park High School at 2:00 p.m.

Opportunities

Deadline to Submit an Application for the Grammy Foundation Music Educator Award is April 15!

The GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy are partnering to present the first-ever Music Educator Award, to recognize music educators for their contributions to our musical landscape.

The award is open to current U.S. music teachers from kindergarten through college, and the first annual award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception in 2014, the night before the GRAMMY Awards.

The Music Educator Award recipient will receive an award and honorarium of $10,000. In addition, nine finalists will also be recognized for their contributions and they will each receive an award and $1,000.

Everyone can nominate a teacher – students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, members of The Recording Academy, school deans and administrators.  Teachers are also able to nominate themselves.  Once a teacher is nominated, s/he will be notified and encouraged to fill out the complete application.

Visit www.grammymusicteacher.com  to submit a nomination. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2013.

Crayola Creative Leadership Grants

Crayola, in collaboration with the National Association of Elementary School Principals, is accepting applications for the 2013 Creative Leadership Grant program. The program will award up to twenty grants of $2,500 to elementary schools working to develop a team of leaders who can help increase arts-infused education within school and beyond. In addition, each program will receive an in-kind grant of Crayola products valued at $1,000. Applications will only be accepted from principals who are members of NAESP. Every school that submits an application by June 10 will receive a Crayola product Classpack!

http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=411800004#sthash.DC1qHjqI.dpuf

2013 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention

This year, arts leaders from across the country will gather in Pittsburgh, PA from June 14-16 to find ways to improve the story of how the arts build better lives, communities, and workplaces. A series of exciting speakers and arts innovators will discuss why the arts are the best kept secret when it comes to building healthy, diverse, and engaged communities. Our Annual Convention also provides an opportunity for peer groups interested arts education, cultural diversity, emerging leaders, public art, fundraising, and more to meet each year to connect and share their work.

In addition, three preconferences offer attendees a chance to dig deeper:

• The Public Art Network Preconference explores critical issues facing the field and includes case study tours illustrating how Public Art contributes to Pittsburgh’s distinction as America’s most livable city. The Public Art Network Preconference is generously sponsored by McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory.

• Our first ever Cultural/Arts and Entertainment Districts Preconference examines Pittsburgh in depth—and is your opportunity to see up-close how arts & entertainment and cultural districts work. The Cultural/Arts and Entertainment Districts Preconference is generously sponsored by The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

• The Emerging Leaders Preconference teaches participants to adapt at the individual level in order to more effectively lead change in their communities. The Emerging Leaders Preconference is generously sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University Master of Arts Management Program.  Register today!  http://convention.artsusa.org/action/register

Recommended Resources

Seven Deadly Sins of Impact Evaluation

http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/seven_deadly_sins_of_impact_evaluation

By Matthew Forti , Stanford Social Innovation Review, Feb. 22, 2012

Impact evaluations—typically, third-party studies that seek to prove a program model’s

effectiveness—seem to be all the rage in social sector circles these days. Maybe in part that’s because the process seems so straightforward: Just commission one when the time is right, and, when all goes well, proudly show off your “stamp of approval.” You’ll soon receive the resources you need to grow your organization and to influence all the other nonprofits in your field.

The problem is that it’s rarely that simple in practice. Consider one youth-serving organization we know, which undertook an impact evaluation—at great expense and with high visibility to its funders—only to have the process cut short when the evaluators discovered that the organization’s numerous sites were implementing its program model in wildly different ways. Did that nonprofit have growth potential? Yes. But had its leaders been conducting regular internal measurement, they probably would have realized that their organization was not yet mature enough for the rigors of an impact evaluation.

Pitfalls like this one crop up again and again in our conversations with organizations. In an effort to equip nonprofit leaders with the knowledge they need to make good decisions about impact evaluations, here is our list of the “seven deadly sins” we see nonprofits commit most often:

1. Immaturity. Per the anecdote above, don’t pursue impact evaluation until you are crystal clear about your organization’s target population, approach, and outcomes, and have internal data that shows you are consistently reaching that population, delivering intended services, and achieving intended outcomes. If you’re not sure that’s happening and want some help, you’re a good candidate for a formative evaluation where, for much less time and money, third-party evaluators will take a “peek under the hood” and suggest how you can improve your model to get it ready for impact evaluation.

2. Deference. Some nonprofit leaders assume that the evaluator should dictate what the evaluation entails—either because the evaluator is the expert, or out of concern that they not be seen as influencing the study. But the truth is, unless you articulate up front what decisions you hope to make coming out of the evaluation (or conversely, what questions you would like to answer), the evaluation will probably not be very useful. No work of any kind should begin until there is clear agreement on what the study will and will not address.

3. Narrowness. Impact evaluations are often designed to answer one question: Do beneficiaries achieve greater outcomes than similar individuals not receiving services? But far too few studies are adequately designed to answer the critical follow-on question: Why or why not? So the nonprofit is left with little to no guidance about what to replicate (if the evaluation is positive) or what to improve (if it wasn’t). If you pursue an impact evaluation, make sure evaluators gather data on the inputs (context, staff, beneficiaries, etc.) and outputs (services accessed) of your program, and that they explore qualitative methods (focus groups, in-depth interviews, etc.) that can help interpret the quantitative data they collect.

4. Isolation. Most nonprofits assume an impact evaluation has only two parties: themselves and the evaluators. But creating an evaluation advisory committee in advance of an impact evaluation is a good idea. Often these are volunteer committees comprised of prestigious experts in the nonprofit’s field (other evaluators, academics, practitioners, policymakers, etc.) who can advise on the types of thorny issues this post describes. They might meet just three times—to review the evaluation’s design, interim results, and conclusions—but their advice can be critical to ensuring a useful evaluation.

5. Myopia. Those new to impact evaluation assume they will receive a “pass” or “fail” mark at the end. In truth, nearly all evaluations result in something in between. If your organization doesn’t get an A+, don’t assume that you’ve failed. Instead, before getting started, ensure you develop a shared understanding—among staff, and with funders—of why you are undertaking the evaluation and what the possible outcomes might be. Funders in particular need to recognize the bravery it takes to submit one’s organization to outside scrutiny, and not automatically walk away from organizations that receive a B or C, so long as they have a serious plan in place to improve.

6. Finality. Many nonprofit leaders seem to think that an impact evaluation is a one-time exercise. In truth, the most successful nonprofits see measurement—including impact evaluations—as an ongoing exercise in trying to get better, not a “one and done” deal. They constantly measure because they are constantly testing their models in new sites, new contexts, and with adaptations to improve quality or lower cost.

7. Self-exclusion. Some nonprofit leaders equate impact evaluations with randomized control trials and assume that if a comparison group doesn’t naturally exist for their work, then impact evaluation is not for them. In truth, there has been a significant amount of innovation in measuring the impact of complex interventions such as advocacy, neighborhood revitalization, and capacity building. While impact often cannot be “proven” in the specific, statistical way it can with randomized control trials, evaluations in such environments can nonetheless result in significant insights about how well an organization’s programs are working and how they can be improved. If the organization is ready for an impact evaluation on all other fronts, it’s worth exploring the possibility.

Online Assessment Tools

Intro: the Dodge Assessment Initiative Online Workshop

http://www.grdodge.org/workshops/resource-library/online-assessment/intro-the-dodge-assessment-initiative-online-workshop/

Through the Assessment Workshop led by former Dodge President and CEO David Grant, non-profit organizations tackle a difficult and important topic: improving the performance of their organization through a more thoughtful, sustained and sophisticated approach to assessment.

More than Measuring

A long-term evaluation report that includes tips for designing evaluations in ways that build the capacity of communities to design and improve arts education programs for children and youth.

www.bigthought.org/

Singing Our Praises: Case Studies in the Art of Evaluation

A comprehensive how-to book for the arts. Includes case studies from cultural organizations as well as practical advice on designing an evaluation, choosing indicators, collecting information, conducting and working a logic model from start to finish. Written by Suzanne Callahan and commissioned by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters with funding from The Wallace Foundation.     www.forthearts.org/publications/singing.shtml

What Is ‘Artistic Literacy’? Framework for Arts Standards Takes Look

We talk a lot about literacy here. The ability to read and write. Math literacy. Science literacy. But what does it mean to be artistically literate? A document issued last week by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards takes a stab at this question. The coalition has drafted a framework for forthcoming arts education standards. And one of the central issues it tackles is defining artistic literacy. At the heart of it is a belief in the need to “do” art, or to make it.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/01/what_is_artistic_literacy.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

NASBE Partners with AEP on Arts Education Policy Portal

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is collaborating with the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) to create an online arts education resource designed to help state boards of education develop evidence-based policy.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasbe-partners-with-aep-on-arts-education-policy-portal-188036011.html

Thank you for your continued support!

Please join us at The Newark Museum from 10:00-12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8th!

The remaining NAER meetings for 2013 are as follows:

• Wednesday, May 8, 2013
• Wednesday, August 7, 2013
• Wednesday, November 6, 2013

All NAER meetings are held at The Newark Museum from 10:00-12:00 noon, unless otherwise noted.

News from the Schools

In observance of African American History Month, the Newark Public Schools Office of Visual and Performing Arts installed the “Celebrating the Second Emancipation” exhibition on February 21, 2013.  The Newark Public Schools Office of Academic Services, and the Office of Visual and Performing Arts of the Newark Public Schools, hosted this riveting exhibit based on African American Images that chronicle history, symbols, people and events.

The program was held in the lobby of 2 Cedar Street on February 28, 2013, and guests had the opportunity to view the artwork and honor the student-artists from Newark Public Schools.  The opening ceremony began at 3:00 p.m., followed by a reception.

The Gospel Choir of Arts High School was joined by the student-artists of NPS elementary and high schools who were inspired by the paintings of African American giants of the Harlem Renaissance and activists of the abolition movement.

Other upcoming arts education events in Newark Public Schools:
NPS Teen Arts Festival – March 16, 2013.  A reception, featuring the work of NPS High School visual artists, will be held at the Newark Museum from 12:00-2:00 p.m.
NPS Dance Festival – April 27, 2013. The Newark Public Schools Dance Festival will feature dance Performances from NPS Elementary Schools and Arts High School. The event will take place at Science Park High School at 2:00 p.m.

Change Afoot for Organization Overseeing $100 Million Facebook Fund
http://www.njspotlight.com/education/

By John Mooney, February 19, 2013 in Education| NJ Spotlight

The Foundation for Newark’s Future, the organization charged with administering Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to Newark’s schools, has struggled a bit for the spotlight, if not relevance.

Now it is about to get a new start, as its director, Greg Taylor, announced yesterday that he is stepping down after just 20 months.

The foundation has had some notable yet fairly low-profile accomplishments since its 2010 launch, including a host of teacher grants, start-up money for a couple of small schools, and funding to develop improved personnel and management procedures in the district.

Even its biggest contribution to date hardly made headlines, when the bulk of its $49 million contribution to the new Newark teachers contract famous for its performance bonuses went to bankroll retroactive pay for the teachers.

Taylor, the former Kellogg Foundation executive who took the helm of FNF in May 2011, said it was his choice to leave the $382,000 position, departing at a time when he said the foundation is on firm footing.

“With the momentum and work to date, I’m very excited to have played a small part,” Taylor said yesterday. “And with the momentum being what it is, it was good time for this decision.”
Taylor would not divulge his next endeavor, other than to confirm it is a job with a large national organization. He said he would stay on at FNF through March, when he will be replaced at least on an interim basis by the foundation’s chief financial officer, Kimberly Baxter McLain.

That still leaves Taylor some time to complete at least some of his unfinished business for the foundation, starting with finalizing its match of Zuckerberg’s $100 million contribution. That has been one of FNF’s prime directives, but after saying last May that it had reached $50 million in matching funds, little news has surfaced since.

Taylor yesterday wouldn’t say a new announcement was imminent, but he suggested some major initiatives may be in the offing.  His announcement did not come as a complete surprise; rumors of his departure started in earnest late last week.

The fact that Taylor’s family in Michigan had never made the move to Newark – he flew back there on most weekends — had fueled speculation that he might not stay long, although he maintained that was mostly about his children finishing out the school year.

But Newark had not always seemed a perfect fit, either, with Taylor’s methodical ways. Even just the creation of a local advisory board, which was promised early in his tenure, took more than a year.
Taylor said yesterday a short stay in Newark had never been part of his plans, but the other career opportunity changed his mind. “There was never a predetermined timeframe and I did think I would be involved throughout, but a wonderful opportunity came up for me professionally,” he said.

The chairman of the FNF board, Paul Bernstein, said the decision was Taylor’s own and the board had intended to keep him on board. “I’m very sad about it,” said Bernstein, chief executive officer of Pershing Square Foundation. “Greg has made a great contribution to the work we are doing in Newark.

Asked whether FNF would seek a new executive director, Bernstein said McClain would serve for the foreseeable future in an interim basis. She did not rule out the possibility that McClain could stay at the helm longer.  “We’ll see what happens, we may not (conduct a national search),” he said.
McClain previously worked for the Newark Charter School Fund, which has been in talks with FNF about a possible investment in the Newark’s charter school community.

“While Greg’s departure is a loss for Newark, Kim’s interim leadership will ensure continuity in the work of the Foundation for Newark’s Future,” said Mashea Ashton, executive director of the fund.
“Kim is an excellent leader, adviser and advocate for the 40,000 students in Newark’s public schools – charter and district,” she said. “I look forward to our continued partnership to ensure Newark is the first city in America to provide every child access to an excellent public school.”

News from the Arts Education Community

NJPAC ADDS VISIONARY EDUCATOR AND ARTS EXECUTIVE TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT STAFF (excerpted from NJPAC Press Release)

On February 25, 2013 The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced that longtime Juilliard School executive Laurie A. Carter will join its senior management staff as Vice President, Arts Education effective April 1, 2013.

A resident of Montclair, Ms. Carter has served in various senior staff and administrative roles at the Juilliard School since 1988. She was named Executive Director of Jazz Studies in 2001 and Vice President and General Counsel in 2004. Ms. Carter was also Juilliard’s first Chief Student Affairs Officer as well as its first Chief Legal Officer.

“Laurie brings to NJPAC a career’s worth of engagement in arts education and the business of the arts,” said John Schreiber, NJPAC’s President and CEO. “For 24 years at the Juilliard School, she has demonstrated creativity, strong management skills, a devotion to the future of her students and a true love for how the arts can positively impact young lives. We are thrilled and honored that Laurie has chosen to spend the next phase of her remarkable career helping us define and deliver on NJPAC’s mission to provide life changing arts learning experiences for New Jersey’s children.”

Ms. Carter holds a B.S. in Communications, an M.A. in Communications, and a law degree from Rutgers University. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. She was featured in Corporate Counsel Magazine and in SuperLawyers Magazine twice. The New York County Lawyers Association named Ms. Carter “An Outstanding Woman of the Bar” in 2004. She is a founding board member of the Aiken Music Festival and Chair of the Fine Arts Board of Snow College.
“I have spent twenty-four years of my life working with young people who aspire to make a difference in and through the arts. It is truly my passion,” said Ms. Carter. “I have a personal slogan that the arts matter because they transform lives. I am excited about joining NJPAC because it is an opportunity to give young people throughout New Jersey hope and confidence through the arts, and help them think about life in a different way. The arts should be an integral part of every child’s growth process. NJPAC has been a part of over a million young lives in its first two transformative decades. I can’t think of anything more exciting than being able to play a leadership role in expanding and extending arts learning opportunities to even more children in my home state.”

Resources

March 1 kicks off a month-long celebration of youth participation and learning in the arts around the country.  Here is just a random sampling of how some states, cities and organizations are celebrating from around the web:

1. National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week, March 24–30
2. March is Music in Our Schools Month
3. Youth Art Month
4. March for the Arts in Education Month: Empowering Youth through the Arts
5. Theatre in Our Schools Month

What School Leaders Can Do To Increase Arts Education
This document from Arts Education Partnership focuses on three core strategies school leaders can use to increase arts education.

1. Establish a School-Wide Commitment to Arts Learning
2. Create an Arts-Rich Learning Environment
3. Rethink the Use of Time and Resources

http://www.aep-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/What-School-Leaders-Can-Do-To-Increase-the-Arts.pdf

College Board Releases Report on Alignment between Common Core and Arts Standards

The College Board, in collaboration with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), has released a new research report that details the alignment between the 2010 Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math and the National Core Arts Standards currently being written.

The Arts and the Common Core: A Review of Connections Between the Common Core State Standards and the National Core Arts Standards Conceptual Framework analyzes parallels between the ELA and Math Standards and the foundations of artistic literacy outlined in the National Core Arts Standards: A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning, the NCCAS document guiding the work of the writing teams. The Common Core report was prepared by Amy Charleroy, the Associate Director for the College Board’s Office of Academic Initiatives. The College Board, an NCCAS partner, has conducted several research projects for the coalition, under the leadership of the Office of Academic Initiative’s Senior Director, Dr. Nancy Rubino. All of the reports are available on the NCCAS web page.

NCCAS is a coalition of nine national arts and education organizations committed to developing a next generation of voluntary, researched-based arts education standards that will build on the foundation created by the 1994 standards (and the 2005 Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts),
support the 21st-century needs of students and teachers, help ensure that all students are college and career ready, and affirm the place of arts education in a balanced core curriculum.
http://nccas.wikispaces.com/Common+Core+Alignment

Opportunities

Deadline to Submit a Nomination for Americans for the Arts Annual Awards is March 15!

These awards recognize the achievements of individuals, organizations, or programs committed to enriching their communities through the arts. Please take a moment to recognize an arts leader in your community!
Awards are presented in the following areas:

• Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award
• Arts Education Award
• Emerging Leaders Award
• Michael Newton Award
• Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership
• Public Art Network Award

To nominate yourself or a colleague and to review the rules and regulations, please link to the respective awards listed above for specific selection criteria and the nomination form. Nominations must be received by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on March 15, 2013.  2013 award winners will be announced at the 2013 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention and posted online June 20, 2013.

NAER/NAELC News

On February 6, we look forward to greeting each of you at the first NAER meeting for 2013! The meeting will feature a panel discussion in response to the latest process for vendors who have applied to be vetted as service providers for extended learning time in the Newark Public Schools. Panelists will have the opportunity to express their feelings about the process and we look forward to having representation from the district address feedback from the arts education community.
Please join us at The Newark Museum from 10:00-12:00 noon on Wednesday, February  6th!

2013 Newark Arts Education Roundtable Meeting  Dates:
Wednesday, February  6, 2013
Wednesday, May  8, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013

All NAER meetings will be held from 10:00-12:00 noon at The Newark Museum (49 Washington Street)

In the meantime, the Newark Arts Education Leadership Council (NAELC) has formed committees to propose new structures for the NAELC as well for NAER membership. The respective committees have been hard at work and look forward to sharing their proposals with the NAER soon. Stay tuned!

Innovative Arts Education Advocacy Idea

Nationwide Bus Wraps Manufacturer Applauds New Campaign to Support LA Arts Education

Chris D ‘Angelo, a JMR Graphics representative, states, “This is a brilliant way to advertise how important arts education is. Moreover, it’s a brilliant way to raise proceeds. We’ve stated time and time again that bus wraps are a great way to advertise in urban areas.” Chris, continues, “The message is clear and eye-catching. Anyone who sees these busses will remember them for a long time. They’ll go online to read more about the arts initiative. The need for arts funding will be more in-your-face, so you can’t escape it. You can’t turn a blind eye to the schools that need money for art teachers and supplies. It’s a great campaign. This is why vehicle wraps are a great way to advertise not only community needs, but also your business.”

http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/12/11/p3121147/nationwide-bus-wraps-manufacturer-jmr-graphics-applauds-new-campaign-to

Arts Advocacy Opportunities

Americans for the Arts 26th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture

on Arts and Public Policy

(featuring Grammy Award-winning musician Yo-Yo Ma)

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall
Washington, DC
April 8, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Receive two free tickets to the lecture with your Arts Advocacy Day registration or reserve your general admission single ticket online today!

Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day April 8–9, 2013

The 2012 election has made a dramatic impact on Congress with more than 80 new members of Congress taking office in early January. The 113th Congress will renew the focus on reducing the federal deficit through program cuts and revenue raisers that could detrimentally impact nonprofit arts organizations. It is imperative that arts advocates work together to help educate members of Congress about the role the arts play in spurring economic growth and job creation. Register Now!

Recommended Resources

Theater Education Programs Are in Demand for Workforce Creativity
Posted in The Huffington Post 01/22/2013
Follow Bruce E. Whitacre on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BEWhitacre

Imagine a group comprised of accountants, tech executives, actors, corporate CEOs, playwrights and theater directors engaged in an urgent conversation. These rather divergent personalities are all discussing the state of theater education in America and its impact on our country’s economy, culture and future. They all agree that our nation’s future workforce can’t afford a curtain call on creativity.

Recently, IBM surveyed global CEOs and found that they view creativity as the most important leadership competency for the future. But what are we doing as a country to secure this vital resource? A significant number of young people today, when they enter the workforce, will never have been exposed to the valuable skills that come with arts education and specifically the theater experience — thinking on one’s feet; effectively communicating; practicing and rehearsing; writing; and collaborating as a team. This is a missed opportunity. According to the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities, in its groundbreaking report “Reinvesting in Arts Education,” arts education is a particularly powerful tool in reaching students who are otherwise turned off by standard school subjects.
Yet, some surveys on arts participation report that fewer than half of adults have participated in arts lessons or classes in schools – a decline from about 65 percent in the 1980s. In fact, government and arts education groups, as well as theaters themselves, have documented a nationwide decline in arts education of upwards of 40 percent. Most of the young people at risk of losing access to arts education come from disadvantaged communities.

The good news is that this meaningful conversation happening at the intersection of the corporate and arts community has yielded much more than just talk and good will. It has in fact led to a nationwide campaign called Impact Creativity, launched with a $250,000 grant from Ernst & Young and its CEO Jim Turley, to sustain and grow theater education programs serving more than half a million disadvantaged youth across the country. Ernst & Young employees have even recorded testimonials about theater education which can be viewed on the Impact Creativity website.

As a former accountant turned theater director and playwright turned non-profit executive, the synergy that feeds Impact Creativity and its otherwise disparate participants makes perfect sense to me. Over the course of the last 10 years, as executive director of the National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF), an association of 19 of the nation’s leading regional theaters, I have been engaging a broad cross-section of individuals across the country with a passion for theater education to explain the challenging circumstances around ensuring that all young people receive meaningful and beneficial arts education.

A perfect storm of state and local budget crises, the lingering recovery in philanthropy, and policy challenges in schools such as a hyper-focus on testing, as well as a resistance by local schools to spend precious resources on field trips to theaters, are keeping thousands of kids from seeing live theater even at greatly reduced prices, or even for free in many cases.

It is clear that challenging times are bringing out new solutions. Through the umbrella of the Impact Creativity campaign and the 19 NCTF theaters, we are able to hold a truly national conversation among the theaters themselves, prospective donors, and advocates about how to strengthen education offerings and challenge the status quo. We are working to address the issue of fragmentation in arts education which can make the entire sector increasingly vulnerable. Programs can benefit from a sharing of best practices across various theaters, assessments of nationwide education trends and using new technological tools.

In traveling around the country to visit with NCTF theaters, I have the amazing privilege of seeing inventive programs that take theater and young people to surprising places. The Illinois Institute of Technology, for example, uses the Goodman Theatre’s (Chicago) production of A Christmas Carol as part of its STEM curriculum to teach physics through stage mechanics and special effects in the show. In Rhode Island, Trinity Repertory Company has one of the country’s most dynamic and robust acting programs for children on the autism spectrum which uses theater based techniques to develop children’s voices and movements ultimately boosting their self-confidence, self-awareness and creativity. Hartford Stage, in partnership with Wells Fargo, has brought to life the bank’s financial literary curriculum through performance-based theater exercises and improvisational activities for middle school students. And at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, young women from diverse backgrounds are participating in the Y-We Speak program to create an original theater piece based on their life experiences empowering them with leadership skills.

These programs have shown me that enriching the nation’s youth through drama is inextricably linked to preparing a robust creative workforce of tomorrow. Strengthening this link, with partners in the arts and the corporate community, remains critical to the social, cultural and economic fabric of our communities. Impact Creativity will be at the nexus of these conversations in the year ahead. Join us.

Is Creativity THE 21st Century Skill?

Article: Is Creativity THE 21st Century Skill?
topic: Arts Education Private Sector
Posted by Janet Stanford On November – 6 – 2012

YES is the answer to this question judging from the enthusiastic audience response on October 10 to Imagination Stage’s Creative Conversation on the topic.

One hundred and forty parents, educators, and other stakeholders attended a panel discussion, moderated by Doug Herbert of the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office of Innovation & Improvement, and then enjoyed breakout sessions that included sample sessions in professional development for teachers, creative parenting classes, and an opportunity to take the Torrance Test, the only nationally recognized measure for creativity that has been in use for more than 50 years.

Each of the four panelists described their viewpoint about creativity during the forum.
Developmental Psychologist Meredith Rowe debunked the commonly held assumption that creativity is a gift which cannot be taught.

Neuropsychologist Bill Stixrud spoke about what he sees daily in his clinical practice: that kids today enjoy less free play, feel more stress, are less motivated, and have lower self-esteem than past generations. His findings parallel data from the Torrance Test, which has noted a sharp decline in children’s creativity scores over the last 20 years, especially in the elementary grades. Stixrud recognizes that children are missing the benefits of creative play and arts education.

I discussed how theatre arts classes and arts integrated into the school curriculum can help children of all abilities to find motivation for their studies. Projects that are student-led and focused on creative problem solving have been shown to engage young people in ways that traditional modes of instruction no longer can.

Entrepreneur and TeaEO of Honest Tea Seth Goldman spoke about how creative thinkers are what the country needs in order to stay competitive in a global economy. His own company initially found success by tapping into current trends among consumers for healthier and more sustainable options.

During the Q & A session, members of the audience expressed their concerns about what has been called the “Creativity Crisis” in America and asked the panelists about ways in which the community can work to improve schools and supplement children’s education with new creativity initiatives.

*Please Note: This post was originally published on the Imagination Stage site and the forum was one of a number of Creative Conversations held throughout the country during the month of October in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month. It was edited by Paula Jacobs for inclusion in the February 2013  NAER Monthly Update.

Thank you for your continued support!

Please join us at The Newark Museum from 10:00-12:00 noon on Wednesday, February  6th!

Exciting new information about NAER governance and membership will be coming soon!

In addition, please look out for the NAER meeting dates for 2013 as these will be released shortly!

Newark Trust for Education Names New Board Members

Written by NET Administration, December 12, 2012

The Newark Trust for Education, Newark’s local education fund, named Essex County College President Dr. Edythe M. Abdullah, Newark Public Schools Advisory Board Chair Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, and NJPAC President John Schreiber, to its board of directors Tuesday, December 12.

“These three talented individuals compliment an already strong board, and will further assist the Trust’s efforts to ensure a quality public education for every Newark child. We are looking forward to their voices joining the chorus of civic stewards committed to strategic reform that raises student achievement for all,” said Ross Danis, Trust president and CEO.

Dr. Edythe M. Abdullah

Before becoming Essex County College’s first female president in 2011, Dr. Abdullah spent her entire career in higher education at Florida State College in her hometown of Jacksonville. In her nine-year stint as president of Florida State College, Abdullah led a 10,000-student campus while placing special emphasis on associate degree programs as well as continuing education, occupational skills training, and customized programs tailored for the business community.

She began her 25-year tenure as an admissions advisor and rose through the administrative ranks from associate dean to dean to associate vice president before being named campus president in 2001. Her previous administrative roles include serving as associate vice president of Workforce Development and Adult Education, and dean of instruction for program development.

“I have a passion for the ‘tipping point’ of Newark, and I really believe that we are at a tipping point,” she said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to share some ideas and to learn from other members of the board.”

Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson

A retired educator, Baskerville-Richardson began her teaching career at Barringer High School in Newark, where she taught English, drama, and creative writing. She immersed herself in the life of the school as director of theatrical performances and coach of Barringer’s award winning Speech Team. She went on to serve as a small learning community coordinator, focusing on transforming school environment and increasing academic success.

From 2008 until her retirement in July 2010, Baskerville-Richardson was the coordinator at the Newark Public Schools Marion A. Bolden Student Center, where she developed a core of after school classes and university partnerships for Newark’s high school students.

“My goal here is to save the lives of the children of our city—and I mean that quite literally,” she said. Baskerville-Richardson placed also an emphasis on the future of Newark students: “We need to prepare them for their future and not ours. We need to teach them to be leaders and take their rightful roles in society, not to just be prepared to be part of the workforce,” she said.

“Toni knows the Newark Public Schools as a teacher, a student, a parent, and a coordinator,” said Danis. “There are few people with her kind of perspective and leadership ability.”
Baskerville-Richardson, who will serve in an ex-officio capacity, is a past legislative representative and vice-president of the Newark Teachers Union. She is also a recipient of the New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education. All three of her children, now grown, attended Newark Public Schools.

John Schreiber

Schreiber has been the president at New Jersey Performing Arts Center since July 2011 following a run as executive vice president of social action and advocacy of Participant Media, LLC, where he was responsible for managing the creation, development and execution of unique social action and advocacy campaigns for each participant film.

“Education is the heart and soul of NJPAC’s mission,” Schreiber said Tuesday. “One of the goals I have is that arts education be as important and preeminent in any of the work NJPAC does.”

Schreiber has developed and produced programs for the American Museum of Natural History, National Public Radio, and Partnership for A Drug Free America, Children’s Television Workshop, the Juilliard School, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, General Mills, Lowe’s Corporation, Pilot Pen, Mellon Bank, and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

Schreiber serves on the board of Safe Space, New York’s largest child abuse prevention organization, as well as the Lupus Foundation and the New School University’s School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. Schreiber had a successful career as producer of theater, television, music, documentary film, winning Tony and Emmy awards.

Recommended Resources

More than the Sum of Its Parts: Collaboration & Sustainability in Arts Education
Authored by Thomas Wolf and Gigi Antoni, the book is jointly published by Dallas-based Big Thought and the National Guild for Community Arts Education in New York.

Read the Press Release

New Book Offers Real-Life Models & Practices for Multiplying the Benefits of Arts Education through Collaboration

Collaboration is a powerful strategy that allows arts education organizations to become stronger, more sustainable and find affordable solutions for addressing community needs. Any nonprofit can benefit from an effective partnership that is built on best-practice strategies which have proven successful for organizations across the United States.

More Than the Sum of Its Parts is a primer on how organizations that offer arts education and creative learning programs can initiate, enter into, and support long-lasting partnerships. It outlines the theory and practice underlying different levels of collaboration—from organizational partnerships to mergers to community-wide systems-with inspiring, real-life examples of thriving partnerships whose creative strategies multiply the benefits of arts education and help sustain their own work for years to come.

Download a free eBook (PDF) or Click here to purchase.

The New Jersey Arts Education Census Project www.artsednj.org/census.asp is featured on page 61!

Opportunities

Call for entries for 10th annual Poster Design Competition
The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts announced that entries for the 2013 Poster Design Competition will be accepted through January 31, 2013. Winners will earn up to a full tuition scholarship to study at one of the more than 50 Art Institutes schools. Open to high school seniors and adults!
http://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/6148839/the-art-institutes-and-americans-for-the-arts-announce-call-for-entries-for-10th-annual-poster-design-competition

VANS Custom Culture Competition
Americans for the Arts is proud to announce the fourth annual Vans Custom Culture art competition (open as of January 2, 2013). This awesome opportunity is open to the first 1,500 U.S.-based public or private high schools that register to compete.

Each art class will receive four pairs of blank canvas Vans shoes to design their own creations around four themes: Action Sports, Music, Art, and Local Flavor. Teachers will upload photos of their students’ finished shoes via the Vans Custom Culture website, and then an internal selection and external public vote whittle the entries down to a group of five finalists who will travel to New York City for the Vans Custom Culture final event in June 2013.

The top school will receive $50,000 for their visual arts program and the chance to have their shoes produced and sold in Vans stores. For more information, check out Vans Custom Culture website! http://www.vans.com/customculture/

National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is pleased to invite applications for the 2013 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards.
The twelve award-winning programs this year will receive $10,000 and an invitation to accept their award from the President’s Committee’s Honorary Chairman, First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony at the White House.

After-school and out-of-school time arts and humanities programs are encouraged to consider submitting an application. Programs applying for the award must meet all of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award’s Eligibility Criteria.

Completed applications will only be accepted via the online process. The deadline for application submissions is Monday, February 4, 2013, 5:00 p.m. PST.

If you have questions, please contact the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards staff at (202) 682-5575.

Please click the following link to access the online National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards Application: http://www.nahyp.org/how-to-apply/

Thank you for your continued support! As always, your feedback is valued and appreciated!

Member Spotlight

Newark Boys Chorus School

Get in the holiday spirit at the Newark Boys Chorus School 2012 Holiday Concert!
The annual concert will feature  NBCS’s Apprentice Chorus, Concert Chorus and Alumni Chorus.

Monday, December 17, 2012, 7:00PM
Grace Episcopal Church, 950 Broad Street, Newark NJ

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

presents the Greater Newark Youth Orchestras’ 23rd Annual Winter Concert featuring the Greater Newark Youth Orchestra, Greater Newark Chamber Orchestra and the Greater Newark Violin Ensemble.  Support talented young musicians and enjoy live performances of works by Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Stravinsky and more! Lots of family fun and holiday refreshments. Call 1.800.ALLEGRO (255.3476) www.njsymphony.org 

News from the Schools

At our last NAER meeting at The Newark Museum in October, Dr. Caleb Perkins, Special Assistant to Superintendent Cami Anderson (Newark Public Schools), shared a great deal of information regarding the district’s focus on Common Core State Standards and student achievement. Members in attendance also had the opportunity to share their thoughts on how arts partners might be included more effectively as a crucial part of a thorough and efficient education for every child in Newark.

Spotlight on Common Core

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a state-led initiative to ensure that students leave school with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in college and in their careers. The resulting changes to the expectations of arts educators can be profound. Arts Education Partnership (AEP) is providing this (ever-growing) selection of resources to help arts educators, school leaders, and policymakers develop a better understanding of the Common Core and what the movement means for the arts.

Common Core Background Information

Common Core State Standards Initiative – The home site for the Common Core States Standards Initiative (CCSSI) provides a strong baseline of information for those interested in learning more about the Common Core. Selected resources from this site include:

• Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects – The standards for ELA and Literacy broken out by grade level. (There are separate appendices available for example courses, etc.)
• Common Core State Standards for Mathematics – The standards for mathematics broken out by grade level. (There are separate appendices available for example courses, etc.)
• Frequently Asked Questions – A background in what the CCSS initiative is and what it is not.

Bringing the Common Core to Life – A presentation by David Coleman for the New York State Department of Education which provides an overview of Common Core and how it might be implemented within the classroom. Available here is the ability to stream or download the video, or download a transcript of the event.

Open Educational Resources Commons: Common Core – A resource site providing a wide range of resources for understanding and implementing the CCSS.

Common Core and the Arts

Guiding Principles for the Arts: Grades K-12 – Developed by David Coleman, this is a discussion of the ways in which arts education intersects with the Common Core areas.

Common Core: What are the Possibilities for the Arts? – A webinar hosted by Grantmakers in the Arts and conducted by Julie Fry and Richard Kessler regarding the implications of the Common Core for arts education. The presentation slides are also available separately.

The Arts and the Common Core Curriculum Mapping Project – A guide utilizing the arts in a Common Core curriculum.

Creativity, Critical Thinking, and the New Common Core State Standards – A symposium co-hosted by the Los Angeles Unified School District Arts Education Branch and the Museum of Contemporary Art, bringing together school leaders, teachers, and educators from arts organizations to discuss the impact of the Common Core on their work.

Arts Advocacy Opportunities

Americans for the Arts 26th Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy

(featuring Grammy Award-winning musician Yo-Yo Ma)

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall

Washington, DC
April 8, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Receive two free tickets to the lecture with your Arts Advocacy Day registration or reserve your general admission single ticket online today!

Register Now for Arts Advocacy Day April 8–9, 2013

The 2012 election has made a dramatic impact on Congress with more than 80 new members of Congress taking office in early January. The 113th Congress will renew the focus on reducing the federal deficit through program cuts and revenue raisers that could detrimentally impact nonprofit arts organizations. It is imperative that arts advocates work together to help educate members of Congress about the role the arts play in spurring economic growth and job creation. Register Now! 

Spotlight on National Arts and Education Leaders

Mae Jemison:  A Poster Child for an Education that Combines Arts and Sciences
http://www.ted.com/talks/mae_jemison_on_teaching_arts_and_sciences_together.html

In 1992, Mae Jemison was the first African-American woman to go into space. She’s become a crusader for science education — and for a new vision of learning that combines arts and sciences, intuition and logic.

Trained as an engineer, Jemison is a medical doctor, and she practiced in L.A. before becoming the Peace Corps’ Medical Officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Back in the US, she’d returned to her California practice when selected in 1987 for NASA’s astronaut program. She was the science mission specialist on STS-47 Spacelab-J (September 12-20, 1992), a cooperative mission between the United States and Japan.

In 1994, Jemison founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, which runs an internationally-known science camp called The Earth We Share. She also founded BioSentient Corp. to explore bringing NASA biofeedback technology to public market. Jemison is also the first real astronaut to appear on Star Trek.

“Science provides an understanding of a universal experience. Arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience.”

Watch this talk »

“The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin even, or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity.”

Watch this talk »

NAER/NAELC News

Jarrad Toussant, Senior Education Advisor to Mayor Cory Booker’s office and Dr. Caleb Perkins, Assistant to the Superintendent/Director of Curriculum for Newark Public Schools  joined us at  the October 24th NAER meeting at The Newark Museum.  Amy Duggins-Pender led a discussion with members in attendance to articulate priority areas for the NAER with respect to its relationship with the district.

On November 15th, the Newark Arts Education Leadership Council (NAELC) will be holding a half-day retreat to address the priorities listed below, in addition to the areas of Governance and Strategy.

1. HOW DO ARTS ORGANIZATIONS GET INTO THE SCHOOLS EVEN AFTER GETTING PREQUALIFIED?
2. HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH SCHOOLS NEED US MOST?
3. WHERE IS THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (RE: ARTS EDUCATION) FOR SCHOOL LEADERS?
4. THE PQS PROCESS IS DAUNTING, ESPECIALLY FOR SMALLER ARTS ORGANIZATIONS. HOW DO WE NAVIGATE THIS PROCESS?
5. WHAT IS THE STRATEGY FOR STUDENTS GETTING WHAT IS MANDATED BY LAW (SEQUENTIAL ARTS EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE CCCS, TAUGHT BY CERTIFIED ARTS TEACHERS, DURING THE SCHOOL DAY?)
6. HOW DO THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE DECISIONS (IN THE DISRICT) DECIDE?
7. HOW CAN WE CLARIFY “THE THREE BUCKETS”?
*ARTS EDUCATION FOR ARTS SAKE
*ARTS AS A WAY TO SUPPORT /ACCELERATE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
*ARTS TO RAISE THE SKILLS OF ADULTS

News from the Schools

For all arts partners and community-based organizations who wish to do business with Newark Public Schools (NPS), please make sure to visit the Newark Public Schools website regularly.  Click on the “Vendors” section on the left hand side of the Home page.

The majority of bids are solicited using the NPS electronic bidding system. However, vendors, for a short time period, may still view bids from this website by clicking on the link below or may obtain a copy via U.S. Mail by contacting the Purchasing Department at 973-733-6549.

VIEW CURRENT BIDS 

To apply to do business with NPS and to access the electronic bidding system for NPS, it is necessary for your company to register. There is no cost for you to register.

Once you register you will be given access to submit your bid pricing online. You will also receive bid alerts of future bid opportunities for the categories you select. In order to receive these email notifications and ensure participation, Click on the “Bidder’s Application” link below for complete instructions on how to register. To view current bids click the “Current Bids” link.

Bidder’s Application – ! New Changes! 
Important note: If you are a current vendor with Newark Public Schools and wish to verify that you are registered to receive bids for your commodities, please contact dbowman@nps.k12.nj.us.

NAER Member Spotlight:
New Jersey Arts Education Partnership

Breakfast with Bob is now a podcast! Thanks to Kristin Wenger, Executive Director of the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership for making Robert Morrison’s Breakfast with Bob updates available in podcast form.  If you cannot join in live, this is a wonderful resource to utilize to stay informed about national and local updates on arts education! Thank you NJAEP!

