"The feeling that dance gives me is very hard to explain. It is so therapeutic. It’s kind of like Disney, everything feels so magical and you don’t really understand why or how, it just is. It is euphoric. The feeling that I get when I perform makes me remember why I put in hard work every day and I genuinely feel like it is what I am meant to do."             

"I love having creative freedom, it really helps me feel in control. And when I feel sad or angry, I can just use a harder piece of clay so I can pound it out. Ceramics really helps me feel like I matter and that I’m really good at something, because for a long time I felt average but that all changed once I entered the ceramics classroom."

-  Washington student survey, July 2020

We know the arts play a pivotal role in the lives of thousands of Washington students.  This is why, despite the fact that it’s summer, a team of 70+ arts educators, district arts administrators, arts organization staff and a student have been meeting weekly to consider what reopening schools means, particular to the arts. Hannah, a student member of the team, has developed a student survey so that we can hear what students across the state are thinking and feeling about their arts education during these uncertain times. So far, over 600 students from 113 schools have responded.  We’d like to increase these numbers!  Please share the survey with any K-12 student (or recent graduate) who is engaged with the arts.

Stay tuned.  The statewide arts advisory team is producing resources that will be shared with the field. Please reach out to me if you would like to be involved.

Thank you for all that you do in service of the arts in education,

Janet Hayakawa, Program Supervisor
The Arts - Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Janet.Hayakawa@k12.wa.us
Office: 360-725-4966             
Cell/Text: 360-764-6157

Art by: G.M. Byers " Acrobat" (Participant in 2020 High School Art Show) 

Arts Education & Social Emotional Learning Framework  

The Social Emotional Learning Alliance for New Jersey and ArtsEdNJ have released a website that is designed to illuminate the intersection between arts education and social-emotional learning. This tool supports the intentional application of appropriate teaching and learning strategies, with the overarching goal of enhancing arts education.

For more information, click here.

National PTA Annual Student Art Program

Congratulations to Washington students who have been recognized by the National PTA.  The 2019-2020 Reflections Student Art Program honored students for their creative interpretations of this year's theme “Look Within.” More than 300,000 students in pre-K through grade 12 from across the country and in U.S. schools overseas created original works of art as part of the Reflections program.

Photography by L. Adolfo, "The Light Within", Winner of Reflections Outstanding Interpretation Award

Woman of Color on the Front Lines

Portraits of Unsung Heroes is a project that uses art to highlights the determination and hard work of female physicians and other healthcare workers of color who have been underrepresented in the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for more information about this project and to view the many other portraits of these Unsung Heroes.

Artwork by Denise Webb, "Dr. Ayshe Ana Beesen Mosher"

95 Books Focused on Black Liberation and Anti-racism

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture — part of the New York Public Library system — released a list of 95 books with the aim of celebrating and fostering a “better understanding of the Black experience.” Curated by the Harlem institution’s curators, archivists and store staff, the Black Liberation Reading List centers Black writers, paying particularly close attention to those authors who have papers held in the library’s archives.

ALL ARTS

All Arts is a groundbreaking premier destination for inspiration, creativity and art of all forms. This New York Emmy-winning arts and culture hub is created by WNET, the parent company of New York’s PBS stations. Check out some of its art installations below.

Black Lives Matter Street Art

New York City artists use boarded up businesses as their canvases to spread messages of solidarity and hope.

Lorraine Hansberry – Playwright at Work

This 1961 program features an interview with Lorraine Hansberry discussing creating art out of everyday life, and a scene from a play she’s writing about the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. Her untimely death from pancreatic cancer at age 35 prevented her from finishing the play.

Music for All Summer Sessions and Leadership Lessons

This online educational content is available at no cost. The leadership and positive music-teaching curriculum for students and teachers is presented by world-class faculty members.  These are the same concepts taught every year at the Music for All Summer Symposium. Click here for more information.

PROFILE: A Toolkit on Racial and Social Profiling

This toolkit unpacks the problem of racial and social profiling in marginalized communities and considers some solutions. It was commissioned by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and developed by Project Someone and the UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism at Concordia University.

Arts Education Partnership Virtual Convening- Save the Dates: Sept. 9, 11, 15 and 17

Join arts and education colleagues on Sept. 9, 11, 15 and 17 to learn about the latest research, innovative practices and emerging policy approaches to support excellent arts education for all learners, especially those who have been historically marginalized by systemic racism and inequalities. Find more information here.

Early Learning Arts Integration Grant: Deadline September 18, 2020

The Creative Start Regional Grant Program seeks to close the opportunity gap by supporting and expanding regional and multi-regional arts integration efforts. The grant supports professional learning opportunities in arts integration for educators serving students in preschool through 3^rd grade.  Grants up to $25,000 must include at least three school sites in one ArtsWA defined region. Grants up to $35,000 must include two ArtsWA defined regions.

For more information and to apply, click here.