December Newsletter
New Initiatives - How to Start an Elementary Art Program
As of the 2017-18 school year, just 24% of PK-12 districts and 13% of PK-8 districts offered elementary visual art in Oklahoma. Fine arts educators know that a comprehensive visual art education cannot start in middle or high school - foundational knowledge is crucial. Teachers and stakeholders who are interested in starting elementary art programs in their districts have started a dialogue to help each other through the process. If you are interested in being part of the conversation, please contact Elizabeth Maughan for information.
Standards Revisions and Guidelines Creation
The music and visual art standards writing teams have started the revision process and are working hard to create new standards. In addition, two committees have been constructing guidelines for dance and theatre. These guidelines will become standards after they are approved by the legislature in 2020. Great things are happening for fine arts education in Oklahoma!
Accountability Dashboard - Programs of Excellence
A new OSDE accountability dashboard will be launched this month. The dashboard will include an area at the top of the page titled "Programs of Excellence." Within Programs of Excellence, there will be subject area icons and headings which will link out to rubrics. The subject area rubrics may be used by schools to rate their programs as bronze, silver, or gold. Schools can select which subject areas they would like to address, but we are hopeful that all schools will look at the fine arts rubric and carefully consider their status. Teachers are also encouraged to examine the rubric and give suggestions to administration regarding support, resources, classes offered, etc. We are looking forward to the launch and hope it will shine a bright light on the arts in Oklahoma!
Good Reads
Art as Treatment: Doctors May Soon Prescribe Dance, Music and Other Art Forms
Twelve Things Americans Believe About the Arts in 2018
The Act of Drawing Something has a "Massive" Benefit for Memory Compared with Writing It Down
 As part of the EngageOK cycle, the State Department of Education is offering regional meetings around the state for educators. Fine Arts educators will have the opportunity to attend professional learning workshops around the state. These professional workshops are FREE to attend!
December 11 - Oklahoma City - Theatre
The first workshop will be on December 11th in Oklahoma City and will have a theatre education focus. The morning session will consist of information from the SDE and grant possibilities from the Oklahoma Arts Council. In the afternoon, Nick Bartell (Lyric Theatre), Lauren Peck (Poteau theatre educator), and Judith Palladino (Oklahoma City University) will present sessions on theatre pedagogy and curriculum. Sign up here!
December 12 - Tulsa - Elementary Music
On December 12th, a second regional workshop will be held in Tulsa, and the focus will be elementary music education. The morning session will be similar to the OKC workshop. The afternoon sessions will be focused on teaching elementary music in the inner city classroom with Jenny Potter and Tara Light. Ms. Potter has over ten years successful teaching experience in inner-city KC, MO charter schools. Ms. Light, an experienced elementary music teacher from Norman Public Schools, will share her experience working with high needs student populations. A special emphasis will be placed on culturally responsive teaching and effective classroom management strategies. Sign up here!
**Educators in areas outside of theatre and elementary music are encouraged to attend future regional workshops that will be specific to their subject area. Thank you!
Oklahoma pre-K through 12th-grade teachers seeking customized professional development opportunities can attend information sessions about grants from the national nonprofit Fund for Teachers.
The two grant proposal writing and information sessions will be:
- Dec. 4 - 5:30 p.m. - at The Oklahoman, 100 W Main St., Ste. 100, Oklahoma City, OK
- Dec. 6 - 5 p.m. - at Clinton High School, 2130 W Gary Blvd. Clinton, OK 73601
There will also be two webinar information sessions: Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. & Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Registration and webinar information can be found here.
The Fund for Teachers grant program awards fellowships of up to $5,000 for individual teachers and up to $10,000 for teams of teachers for self-designed professional development experiences anywhere in the world during the summer. The grant cycle application process is open now through Jan. 31 at http://www.fundforteachers.org.
 The University of Central Oklahoma has many workshop and performance opportunities for high school fine arts students in November and December. Most of the events are FREE and offer complimentary admission to university performances. These events include:
- UCO Musical Theatre Shadow Day – December 7
For details on all of these opportunities, visit the event website or call (405) 974-3784.
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Since 2006, the OU School of Music has welcomed sixth through twelfth grade boys from across the state to the Norman campus for a one-day choral festival of inspiring and enriching music making. The Young Men’s Vocal Workshop, otherwise known as Real Men Sing, is led by OU choral faculty members and distinguished guest conductors. Each year, approximately 800 young men representing scores of high schools, junior highs & middle schools, and elementary & intermediate schools. Participants in the Young Men’s Vocal Workshop not only rehearse and perform together, but they also enjoy performances by the OU Men’s Glee Club, OU faculty soloists, and current OU voice students. This year's YMVW will be held on Friday, December 7th. For registration, schedule, clinician info, etc., click here.
Audition registration for the 2019 Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute is now open! High school students can choose from eight artistic disciplines: acting, chorus, creative writing, dance, drawing & painting, film & video, orchestra, and photography. All students accepted to OSAI attend on full scholarship. Auditions run from January 19-February 11 at locations across the state. Find the full audition schedule and requirements here, and feel free to contact the Oklahoma Arts Institute with questions via oai@oaiquartz.org or (405) 605-7500.
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 The 2019 OkMEA Conference will be January 17-19 in Tulsa at the Cox Business Center. Various groups will be performing throughout the conference along with the all-state children's choir, jazz ensemble, orchestra, symphonic band, wind symphony, treble chorus, and mixed chorus. Sessions for music educators will feature the following clinicians: Rodney Dorsey, Dr. Sara Neumann, Richard Saucedo, and Andrew Richardson (Band track), Martin Norgaard and Angela Harman (Orchestra track), Rollo Dilworth, Denise Eaton, Randall Stroope, and Bethany Stuard (Choir track), Dr. Susan Brumfield, Caitlin Moore, and Andrew Ellingsen (Elementary track).
There is a special rate for the conference hotel available and an online early-bird registration rate available until January 2, 2019. For more information, click here.
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 Young Talent in Oklahoma is an annual statewide high school art exhibition (grades 9-12) and high school senior portfolio competition. The top 10 senior portfolios earn scholarships and prizes. On average, 700 to 1000 artworks are submitted and approximately 150 – 200 are selected for the Young Talent in Oklahoma exhibition. For more information and to submit works into this year’s competition, please visit the new Young Talent in Oklahoma website. If you have questions, please email oaeaytio@gmail.com.
Cost: $3 per individual artwork. $15 for high school senior portfolios
Submissions Open: January 21, 2019
Deadline: February 15, 2019 at 7pm.
Accepted Media: Drawing & Painting media, 2D media (photography, collage, digital art), 3D media (ceramics and sculpture)
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 Thursday, January 31, 2019
Shakespeare Competition 10:00-11:30 am
Shakespeare Festival 11:30-1:30 pm
Deer Creek High School Auditorium, Edmond, Oklahoma
Check in is from 9:30-9:45; the contest begins promptly at 10:00 and should be completed by 11:30.
High school students from across Oklahoma and Western Arkansas perform a 20-line monologue and a sonnet. The 1st place winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to New York City to perform at Lincoln Center. Cash prizes are awarded to the 2nd ($100) and 3rd place ($50) winners. There is NO COST to participate.
Also part of the day is the non-competitive English Speaking Union (ESU) Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival. Students from grades 6-12 will perform scenes, monologues, or other creative performances using Shakespeare’s language (Maximum of 2 minutes X the number of actors with a limit of 6 minutes). They will also participate in a short performance-based activity led by nationally recognized Shakespeare educators. Collaborating with classmates to explore Shakespeare's language, and then sharing that experience with students from different schools and backgrounds, is of immense educational value.
This is not your typical drama festival. By design, this festival is also geared towards English classes and students who may have never acted before as well as drama students. For us, performance is a means to an end: making Shakespeare's language come alive.
For more information visit the event website or contact Paul Stevenson at pwstevenson@cox.net. Online registration can be found here.
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 Delivery Date: February 27, Noon-7pm
Exhibition Dates: Mar 4 – 15, 2019
Awards Presentation: Friday, March 15 @ 1pm
Pick up Work: Friday, March 15 after presentation of awards. ALL Work should be picked up by 5:00pm on March 15th . ***USAO will not be responsible for unclaimed work.
Entry Fees & Rules: $3 dollars per entry. Maximum 5 entries per student. Open to Juniors (grade 11) and Seniors (grade 12) only. All media accepted. Work must not exceed 4 feet in any direction. All work entered must remain throughout the duration of the show.
Rules, forms, and tags can be downloaded here. Instructors should complete registration forms. Students can enter individually. Registration, fees, and work must be submitted together.
For more information contact: Jacquelyn Knapp, Director of Innovations @ (405) 574-1302 or jknapp@usao.edu
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Oklahoma A+ Schools at UCO is pleased to present the 2018 Poetry Out Loud Recitation Contest. This program encourages high school students to learn about poetry by memorizing and then reciting a poem selected from the National Poetry Out Loud catalog. Winners from school contests will advance to the state finals at UCO on March 7, 2019. For more information on the contest and to register your class or school, click here!
December 3-January 7 - Putnam City Public Schools
January 8-February 1 - Norman Public Schools
February 4-February 28 - Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain
A virtual art gallery is available on the SDE Fine Arts website for students and families who would like to see pictures of their work in the OSDE (Oliver Hodge) Building.
December 1, 2018 - UCO Relief Printmaking Workshop
December 7, 2018 - Young Men's Vocal Workshop at OU
December 7, 2018 - UCO Musical Theatre Shadow Day
December 11, 2018 - SDE Fine Arts Regional Meeting - Theatre Focus
Decemer 12, 2018 - SDE Fine Arts Regional Meeting - Elementary Music Focus
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