NEA Chairman, Rocco Landesman’s visit to NJ – Episode #20
You can now listen to the recorded episode at http://www.artsednj.org/podcasts.asp 

Recommended Resources

Classroom arts: NEA chairman implores N.J. leaders to make arts a central part of schools
Published: Thursday, October 11, 2012, 7:15 AM By Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger View full sizeTony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerPatrons gather outside NJPAC in Newark in 2010.
NEWARK — Making his first visit to New Jersey since becoming chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman called upon arts and community leaders Wednesday to be bolder in their approach to improving arts education, saying incremental goals should be tossed aside in favor of art-centered reform.
“The arts need to be central part of a school’s strategy,” Landesman said. “The arts are not something you add after you’ve solved the big problems. The arts should be part of the first-order solution.”
Landesman is a former Broadway producer who was confirmed in 2009 as 10th chairman of the federal arts agency. He spoke to about 100 arts leaders at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark at the start of a panel discussion on arts education organized solely for his visit.
Later, at the newly opened Hamilton Stage in Rahway, he participated in a panel discussion on “creative placemaking,” the trendy phrase he defined as the use of arts to shape a community’s social and economic character. That event was also organized for just for him.
Members and staff of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts attended both events, and squeezed in a 30-minute business meeting before the Rahway discussion. At the meeting, Marilyn Harkett Dore of Montclair and Trudy Rosato Simpson of Princeton were sworn in as new members.
In Newark, the discussion focused on the benefits of arts education, including improved discipline and focus, higher graduation rates and greater interest in attending college. Ayanna Hudson, NEA director of arts education, gave a national view of model arts education programs and a blueprint for the agency’s effort to replicate these around the country.
Robert Morrison of the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project detailed New Jersey’s programs and shortfalls, and Donna Serio, former director of fine, visual and performing arts for the Franklin Township public schools, provided a practitioner’s perspective of what works.
After listening to more than an hour of studies and anecdotes about power of arts education, Landesman asked, “This is so stupidly obvious, so why aren’t (all school districts) insisting they have arts as part of their day?”
His visit to Rahway comes after the NEA awarded the city a $75,000 “Our Town” grant, one of only 80 nationwide. The money will support the first season of Hamilton Stage, a former city garage that was restored by the city and opened last month. The new venue, operated by the Union County Performing Arts Center and located a half-block away from that historic theater, is the most recent success in the municipality’s effort to transform itself into an artsy enclave.
County and local politicians and representatives from the school district joined arts leaders for the conversation on how to effectively use the arts to transform cities and neighborhood. Former Rahway Mayor Jim Kennedy and New Brunswick Development Corp. Vice President Jean Holtz described the success they’ve had in their towns, much to Landesman’s pleasure.
“What’s gratifying for me is it’s now become a national movement, a field,” Landesman said. “You’ve been doing it well enough and long enough.”
Please follow the link provided below for the National Endowment for the Arts document, The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies by James S. Catterall, University of California, Los Angeles, with Susan A. Dumais, Louisiana State University, and Gillian Hampden-Thompson, University of York, U.K.
http://www.nea.gov/research/arts-at-risk-youth.pdf
Additionally this document is available free of charge in print or PDF format at www.arts.gov , the website of the National Endowment of the Arts.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

For starters we’d like to take the opportunity to remind you to mark your calendar and make a strong effort to attend the remaining Newark Arts Education Roundtable meeting for 2012:

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

(10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

@ The Newark Museum

49 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO)

BRING NJSO MUSICIANS TO YOU!

Did you know that NJSO musicians perform in a variety of community settings, not just in concert halls? Through the REACH (Resources for Education and Community Harmony) program, NJSO chamber music ensembles bring musical magic to venues such as schools, libraries, nursing homes, corporate events and places of worship throughout the state. NJSO chamber music programs offer wonderful opportunities for audiences of all ages to get up close and personal with NJSO musicians and make music-filled memories that last a lifetime.

To bring NJSO musicians to you, call 973.735.1734 or email REACH@njsymphony.org to book an ensemble today!  To learn more about REACH, visit www.njsymphony.org/reach

Mallory King from Arts to Grow (ATG)

Access to sequential, high-quality arts education in all four arts disciplines are the educational right of every child in our state in accordance with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (CCCS). That being said, there is a strong focus on student success with respect to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which refer only to language arts literacy and mathematics. The following resources are great to have in your advocacy toolkit with respect to how the arts create the pathway to academic success as well as civic engagement and leadership!

How the Arts Can Lead in Implementing the Common Core

POSTED BY SARAH ZUCKERMAN ON SEPTEMBER – 10 – 2012

“To succeed today and in the future, America’s children will need to be inventive, resourceful, and imaginative. The best way to foster that creativity is through arts education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Re-Investing Through Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools.

The nation has deemed that learning in and through the arts is critical for the success of all students. This positions arts educators to take a leadership role in implementing what the Common Core means for learning. The arts are different than other subjects; this is what fosters innovative, creative, and critical thinkers. The Common Core opens a door for leadership, an opportunity for the best arts educators to model what teaching and learning should look like across the curriculum…are we ready for the challenge?

What do the arts do, exactly? How does this align with the Common Core?

How the arts progress student learning is too complex for one blog entry. However, I would like to draw attention to a few ways that arts-based learning models the English Language Arts/Literacy instructional shifts of the new standards.

1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction
In arts classrooms that employ reading across the curriculum, this happens quite naturally. Whether we are reading a critique of an artist’s work or reading about the cultural context of a genre of work, art history, aesthetics, and critique all are grounded in content-rich nonfiction. Content-rich nonfiction media in the arts abound for every age from preschool to adult.

2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational
The way a careful observer draws on evidence to interpret an image or production parallels the processes employed when a strong reader makes meaning from a text. Arts teachers require students to find evidence for their interpretations by asking, “What in the work made you say that?” part of the visual thinking strategy used by many teachers. This focus on evidence is the basis of learning how to view art or performance, as it is learning how to read a text.

3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic language
In an art museum there is no “Third Grade Gallery” or “High School Wing,” nor do we only show children theatre performances limited by reading level. To quote Steve Seidel, head of the Arts in Education Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education, “The very notion of theatre, of rehearsal, is the close examination of a text.” In the arts, students routinely confront images, lines in a script, etc., that need much more than a glance (or quick read) to understand. The arts train students to make meaning of complex works, the same ability that higher levels of text complexity demand. With the right scaffolding and time allotment, such work becomes accessible to all learners.

Learning in the arts is transferable

In the arts, to appreciate any masterpiece, to construct understanding from the complex, one must engage in deep analysis and a systematic search for meaning. This is a transferable skill; these studio habits of mind can and should be applied across disciplines. To appreciate, understand, and successfully apply mathematics, language arts, history, and the sciences, a learner must engage in the same type of analysis, study of technique, and consideration of context that is modeled so clearly in arts learning. This attentive study results in deep understanding, and occurs best when done through interdisciplinary projects.

An Opportunity to Lead

Simply stated, what the arts do so well is now what is being asked of all teachers.

The arts, in professional practice, are arguably the most disciplined of all disciplines, where devoted practice, development of ideas based on research and experimentation, criticism and revision, and a meticulous focus on detail and quality reign.

The Common Core provides a tremendous opportunity for the arts to play a central role in teaching and learning. Let us rise to the call.

For more on these ideas, as well as a great list of resources, please read my white paper on this topic.

LIZ DWYER August 21, 2012

Want Kids to Be More Altruistic? Give Them Arts Education

Liz is GOOD’s education editor. She taught in Guangzhou, China and Compton, California, and worked for Teach for America. She’s written for Good Housekeeping, Parenting and numerous online publications.

Earlier this year Secretary of Education Arne Duncan voiced his support for dance, music, theater, and visual arts programs, calling them “essential to preparing our nation’s young people for a global economy fueled by innovation and creativity.” A new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago points to an equally important reason we need to make sure every school has a robust arts program: People who engage in the arts or watch others do so are more likely to be civically engaged, socially tolerant, and altruistic.

