JFK Partners in Education Program

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is accepting applications into its Partners in Education program, which facilitates educational partnerships between arts organizations around the nation and their local school systems.

·         Representatives from these organizations work together as Partnership Teams to establish or expand professional development programs in the arts for teachers.
·         Teams consist of one or two representatives from the arts organization and a representative from a local school system, such as a senior-level administrator responsible for professional development.
·         The team participates in an Institute that provides models and planning strategies for professional development programs in the arts for teachers.

·         Beyond the Institute, the program provides follow-up consultation and professional learning to assist teams in their continued development. 

·         The Institute is the beginning of the Partnership Team’s participation in the program and Teams are accepted based on their application.

·         The next Institute will take place April 25 through April 28, 2012 at the Kennedy Center inWashington, D.C.

                                                                                                  

For more information or to apply, please contact John Abodeely, 
202/416.8843 or visit www.kennedy-center.org/education/partners.  

Iowa Model of Excellence

Do you know a new arts educator? Would you be willing to mentor a new arts educator?

As part of the IAAE mentorship program, several great opportunities are available to new teachers during the first year of teaching, including the Fall Symposium for First Year Arts Teachers, to be held in Fort Dodge on October 29, 2011. The Iowa Alliance for Arts Education has developed a mentorship program for first and second-year arts educators in the state of Iowa. Each arts organization has a Mentorship Chair who coordinates the mentorship program.

This program is funded by a grant from the Department of Education to IAAE. As part of this program, active and retired arts educators have volunteered to observe first and second-year arts educators and offer suggestions for improvement. Mentors receive an honorarium for their work.

First-year Teacher
A $250 scholarship for professional conference attendance and/or membership dues.
Fall Symposium, meal and mileage paid. See brochure.
Observation Mentor Program, four visits

Second-year Teacher
Observation Mentor Program, two visits

Musical Brains and Old Age

While it is known that practicing music repeatedly changes the organization of the brain, it is not clear if these changes can correlate musical abilities with non-musical abilities. The study of 70 older participants, with different musical experience over their lifetimes, provides a connection between musical activity and mental balance in old age. “The results of this preliminary study revealed that participants with at least 10 years of musical experience (high activity musicians) had better performance in nonverbal memory, naming, and executive processes in advanced age relative to non-musicians.”

 Read more...

Thanks to West Music!

West Music of Coralville was one of the sponsors of the Governor's Education Summit. All IAAE members send our collective appreciation.  Steve was the only arts business who put his money where his passion is.

Integrating the Arts Webinar

Integrating the Arts Across the Curriculum
Tuesday, July 19, 2011, 2 p.m. EDT
Also available "on demand" any time 24 hours after the event.
Free registration is now open.

Many arts advocates suggest integrating dance, music, theater, and visual arts across the curriculum holds great promise to enhance student learning—and revitalize the arts in public schools.
Although not a new idea, teaching "through" the arts appears to be gaining a stronger foothold, proponents say. Examples span the country and content areas. Take dance, where the art form has been used in a Baltimore County, Md., school to help teach scientific concepts like photosynthesis, and in suburban Minneapolis to bring the Underground Railroad to life.
A White House advisory panel recently made the case for "reinvesting" in arts education and drew special attention to arts integration, suggesting that it can boost student motivation and provide both academic and social benefits.
This webinar will explore the potential of bringing together the arts with other subjects in a mutual learning experience and point to promising examples, as well as the challenges to ensure that such efforts achieve their academic goals.

Guests:

• Sandra Ruppert, director of the Arts Education Partnership.
• Shana Habel, dance demonstration teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District and co-president of the California Dance Education Association.

This webinar will be moderated by Erik Robelen, assistant editor, Education Week.

Related Article:
"Schools Integrate Dance Into Core Academics"
Register for this free webinar.

Sir Ken Robinson in Iowa

July 26, 2011 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Sheraton Hotel, Iowa City

Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation, human potential and the people side of organizations. One of his speaking topics is “How to Profit from Diversity”. His 2006 talk at the TED conference is the most-watched video in TED history—more than 5 million downloads—and a brilliant example of his extraordinary speaking style; a perfect balance of content, anecdotes and humor. Read more...

education roundtable discussions

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will hold three hour-long roundtable discussions on Wednesday, July 13, to gain a deeper understanding of changes needed to create world-class schools across the state. The conversations will be live-streamed and videos will be posted afterward. 


The governor and lieutenant governor also will host seven town hall meetings around Iowa to listen to Iowans’ ideas for improving education before the Iowa Education Summit July 25-26.  “We have a wonderful line-up of participants for each roundtable,” said Branstad. “We are looking forward to great discussions, and hope many Iowans will have the opportunity to watch.”


“Iowa used to be a top performer on national tests, but has slipped toward the middle of the rankings,” said Reynolds. “We have a proud education tradition to build on, and must assure our students are not just best in the nation again but globally competitive as well.”

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

10 a.m.          Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold business leaders’ roundtable.

                        Governor’s Office – Large Conference Room

                        State Capitol

                        Des Moines, IA

Leaders will talk about the qualities, skills and knowledge they need in a globally competitive workforce.

Panelists are:

·        John C.  Bloomhall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond V Mills, Inc.

·        Clayton M. Jones, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockwell Collins, Inc.

·        Mary A. O’Keefe, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Principal Financial Group

·        Paul E. Schickler, President of Pioneer Hi-Bred

·        Suku Radia, CEO and President of Bankers Trust

1 p.m.            Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold college and university presidents’ and K-12 educators’ roundtable.

Governor’s Office – Large Conference Room

                        State Capitol

                        Des Moines, IA

Leaders will discuss how to better prepare more students for college and post-secondary training.

Panelists are:

·        Katie Mulholland, Linn-Mar Superintendent and Iowa Board of Regents Member

·        Deb Derr, North Iowa Area Community College President

·        Jon L. Erickson, ACT Interim President of the Education Division

·        Greg L. Geoffroy, Iowa State University President

·        Paul R. Gausman, Sioux City Superintendent

·        Kent Henning, Grand View  University President

3 p.m.            Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold teachers’ roundtable.

                   Governor’s Office – Large Conference Room

                        State Capitol

                        Des Moines, IA

Teachers will talk about what they need to be more effective in the classroom.

Panelists are:

·        Nick Bradley, Denison High School English Teacher

·        Jessica Gogerty, School Improvement Leader at North High School in Des Moines, where she previously taught science

·        Philip Moss, North Tama Junior High and High School Social Studies Teacher

·        April Pforts, Mount Pleasant Middle School Mathematics Teacher

·        Amy Prime, Berg Elementary School Second-Grade Teacher, Newton

·        Jerry Serrano, Wood Intermediate School Sixth-Grade Social Studies Teacher, Davenport

Linda Fandel, special assistant for education in the Office of the Governor, and Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass will moderate the conversations.

JDL Horizons, using its flagship Internet streaming solution EduVision, will produce and stream the roundtable events in cooperation with the governor’s office. eSchool Media will accept the stream and deliver the roundtable events to a national audience of nearly 1 million K-12 educators throughout North America and around the world. The stream can be seen live at https://educateiowa.eduvision.tv/SchoolLiveSchedules.aspx.Or go to the Iowa Department of Education website to find a link to the stream or to watch roundtable videos later.

The embed codes for the roundtable discussions will be made available to media outlets following the live event for on-delay viewing.

To learn more about roundtable participants and the town hall meetings, please go to:http://iowaeducation.iowa.gov/education-summit.  The Iowa Department of Education Summit website is:http://educateiowa.gov.