Secretary of Education Recognizes the Arts
The Secretary of Education delivered a very interesting open letter in August recognizing the "importance of the arts as a core academic subject and part of a complete education for all students".
Visit Department of Education's web site for arts education
Sara Hickman will close Summit X in June
Sara Hickman was raised in Houston, Texas and launched her professional career at age 14 at a Houston Oilers party with just her guitar and voice. This led to performances at bank openings, psychiatric units, and weddings. She graduated from the High School for Performing Arts in Houston and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in painting from the University of North Texas. Sara has records with multiple labels including her own private label, Sleeveless.
John Tanner opens Summit X in June
As the director of the Center for Innovative Measures at The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), John Tanner believes "if the world of education is going to change for the better the measurement tools were likely to be the chief driver". John will open our Summit X, June 11, 2009, as the keynote speaker.
Pre-Summit Special Sessions
CEDFA will host two special intensive Pre-Summit Sessions to provide participants with more depth on a topic of interest to the field. Pre-Summit Sessions are available to attendees for only $65 (due at the time of registration). The fee for the Pre-Summit covers both the cost of the session as well as lunch for Pre-Summit participants. Participants who register for the Pre-Summit can choose to attend either Brain Research and the Arts or Evaluation and Inclusive Fine Arts.
Brain Research and the Arts: Presented by Resources for Learning will explore the intersection of current brain research and teaching and learning in the arts. Participants will learn brain-compatible strategies for organizing learning environments, designing lessons, and assessing learning.
Evaluation and Inclusive Fine Arts: Presented by VSA arts will explore using evaluation methods for documenting and sharing stories of inclusive arts teaching and learning. Participants will explore mapping of curriculum, collaborative assessment of student work, and sharing of results in aesthetic and educative ways.
Multi-year Music Training Can Enhance Reading Skills and Literacy
Children exposed to a multi-year program of music instruction involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music. According to authors Joseph M. Piro and Camilo Ortiz from Long Island University, data from this study will help to clarify the role of music study on cognition and shed light on the question of the potential of music to enhance school performance in language and literacy.
Practicing a Musical Instrument in Childhood helps Reasoning Skills
A Harvard-based study has found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training - not only in tests of auditory discrimination and finger dexterity (skills honed by the study of a musical instrument), but also on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion (skills not normally associated with music).
While these results are correlational only, the strong predictive effect of training duration suggests that instrumental music training may enhance auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning. Alternative explanations for these results are discussed.
PLOS ONE publication archives of the October, 2008, report.
Learning, Arts, and the Brain
The report is sponsored by the Dana Foundation Arts and Cognition Consortium. It is a collaboration of studies conducted by neuroscientists representing seven universities from across the United States pertaining to the association of arts training and higher academic performance. The consortium's findings provide an understanding of the possible causal relationships between arts training and the ability of the brain to learn in other cognitive domains. The results of the studies should be helpful to students, parents, educators, and the general public in policy-making decisions as related to the importance of high quality arts education in our schools.
2007 National Teacher of the Year
Please visit the Department of Education website to view a video clip of U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' interview with Andrea Peterson, a music teacher at Monte Cristo Elementary School in Granite Falls, Washington and the 2007 National Teacher of the Year. Ms. Peterson, who was the keynote speaker for the Opening Session of the Texas Fine Arts Summit IX, comments on the role of music and arts as related to the "No Child Left Behind" Act and preparation for the 21st century workplace, as well as on students striving for excellence and support new teachers need to succeed.
See Andrea Peterson's 2008 Texas Fine Arts Summit Keynote Address
The Bennack-Polan Foundation Support
CEDFA is excited to partner with the Bennack-Polan Foundation in the creation of the "Fine Arts for All Students" online toolkit, which will assist ALL educators in using the arts to reach students with special needs, including gifted and talented populations.
Responding to requests from instructors belonging to organizations which make up CEDFA, the Bennack-Polan Foundation has funded this online toolkit. Once it becomes available online, all teachers will be able to use the interactive toolkit to help identify and reach students with a variety of special needs.
Order CEDFA Scope & Sequence Charts!
Download, complete, and mail the product order form today to purchase Art, Dance, Music, and/or Theatre TEKS Scope and Sequence charts.
Senate Bill 815 Requires Fine Arts TEKSWith the passage of SB 815, the TEKS are now required of all Texas school districts when providing instruction in art, dance, music, and theatre.
Tritone develops comprehensive music education systems based on popular music curriculums for traditional as well as online learning applications.
McGraw Hill SRA Art Connections - comprehensive art education curriculum on one interactive, multimedia disc!
Davis Art - The number one publisher of K-12 art.
The Pearson School - creating a culture of Excellence and proud sponsor of Texas Fine Arts Summit IX
This World Music - Bringing African Drumming and Culture to the Schools.
The Savannah College of Art and Design - a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., and Lacoste, France, and online.
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education.
CEDFA was formerly funded through grants from the Texas Education Agency, Texas Commission on the Arts, and Resources for Learning, LLC.