Kelly LeRoux, an assistant professor of public administration at UIC who is the principal investigator on the study, says their data analysis found a high correlation between the arts and altruistic actions—like donating blood, donating money, giving directions, or doing favors for a neighbor—that place the interests of others over the interests of self, and civic activities like volunteering and being involved in organizations and politics. The respondents with greater arts exposure and participation were also more welcoming to people from different racial backgrounds and were willing to having someone gay “speak in their community or teach in public schools.  “At a time when arts budgets are being decimated, it’s concerning that we’re depriving students of such critical benefits. Indeed, “If policymakers are concerned about a decline in community life,” says LeRoux, “the arts shouldn’t be disregarded as a means to promote an active citizenry.”

We look forward to greeting each of you personally on October 24th @ The Newark Museum!

Our goal is to provide information about arts education policy, new developments in Newark schools, professional development opportunities and valuable resources that we can utilize as we work collectively to ensure the provision of quality arts education services for Newark youth.

The remaining NAER meeting for 2012 is as follows:

Wednesday, October 24th (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) – The Newark Museum

Individual and collective participation is crucial to the success of our mission. We hope to welcome all of our arts partners to each of the scheduled meetings of the Newark Arts Education Roundtable!

NATIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION WEEK: SEPTEMBER 9–15 www.AmericansForTheArts.org/networks/arts_education/001.asp In July 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring the week following the second Sunday of September as National Arts in Education Week. Celebrate with us this year, September 9–15, 2012. Take the opportunity to draw attention to arts education in your school and build momentum for a great school year. Americans for the Arts will celebrate by hosting their biannual blog salon about arts education topics on ARTSblog. This blog salon will feature about 20 posts by arts and education leaders throughout the week, all discussing the intersection between the arts and the new Common Core State Standards. Follow the salon by using this link to the arts education section of ARTSblog.

Americans for the Arts invites you to submit a session proposal for the 2013 Annual Convention!

Submission deadline is Wednesday, September 19, 2012 and submissions are only accepted online at http://convention.artsusa.org/proposals.

Join Americans for the Arts June 14-16, 2013 in Pittsburgh, PA to continue the national conversation on the “new normal”.  The 2013 Americans for the Arts Convention brings focus to how the arts are meeting the needs of communities as demographic shifts take hold.  The Annual Convention program will explore strategies for communities to adapt, transform, and revitalize in a changing landscape to build the 21st-Century American Community.  The Annual Convention welcomes sessions from members and non-members, so please feel free to forward this message.

We are seeking proposals for two types of presentations:

1.       Convention Sessions, which are 90 minutes and should be complete learning experiences with specific outcomes and learning objectives. Sessions can include multiple speakers, but are limited to no more than four speakers per session.

2.       Roundtable Discussions for Career, Organization, and Community 360.  Roundtable Discussions are a great networking and issue-based discussion opportunity. Roundtables offer a variety of topics related to promoting sustainable careers in the arts and tackling difficult capacity-building issues in arts organizations and your greater community. Roundtables should only include one discussion leader per table.

Proposals should focus on innovative strategies, tested tools, and best practices that relate to the frames of the Annual Convention, including diversity, equity, and access; place making; education; social impact; technology; demographic shifts; and building business partnerships and new business models. Beyond these frames, we welcome sessions addressing fundamental concepts in fundraising, advocacy, marketing, and board development and engagement.

Americans for the Arts is also accepting sessions for the Emerging Leaders Preconference and the Public Art Network Preconference. Both preconferences are June 13-14 and end by the start of the Annual Convention. The opportunity to designate your session proposal for one of these two preconferences can be found on the Convention Session proposal form.

The submission deadline is Wednesday, September 19, 2012 and submissions are only accepted online at http://convention.artsusa.org/proposals.

10th Annual Conversation on Education and the Arts at the Montclair Art Museum

Annual Conversation on Education and the Arts  - Wednesday, September 19th at 7:00 p.m.

Each fall the Montclair Art Museum and the Montclair Community Pre-K co-sponsor a lecture that invites prominent minds and talents in the field of education to our community to discuss the arts in our schools, as well as early childhood education and the role of creativity in learning. This lecture is always a popular event and allows regional educators to spend an informative and lively evening with their peers. Professional Development Hours available.

10th Annual Conversation on Education and the Arts:
Thinking and Teaching About Beauty in the 21st Century
Howard Gardner
Wednesday, September 19, 7 p.m.
$20 Members, Montclair Community Pre-K families, Students with ID
$25 Nonmembers

Buy advance tickets online, call 973-259-5137, or in person at The Store at MAM.
Join MAM and the Montclair Community Pre-K in welcoming back leading developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, professor of cognition and education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, senior director of Harvard Project Zero, and author of over 20 books translated into 30 languages. Dr. Gardner is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences, which values the unique blend of intelligences that human beings possess.

For more information, please contact:
Martha Kelshaw, Manager of Public Programs, 973-259-5153,mkelshaw@montclairartmuseum.org

Gary Schneider, Director of Education, 973-259-5121, gschneider@montclairartmuseum.org

Recommended by Misha Simmonds, Director of University Heights Charter School and member of the Newark Arts Education Leadership Council (NAELC)

Teach Like A Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students On The Path To College (Jossey-Bass; 978-0-470-55047-2; April 2010; $27.95) by Doug Lemov offers effective teaching techniques to help any teacher become a champion in the classroom. Click the link to read The New York Times article, “Building a Better Teacher”.

As a result of Lemov’s Techniques, West Denver Prep students (93% who are qualified as low income) demonstrated the highest academic growth at any middle school in Denver for the third consecutive year in 2009, with median growth percentiles of 90% in Math, 85% in Writing, and 66% in Reading.

Teach like a Champion also includes a DVD of 25 video clips of teachers demonstrating the techniques in the classroom. You can also the view video clips of some of the techniques onNYTimes.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 
Doug Lemov is a Managing Director of Uncommon Schools and runs its True North Public Schools network in upstate New York. Mr. Lemov is formerly the President of School Performance, a non-profit providing performance data to schools, and former Vice President for Accountability, at the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute–the leading authorizer of charters in New York. Mr. Lemov has served as a consultant and trainer to such nationally known organizations as KIPP, New Leaders for New Schools, Teach for America and Building Excellent Schools–and is a Trustee of the New York Charter Schools Association. He holds a BA from Hamilton College, an MA from Indiana University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Visit Doug Lemov at www.douglemov.com andhttp://teachlikeachampion.wiley.com.

Thanks to our partner, the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership (NJAEP) for sharing the following.

Without the Arts, It’s Not Education

Liz Dwyer July 12, 2012

Liz is GOOD’s education editor. She’s written for Good Housekeeping, Parenting and numerous online publications.

Earlier this spring Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote that “dance, music, theater, and visual arts” are essential to preparing our nation’s young people for a global economy fueled by innovation and creativity.” That may be the case, but thanks to education funding cuts, the arts are being systematically stripped from our schools. According to creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, what’s left can hardly be called an education.

“We may be providing something else, but it’s not what we want to think of as education,” Robinson told attendees at the recent Action Children’s Art Conference in the U.K. Instead, says Robinson, our children are growing up in a fast-paced world “that’s becoming more standardized,” which means kids “live within education cultures that are more prone to testing, to conformity, and to compliance than ever before.”

Indeed, what Robinson advocates for “are opportunities for self exploration” and the ability for “young people to explore the range of their own imaginations.” Because the arts are intimately connected to our emotions, students also need a chance “to explore the depths of their own feelings and their connections to other people.”

Without the connection to our emotions that music, dance, visual art, and drama provide, students’ ability to cultivate their right-brain “soft skills” ends up being stunted. In a global society that needs people with the emotional intelligence to have both personal and working relationships with people from diverse cultures—and the ability to think creatively and entrepreneurially—that means denying kids access to the arts has less-than-desirable consequences.

It’s not too late to get on the right track though, says Robinson, if we support a robust, child centered arts program in our schools, and if arts organizations in our community—the local ballet or symphony, for example—also develop programs specifically for students.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday, October 24th at The Newark Museum!

