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National Endowment for the Arts Announces Summer Schools in The Arts RecipientsMay 10, 2005
Washington, D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts announces recipients of its Summer Schools in the Arts program, an initiative designed to enhance the quantity and quality of arts education opportunities for youth while creating a variety of model programs. Twenty-five grants totaling $756,236 were awarded to organizations in communities ranging from Lewiston, Maine to Sitka, Alaska to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Please see a complete list of the grantees. Each of the 25 selected sites will use national or state standards in the arts to assess the degree of learning among participating students. Criteria include the knowledge gained in one or more disciplines and development of effective skills in the arts. In addition, each summer program will end its session with performances, exhibitions, or other demonstrations of students' work. National Endowment for the Arts Director of Arts Education David Steiner said, "Supporting excellent programs in arts education is among the NEA's primary goals. Every child deserves the opportunity to engage the arts in ways that challenge, intrigue, and instruct them. I am pleased that over the course of only one year, the program has more than doubled the number of organizations developing model programs for arts education immersion." Budget cuts to year-round school arts programs plus the advantages offered by summer programs, including increased free time for students and lack of competition with other academic requirements, were among the key reasons for initiating the program last year. In the spring of 2004, when the NEA launched the pilot program, ten organizations were awarded $25,000 grants. Following their summer sessions, the organizations were instructed to review and incorporate recommendations from program evaluators so that they could submit even stronger proposals for this second year. As a testament to the success of that process, each of the original ten sites were awarded grants in this round from among 237 organizations that submitted letters of interest to participate. At the end of this summer, the NEA will distribute information regarding the learning outcomes from these 25 programs to public policy makers and leaders in the arts education field. Information will also be posted on the NEA Web site. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, visit the agency’s Web site at www.arts.gov Return to News Index National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency |
