July 2006 Newsletter
 SMARTS: BRING BACK THE ARTS CALIFORNIA STATE PTA ONLINE NEWSLETTERJuly 2006SMARTS is California State PTAs program to encourage arts education. The California State PTA wants to create advocates for quality arts education at every school in California. We hope you will spread the word about the benefits of arts education. Please e-mail this newsletter to PTA district, council and unit members. In this issue: 1) Advocacy for the Arts
1) Advocacy for the ArtsArts Funding in the California State Budget: GREAT NEWS!Arts and music block grant: The 2006-07 California Budget includes $105 million from the Proposition 98 General Fund for an annual Arts and Music Block Grant program. These funds will be distributed to school districts, charter schools and county offices of education to support standards aligned instruction in kindergarten through grade twelve. Arts, music and physical education one-time equipment grants: The Budget also includes $500 million from the Proposition 98 General Fund on a one-time basis for the purchase of arts, music and/or physical education supplies and equipment. With these resources, schools will be able to make significant investments in items such as musical instruments, kilns, photographic equipment and multi-media design equipment. For more Budget Information, go to: http://govbud.dof.ca.gov/Enacted/BudgetSummary/K12/8877746.html Listen to a Podcast about this Historic Arts Budget Bob Morrison of the Music For All Foundation covers highlights from the press conference announcing the historic reinvestment in music and arts education programs in California Public Schools. This includes comments by Brenda Davis, President of the California State PTA. Morrison also takes a look at the lessons learned along the way to successful passage of this landmark funding. http://www.music-for-all.org/FromtheTrenchesPodcast.html Watch Video of the Press Conference on Arts Funding http://msmedia.dot.ca.gov/governor/20060707_HamiltonHS.asf Thank Your Legislator! California State PTA members played an important role in advocating for arts education funding in the budget. Please take a moment to thank the Governor and your legislator for making arts a priority in this year’s budget. Contact the Governor: www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_contacts.jsp To find your legislator, go to: www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html We Have MONEY, Now What Do We Do? With this historic investment in arts education, it is an important to plan thoughtfully on how this funding should best be used. A good place to start is with The Community Arts Education Project on the SMARTS: BRING BACK THE ARTS web site. The Community Arts Education Project (CAEP) developed by the California State PTA and California Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE) is designed to help parents, local schools and school districts to work together to create district wide systemic change in arts education. CAEP is both a guidebook and a hands-on technical assistance process that enables districts to assess current arts learning programs and funding allocations, identify gaps in delivery, and create long range plans that will ensure equitable access for all students in each of the four arts disciplines. 2) Interactive Websites for Parents, Teachers, and StudentsThe National Gallery of Art Kids’ Collage Machinehttp://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/collagemachine.htm Teachers: Online Lessons from the PTA SMARTS web page Check out this selection of the best state and national resources for teachers. http://www.capta.org/sections/programs-smarts/resources.cfm#teachers 3) AnnouncementsRock and Roll with the John Lennon Educational Tour BusEdutopia takes you on a Virtual Tour with the John Lennon Education Tour Bus http://www.edutopia.org/1586# Help Ensure Arts are Not Left Behind The Commission on No Child Left Behind is soliciting comments in all areas of K-12 education. This is a key opportunity to offer constructive feedback on the importance of the arts in the next version of NCLB. Americans for the Arts has designed a webpage that will send your comments to both the Commission and to your congressional delegation schools. http://capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?alertid=8912656&type=ML Students’ Creative Work on Display in the Reflections Gallery Visit the National PTA Reflections Gallery. http://www.pta.org/reflections06/ To Subscribe: To Unsubscribe: For help or to send comments, suggestions, and inquiries send an e-mail to info@capta.org. The California State PTA SMARTS newsletter is sent free of charge via the Internet as a service of the California State PTA in the furtherance of its nonprofit and tax-exempt status. Unless otherwise noted, PTAs may reproduce and distribute the materials from the California State PTA website for PTA use without express written permission. California State PTA materials may not be duplicated by any other organization or person without written permission. California State PTA
|
Interactive Web SitesResources Online
PTA Reflections Program |
