The Power of Collaboration     

In her TED Talk, Professor Linda Hill says that innovation is about “collective genius”  the idea that great leaders empower creativity from many.  This made me think about the arts classroom and what teachers do to promote arts learning. It’s all about collaboration, learning from and with each other.  In particular, theatre and film productions rely on collective genius.  Here’s an example of how the pieces came together in the recently released film, Cyrano.

Thank you for all that you do to bring together “slices of genius” to form the “collective genius.”

With gratitude,

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

With gratitude,

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

_{Art – “Summer Days” by Yuki Kondo, Superintendent’s High School Art Show, 2021.}

Mental Health Challenges Outlined in

New Report

The Hopeful Futures Campaign released a new report, America’s School Mental Health Report Card sharing that more than one in three high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, and 20% of students said they had seriously considered suicide. The report also compiles state-level statistics and policies related to school mental health professionals, school-family-community partnerships, staff training and more.

Broadway Theatre to be Named for James

Earl Jones

In a tribute to the actor whose career has spanned over 70 years, the 110-year old Cort Theatre will be renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre.  He is one of the few actors that has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.  After a major renovation, the theatre will be rededicated later this year.  To learn more, see this news clip, and this article.

March is Music in Our Schools Month    

For more than 30 years, music education in our schools has been celebrated in March. For resources and research see the National Association for Music Education, Washington Music Educators Association, Arts Collection Resources | OER Commons, Washington Music Learning Standards.

_{Art – “The Perfect Symphony” by Angela Bai, Superintendent’s High School Art Show, 2021.}

American Women Quarters   

Beginning this year and continuing through 2025, the U.S. Mint will issue new quarter designs that celebrate the accomplishments and contributions made by women to the development and history of our country. The distinguished American women celebrated in 2022 will be: Maya Angelou (writer, performer, and social activist), Dr. Sally Ride (physicist, astronaut, educator), Wilma Mankiller (first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation), Nina Otero-Warren (leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement, first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools), Anna May Wong (first Chinese American film star in Hollywood).

Celebrations of Women in Art

Celebrate women artists during Women’s History Month!  Art Herstory presents an illustrated list of events in honor of women’s contributions to the history of art.  See resources from Learning for Justice – to go beyond “famous firsts”.  Take a virtual visit to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see their online collection, artist profiles, and more.

_{Art – “Prismes electriques” by Sonia Delaunay, 1914.}

Women of Color on Broadway  

The Women of Color on Broadway wants to encourage more women of color to write, direct, produce, stage design, sound design, light design, and perform in theatres across the country.  See this 90-minute program taped at the Great Hall at The Cooper Union that presents a star-filled Broadway concert.

Children’s Drawings from the Terezin Ghetto

The Jewish Museum in Prague has a collection of 4387 drawings by Jewish children who passed through the Terezin Ghetto during World War II.  All of the art was made in 1943-44 in drawing classes taught by Friedl Dicker-Brandeis (1898-1944), whose aim was to develop creative, emotional and social intellect. The art classes had an invaluable therapeutic impact for the students, the majority of whom were sent to Auschwitz with their teacher, nearly all of them perishing in the gas chambers.

_{Art – “Driveway to a House” by Hana Zieglerova, watercolor on paper, Terezin Ghetto, 1943-1944.}

Jazz Oral History Program

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has over 100 oral history interviews of jazz musicians, relatives and business associates. Each interview was conducted by a jazz authority and cover a wide range of tops including early years, initial involvement in music, experiences in the jazz music world and relationships with musicians.  Find the oral histories here.  Download the teacher guide and student worksheet.  For secondary students.

Connecting to the Columbia River

Confluence connects the history, living cultures, and ecology of the Columbia River system through Indigenous voices.  Celebrated artist, Maya Lin worked in consultation with Tribes to create designs for six art landscapes spanning 438 miles of the Columbia River.  See the Confluence website for interviews with tribal elders and leaders, read stories, see historic photos and more.

Ekphrastic: Register Now! 

Engage your students in creating poetry inspired by art in the 2022 Superintendent’s High School Art Show.  Register now and the link to review and submit the artwork will be sent to you on April 6.  Poems can be submitted April 6 - 20.  Selected poems will be presented as part of this year’s awards ceremony.

_{Photo – “In the Shadows” by Mia Dufault, Superintendent’s High School Art Show, 2021.}

Request for Proposals – Deadline: Mar 9   

OSPI is seeking proposals from arts organizations, teaching artists and others interested in participating with the Native Voices Arts Academy and the Voices from the Field Arts Academy. Both programs involve middle school students who qualify for the Migrant Education Program and their teachers with the integration of arts, culture and academic learning. See the announcements here.

Teacher Leader Opportunity – Deadline: Mar 14

Educators in visual arts, music, theater, dance and media arts are invited to apply to participate in a national effort to build the Connected Arts Networks (CAN) a sustainable model of professional learning for arts educators. Sponsored by the National Art Association (NAEA), in partnership with the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). For more information and to apply, click here.

Educator Workshop—Mar 15

The National Dance Institute’s free workshop will introduce participants to its NDI program method and share tools to support educators to become more confident, clear and effective in their teaching. Join NDI on Zoom March 15 to learn more about the NDI Method in an interactive way – including dancing!

Youth Writing Contest – Deadline: Mar 15

MediaRites is seeking submissions from youth ages 10 – 21 responding to the isolation of youth, life challenges and its effect on mental health and well-being in BIPOC and disability communities.  Selected personal essays, monologues, poetry and short graphic novelettes will be recognized with a $100-$300 honorarium.  Click here for guidelines.

Project Citizen Oratorio— Mar 23, 7:00 pm 

Roosevelt Rider choirs, in partnership with Seattle Theatre Group (STG), are giving voice to mental health issues. The concert will include original songs written by students that express their struggles with anxiety, depression, and loneliness.  Tickets are free.  Click here for more information.

Arts in Education Partnership Grant –Deadline: Mar 31

The Washington State Arts Commission’s Arts in Education (AIE) Partnership Grant supports community partnerships that increase youth access to arts learning though pandemic related recovery efforts and beyond. Click here for guidelines and to submit an application.  Register for a Grant Information Session here.

Jazz Masters Tribute Concert—Mar 31, 7:30 pm 

The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) will honor the 2022 NEA.Jazz Masters – Stanley Clarke, Donald Harrison, Jr., Billy Hart, and Cassandra Wilson through performances, video tributes, and remarks.  Find the live webcast at arts.gov and sfjazz.org.  An archive of the webcast will be available after the event at arts.gov.

Music Education and Special Needs

Study Group

This one-of-a kind, virtual (synchronous and asynchronous) professional learning provides the opportunity to gain knowledge, and learn strategies for reaching every student in the music studio, classroom and ensemble settings.  Six three-hour sessions are in April and May, there is no charge, but registration is required.  Find more information here.

Scholarship Opportunity—Deadline: Apr 30 

Students currently enrolled in a 2- to 4- year fine art program in King, Pierce or Snohomish County with an emphasis on 2-dimensional work are invited to apply for this $2,000 scholarship. Visit the Seattle Co-Arts website to apply.

Arts for All—Join the Movement!

OSPI, the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA), Inspire Washington, and Arts Ed Washington have formed the Arts for All (A4A) Coalition to ensure that all PreK-12 students in Washington State have access to quality arts learning.  A4A seeks to achieve this by developing statewide arts leadership, collecting and analyzing arts education data, and supporting educators and teaching artists through professional learning opportunities.

Sign up to stay informed.