Kentucky Teacher

The Kentucky Arts Council has several opportunities available to teachers and schools. They include:

Teaching Art Together (formerly Teacher Initiated Program) is a grant that enables teachers to collaborate with and bring to the school a professional teaching artist. Artists are available in a variety of disciplines (dance, music, video, folk arts, literary, storytelling, theatre and visual art) and are spread across the state.

The deadline for fall residencies is April 1, 2013. Visit the webpage now to learn more: http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Grants/TAT.htm

TranspARTation is a bus subsidy grant that aids schools in paying for field trips to approved arts organizations. The grant amount is based on mileage from your school to the organization and the minimum is $100. The next deadline is June 1, 2013 for field trips from July 1 – Dec. 31, 2013. Currently there are four deadlines a year, so check out the one that is best for you. Go to the webpage to learn more: http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Grants/TranspARTation.htm Read the full story

The Kentucky Arts Council’s Teaching Art Together grant allows teachers to work with professional artists listed in the arts council’s Teaching Artists Directory to design and implement innovative five- to 20-day residencies.

Artists selected for the Teaching Artists Directory work in a wide variety of disciplines, including dance, folk arts, literary arts, media/video, music, storytelling, theater and visual arts.

Any teacher or group of teachers in a public or private school that supports any grades, preschool to 12, may apply. The grant application deadline is April 1. The Teaching Art Together grant guidelines and application can be found at the arts council website. For more information about applying, contact Chris Cathers, program branch manager, christopher.cathers@ky.gov or (888) 833-2787, ext. 488.

SWAT team member Judy Sizemore talks with 2nd-grade teachers during a meeting at Southside Elementary School (Pike County).
Photo provided by Southside Elementary School

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

Southside Elementary School (Pike County) was already on track to meeting proficiency standards on the Arts and Humanities Program Review this year before teaching artist Judy Sizemore arrived.

Sizemore, a consultant with the Kentucky Arts Council and KET, was very impressed with how the school had developed monthly arts themes that would be integrated into different subject areas. A 5th-grade teacher, Amy Carter, had even developed PowerPoint presentations for each of the themes that focused on terms, elements, and purposes of the arts.

But what really impressed Sizemore was that the school wanted to be more than just proficient on the Arts and Humanities Program Review.

That’s why Principal Jill Maynard has applied for numerous grants through the Kentucky Arts Council – including a new one called Specialists with Arts Tactics (SWAT) that brought Sizemore to the school.

“We’ve always taught art, but not to the depth that is required by the Program Review. Our kids have opportunities for art, it’s just not to the degree that they’re going to get it now,” Maynard said. “We want to do everything we can to provide our children with the best education possible, and according to the Kentucky Department of Education, these are the specific steps that you have to do to be distinguished, and we’re going to do that.” Read the full story

Grant funding is available from the Kentucky Arts Council for teachers and schools seeking assistance with transportation costs to and from arts events.

Kentucky schools, public or private, supporting grades pre-K through 12 may apply for a TranspARTation Grant. Grants are awarded based on mileage from the school building to the arts organization or performance venue and the number of buses necessary. There is a minimum grant amount of $100.

Schools must attend activities at one of several pre-approved arts venues. All arts organizations are participants in the Kentucky Arts Partnership program and demonstrate appropriate arts programming and the ability to provide supplemental educational materials to teachers and schools.

The March 1 application deadline applies to field trips that will occur between April 1 and June 30. TranspARTation grants are awarded on a quarterly basis. View guidelines and find an application form online at http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Grants/TranspARTation.htm. For more information about the TranspARTation grant, contact Dan Strauss, senior program analyst, at dan.strauss@ky.gov or (502) 564-3757, ext. 474 

South Arts, a regional arts organization that serves nine states in the southeastern U.S., is working in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Arts Council to conduct a research project that seeks to quantify access to and quality of arts education offered at K-12 public schools throughout the South Arts region, including Kentucky.

This research is essential to identify the strengths and gaps in arts education in the south and will provide useful data that will help improve arts education delivery in Kentucky.

The research process involves an electronic survey targeted at principals. The survey is comprised of approximately 30 questions in the areas of access to arts education, quality of arts education, resources and partners, decision-maker perspectives, demographics and other general information.

Nominations are being accepted for the Governor’s Awards in the Arts, which recognize individuals and organizations who have made extraordinary and significant contributions to the arts in Kentucky. The Kentucky Arts Council coordinates the nomination process for these awards.

Eligibility is specific to each of the nine award categories: Milner, Artist, Business, Community Arts, Education, Folk Heritage, Government, Media and National. Depending on the category, eligible nominees must be residents of Kentucky, organizations located in Kentucky or have close ties to Kentucky.

Past recipients and posthumous nominees are not eligible.

The nomination deadline is Nov. 1.

See program guidelines for more information. Click here for a nomination form. For more information, contact Daniel J. Strauss toll-free at (888) 833-2787 or (502) 564-8110, ext. 474.

A new Kentucky Arts Council program is available for schools and school districts that would like assistance with improving arts education programs, policies and curriculum.
The Specialists With Arts Tactics (SWAT) Team program provides short-term technical assistance consultancies to schools and districts in the state. Consultants are available to facilitate policy writing, including an arts plan in the school or district improvement plans, arts curriculum alignment, developing performance assessments and integrating the arts across the curriculum. Consultancy fees are paid by the arts council. In some instances, schools may be required to pay nominal costs associated with the consultancy.
“Schools that want to see results from their arts programs and assessments should consider applying for a SWAT Team consultancy,” said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. “Our trained consultants can answer questions school or district representatives might have in relation to improving and integrating arts education for their students.”
Any Kentucky public or private school or district that supports grades P-12 may apply for a SWAT Team consultancy. Applications are accepted year-round and should be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the desired date of the consultancy. Applicants can be awarded two consultancies per year.
In addition to the SWAT Team program, the arts council has made updates to another of its education programs, including a name change. The grant program known formerly as the Teacher Initiated Program is now the Teaching Art Together grant.
The Teaching Art Together grant allows teachers to collaborate with practicing, professional artists on the design and implementation of innovative five- to 20-day residencies. Residencies provide teachers with the tools to continue to incorporate the arts into the curriculum after the residency is completed.
Guidelines for the SWAT Team and Teaching Art Together programs can be found online at the program web pages. For more information about applying for any of the arts council’s education programs, contact Rachel Allen, arts education director, at (502) 564-8110, ext. 486, or via e-mail.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Kentucky Arts Council provides operating support to many nonprofit arts organizations in Kentucky.

 A chronological listing of summer camps hosted by these organizations can be found here.

During April, the Kentucky Arts Council has partnered with Kentucky poets to present Poem-A-Week.

These poems are available here. Teachers have permission to print, copy and distribute these poems.

Poem-A-Week is part of the celebration leading up to Kentucky Writers’ Day on April 24. The event begins at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda and will feature a recitation by this year’s Poetry Out Loud state champion, senior Curtlyn Kramer of The Gatton Academy, as well as readings by our current and past poets laureate. Teachers are invited to bring their classes to this celebration of Kentucky writers. For more information, contact Tamara Coffey at (888) 833-2787.

Maureen Morehead, Kentucky Poet Laureate 2011-2012

Gov. Steve Beshear has named poet, writer and teacher Maureen Morehead of Louisville as Kentucky Poet Laureate for 2011-2012. Morehead will be formally inducted at the Kentucky Writers’ Day celebration April 25 in Frankfort.

Morehead’s literary background has deep roots in Kentucky and her poems draw heavily on her long residency in the state. She is currently a faculty member of Spalding University’s brief-residency MFA Program in Writing teaching poetry. Morehead is a retired school teacher with 32 years of service with the Jefferson County public schools, teaching Advanced Placement English, creative writing and journalism. She also taught at the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University and was on the faculty of the Kentucky Institute for the Arts in Education, a program designed to help educators integrate the arts into their curricula. Read the full story