Newark Arts Education Roundtable (NAER) Monthly Update
August 2012

The goal of the NAER monthly updates is to provide information about arts education policy, new developments in Newark schools, professional development opportunities as well as share valuable resources that we can utilize as we work collectively to ensure the provision of quality arts education services for Newark youth.
For starters we’d like to take the opportunity to remind you to mark your calendar and make a strong effort to attend the remaining Newark Arts Education Roundtable meeting for 2012:
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
(10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
@ The Newark Museum
49 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102

Recommended Resources (also available at www.NewarkArts.org)
2012 Arts Education Conference Session Materials
Bridging the Gap: Creating a Partnership for Arts Education in Newark
is now over, but for your convenience, we’ve collected some important resources from the conference below:
2011 New Jersey Arts Education Census Documents
Download Keeping the Promise for the Children of Newark: Updated Findings from the 2011 NJ Arts Education Census Project.
Download the Statewide Arts Education Census PDF.

Quality Counts: Designing Effective Afterschool and Summer Programs, National Summer Learning Association
Newark Arts Education Conference NSLA Session Quality Counts PDF
CASP Quick Reference Guide PDF
Summer Learning Infographic PDF
NJ Quality Standards for Afterschool: Statements Only Word Doc
You can read The Star Ledger’s article on the conference here.

Thank you to our sponsors!

 
Photos courtesy of Gary Barat
NAER Member Spotlight!
During the 2011–2012 school year, the Newark Museum provided hands-on, inquiry-driven special services for Newark students, curriculum resources for classroom use, professional development for teachers, and an evaluation study.
Aligned with New Jersey’s core curriculum content standards for art, science, social studies, and language arts literacy, these special services utilized a student-centered approach that provided teachers with strategies that are designed to motivate young people and strengthen their learning.
Click on the Word document icon below to view a detailed description of the special services provided by the Newark Museum in partnership with Newark Public Schools. A wonderful resource for all of us to learn from!
Partnership:
Newark Museum and the Newark Public Schools

Summary of Special Services
2011-2012
Arts Education in the Media
When you need a true story to illustrate the importance of arts education for every child, the following Star Ledger article about the journey of a Paterson, NJ teenager is a phenomenal resource to have on hand. A must read!
Out of jail, Paterson teen seeks salvation in the strings Barry Carter/The Star-Ledger Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 The Star-Ledger

View full size
Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger. Issac Velez played the violin in elementary school, but stopped after hanging with the wrong crowd in high school. That led to a jail sentence on robbery charges. Now he’s out and, at 19, he’s playing again. He wears a house-arrest bracelet to practice at St. Bonaventure Church in Paterson.

PATERSON — His hands get tired fingering the violin strings, but Issac Velez couldn’t care less about fatigue. Just having it cradled under his chin, the bow in his right hand, is like holding an old girlfriend in his arms again.

He didn’t want to put her down recently, but he does to flex his fingers so they won’t cramp. Then he dives right back into J.S. Bach’s “Gavotte in D Major,” a piece he was practicing for a concert earlier this month at a Roman Catholic church near his house in Paterson. He’s played at Saint Bonaventure many times as a boy and he was there on a Saturday keeping pace with a former teacher surprised by how much he remembers.
“Not bad, Issac,” said Nathan Thomas. “It’s like you never left.”

Neither of them can believe it’s been five years since he last touched a violin. Velez, now 19, was a talented eighth grader in Thomas’s violin ensemble — The Paterson Strings — when he was in middle school. He was so good at one point that he was among a select group of students in the state to play with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. But whatever promise Velez showed back then ended with bad choices in high school; and he’s reminded of what could have been every time he looks down at his ankle.
The house-arrest bracelet strapped to his leg represents his mistakes. The violin in his hand is the future he let slip away. Together, the bracelet, the violin and the musician make one of the most vivid portraits of irony you’ll ever see: a young man gifted to play beautiful music he now clings to for his survival.

“This is what I have been missing,” Velez said. “It’s one of the first loves I had in my life. I could have made something of myself.”

He made a mess instead. For the past year he was in the Passaic County Jail, locked up on 49 counts of car burglary and theft. He had a $50,000 bail that his mom, Nareman Abusalah, wasn’t going to pay. She left him there with real roughnecks facing life for murder to learn a lesson that would bring him to tears.
“He needed to have that experience,” she said. “It shows you who are your real friends and who your family is.”

Humbled and scared, Velez thought about his stupidity and the trust he lost. The only thing besides family that made sense was the violin and he wanted to play again if he could get out. Luckily for him, life sometimes offers second chances. His attorney, Laura Sutnick followed her gut instinct after she talked to Velez. “It was something about the way he said he didn’t want to go back to jail,” said Sutnick, a criminal lawyer for 20 years.

She appealed to the judge last month to not give him five years, explaining that Velez had a drug problem and needed help instead of incarceration. She also said that he had already been in the county jail nine months and the stay did something to him. Velez pleaded guilty to some of the charges under the condition that he would get probation and enroll in a treatment program. His new bail terms let him come home under house arrest until he went back to court. “Once in a while and very seldom I’ll have a guy in which jail changes their life,’’ Sutnick said. “Isaac was one of those people.’’
Velez is a violinist who abandoned his passion and tried to be something he wasn’t — a hoodlum. There was no violin program in high school and that meant trouble for him. The wrong crowd he found led to a drug problem, fights and his dropping out of school. He broke into unlocked cars, stealing whatever he and his friends could find. The juvenile justice system was a joke to him and he didn’t straighten up. The chubby faced kid his mother video taped at concerts disappeared into the streets.

It’s been just over a month that he’s been home and classical music has never sounded so good to Velez. He wasn’t sure if he had the skills to play at first when he called Thomas from home, asking if he still taught violin on Saturdays at the church. Thomas was the same dedicated educator and mentor he remembers and he was still teaching violin to kids who wanted to learn.

You may remember reading about him last year in a column I wrote. Thomas lost his job when most of the music program was eliminated, but he continued to train 16 of his students who loved the music as much as he did. He did it for free, using his own money to fix violins and buy supplies, driving 80 miles round trip from his home in Franklin Township in Somerset County to Paterson. His extraordinary commitment to children moved readers to donate violins and send him money for gas and expenses.

Thomas never got his job back with the Paterson School District. He’s a teacher at Orange High School, and on Saturday, you’ll find him at the church for the three-hour class. When Velez reached out to him, Thomas gave him a violin and a music book so he could practice at home before joining the ensemble again. With the exception of some rust in his finger movement, Thomas said his former star student should be up to speed in no time.

“It’s hard to believe he hasn’t played since elementary school,’’ Thomas said. “He’s holding his own.’’
He went through the music book in the three days, surprising himself that he still had the knack for “Humoresque” by A. Dvorak and “Minuet” by L. Boccherini.

“I thought I had lost it, but I still got it,’’ Velez said. Middle school and high school students in the group heard the same thing at his first practice. It didn’t matter to them that he was wearing the bracelet, its red light blinking constantly. The way he played made them forget he had it on. “He’s amazing,” said Jihad Hussain, one of the top players in the group. “He was better than some people we have now. He’s one of the best.”

What it shows more than anything is that you can never ever under estimate the power of music and the impact it can have on somebody’s life. While he was running the streets, the strains of the violin still resonated within.
“If it’s your passion, it’s something you will never forget,” said Jesus Rolon, another violinist in the group. “Just like a song writer writes a song he never forgets. A violinist will always remember, too.”

Playing again gives Velez hope, even though he knows people will doubt him at this juncture where he could fly right or go astray. He’s saying all the the right things, that he’s changed, that he’s found God, much like everybody else whose been in his predicament. Even his mother and his kid sister were skeptical about him coming home at first. They remember the disrespect, how nasty he had become, and they weren’t sure how having him back was going to work out. “I was like, ‘What is he going to steal first?’ Abusalah said. “I’m sorry, but that’s what I thought.”
She is his toughest critic and biggest supporter, but she says she has seen him change. A life isn’t turned around quickly, the past not easily overcome. But the start looks good, she
says. The attitude, gone; the back talk, too. Dishes get washed, the floor swept, flowers arranged on the table. The contrast is so striking that she called the attorney to say — “Is this my son?”

It was on a Friday this month that Superior Court Judge Miguel de la Carerra released him on probation, but not before he heard from Velez’s mom and Thomas. Carerra smiled after looking at two, old laminated news stories that Thomas had given him to read. They were
about the violin ensemble and Velez was pictured in both, playing the violin in the fifth and eighth grade. The judge said it tugged at his heart. Later that day, the ankle bracelet came off, deactivated by computer. The flashing red light dimmed, and then went out.
We look forward to greeting each of you personally on October 24th @ The Newark Museum!