Big Idea
Arts education managers will explore strategic ways of working in arts education and look at available resources - policies, trends, research, and promising practices - from local, regional, and national sources to promote support for and increased understanding of our work at State Arts Agencies.

Inquiry Questions
What kind of support and resources does it take to sustain our work in arts education?
What learning and networking experiences will stimulate our thinking and enhance our leadership skills?
How can we stay connected with current, relevant research, policies, and trends?
How does our work in arts education relate and fold into the full strategic plan and day-to-day work of state arts agencies nationwide?

Learning Goals
Arts Education Managers will:

• engage in conversations with peers about arts education issues relevant to their work to feel more connected within the arts education manager learning community;
• strengthen targeted management skills;
• increase knowledge about current national arts education policy;
• experience showcases of arts education research;
• explore strategies for integrating technology into arts education work;
• learn about models for community-wide arts education efforts.

Evidence of Learning

• Arts Education Managers:
• are able to name specific ways that this experience connects to their own work at whatever stage they are in their work;
• leave with a better understanding of the resources available to them and know who to contact for more information;
• participate fully in sessions , share knowledge, and raise questions.

Hard working AEM meets other AEM to share stimulating conversation, unique ideas, and hearty laughter. Must possess good critical thinking skills and the ability to create, perform and respond.

• The concurrent sessions are an opportunity for people to choose two topics of most interest to them from the four choices:

  • State and National Arts Education Partnerships
    SAAs can benefit from developing and/or enhancing partnerships with many national arts education organizations. Learn about the work of the Kennedy Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN), the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and explore ways to effectively use the information and resources these organizations provide to SAAs.

  • Leveraging Technology for Advancing the Arts
    This session will include a discussion and demonstration of new and emerging technologies and a forum for attendees to have a dialogue about inventive uses for them. Innovative arts and technology practices from three states will be profiled. This session will conclude with an invitation to share ideas and a discussion about a shift in mindset to embrace both our current technologies and those of our future.

  • Book club BUILDING CREATIVE CAPITAL
    by Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf & Dr. Steven Holochwost
    "Creative capital" refers to the unique creative voice that every human being and every community possesses. When SAAs engage in "re-thinking" creativity, they develop a means for awakening, nurturing, and sustaining the cultural capital of their state. Using the whitepaper, Building Creative Capital as the basis for discussion, this session will foster a dialogue around how SAAs can build on creative capital as a way of planning for, executing, and measuring the impact of the arts and culture. Please note, the Book club option requires advance reading of this short article. As the effectiveness of this session is dependent on the interaction and conversations generated around each participant's reaction to the white paper, please read Building Creative Capital prior to attending and come prepared to share your ideas and reactions.

  • Alabama ACCESS to Arts goes Statewide
    The Alabama ELI team left Chicago in June 2009 with a specific goal to extend access to arts for all students by using the distance learning program which was established in Alabama in 2005. (The first courses were delivered in 2006 and funding for 21st Century labs in all Alabama high schools was provided and released in 2009). As the plan developed, it was discovered that the State Department of Education had already put in place funding for the newly designed Arts Survey Course to be included in ACCESS Distance Learning. This course satisfies the 1/2 fine arts credit required of all high school students for graduation. The collaboration between artists and the technology/instructional designer stretched Alabama's distance learning model to such a degree that every course designed in the future may be affected. The course includes higher order thinking skills and an extensive creative component. It also celebrates Alabama artists. The Alabama State Council on the Arts applauds our State Department of Education for taking ownership of this effort and for creating what is certainly ground breaking innovative curriculum design. This session shares a little of the process and a description of course content.

Opening Wellness Activity: The BoomWhacker session involves the colored, hollow tubes that create both rhythm and melody. The session will integrate elements of easy Yoga and low-impact dance movement to create exercise and physical warm-up that is expressed as music in a fun and playful way to create positive attitude.

Dan Egger-Belandria represents a new generation of Latin musical expression. Born in the US, his family heritage and childhood are tied to Venezuela where his spark for tropical music and percussion began. Having studied throughout the Americas with drumming masters Adel Gonzales (Chucho Valdes, Afro Cuban All Stars), Miguel "Anga" Diaz and Enrique Pla (Irakere), Amadito Valdez and Carlos Gonzalez (Buena Vista Social Club), Modesto Cepeda (director/Escuela de Bomba y Plena de Puerto Rico), including jazz at the University of Missouri, he is a skilled conga, bongo, timbale and drumset player.

For more than 15 years Dan has dedicated himself to the art of Afro-Cuban and Caribbean drumming through various musical ensembles, including his invention AquaDrums, but his journey also includes excelling as a bi-lingual cultural-arts educator. He has presented to more than 50,000 students and educators over the past ten years and is affiliated with Young Audiences and ARTreach-Katy.

In addition to performing as a musician and cultural-arts educator, Dan combines his musical skills with an extensive diversity-training background to design and facilitate productivity-enhancing and wellness programs for corporations. His passion for travel and multicultural adventure plays an important role in his work; he has lived and studied abroad in Venezuela, Spain and the U.S., and traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Caribbean and South America. Clients and educators continually comment that Dan's unique background adds value and perspective to his work - his ability to engage!

Visit www.newworldsynergy.com for more information.

9:30 - 10:30 Presentation

• Brief history of mindPOP as a spin-off from Dallas-based Big Thought
• Focus on how it works in Austin
• Future plans and expectations for partner groups
• Presentation led by grad students
• Q&A

10:30 - 11:30 Small Group Discussion
Follow-up conversation on specific topics

• Logistics of creating mindPOP: How to use partnerships and resources/ how to get and use funding
• Core philosophical issues, i.e. issues around equity and quality instruction
• Social services elements (i.e. providing food) and the ramifications of providing these things as an arts education program

Dr. Brent Hasty leads mindPOP, a solutions-based organization effecting change in community/school creative learning systems. A former teacher and an award-winning arts administrator, Dr. Hasty consults with Big Thought of Dallas in the development of educational partnerships, professional development programs and Dallas ArtsPartners, a collaborative project among the City of Dallas School District and 62 arts and cultural organizations, a program for which he was a principle architect.

Brent also lectures at The University of Texas at Austin in the College of Education, where he teaches Elementary Social Studies Methods in the teacher preparation program. His research agenda includes integrated instruction, community alignment and service learning. His research has been presented internationally and published peer-reviewed journals including Action in Teacher Education and the Arts and Learning Research Journal. He contributed a chapter to The Elusive Excellence of Equity: A book about museums and social change. Dr. Hasty currently serves on the boards of Arthouse at the Jones Center and Fuse Box, and volunteers with Ballet Austin.

The Briefing Session will headline numerous points of interest that are relevant to the daily and long-term management of an effective SAA Arts Education program.

• VSA - The International Organization on Arts and Disability
  An introduction about education programs and resources at VSA including Institutes, Arts and Universal Design Course, and communities of practice inclusive arts teaching.
  Presenter: Kim Willey, Evaluation and Outcomes Coordinator
  VSA

• Education Leaders Institute
  Learn about the NEA's Education Leaders Institute and the latest updates related to this program.
  Presenter: Tatiana Gant, Director, Arts-in-Education Programs
  Illinois Arts Council

• Arts Education Advisory Group (AEAG)
  An explanation of the purpose of the AEAG, responsibilities, and how it operates. Included will be overview of the AEAG Strategic Plan.
  Presenter: Wayne Cook, Arts Program Specialist
  California Arts Council

• Research Based Communication Tool Kit: Overview and Updates
  Presenter: Sherilyn Brown, Director, Education Program
  Rhode Island State Council on the Arts

• Professional Development Fund: A funding resource for SAA Arts Ed Managers
  Presenter: Bethany France, Arts-in-Education Director
  Louisiana Division of the Arts

• NASAA Arts Learning Advisory Group: A new leadership group focused on advancing arts education initiated by Jonathan Katz, NASAA CEO.
  Presenter: Robin Middleman, Senior Program Officer - Arts Education
  New Jersey State Council on the Arts

• AEP Research and Policy Analysis Framework: An online clearinghouse of research and policy related to arts learning.
  Presenter: Angela Han, NASAA Director of Research

• National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards An overview of opportunities through this award as well as how SAA AE managers can participate.
  Presenter: Traci Slater-Rigaud, Director, National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards

• The Kennedy Center Arts Education Program: Arts Learning Resources, Professional Development Opportunities, and national networks
  Presenter: Barbara Shepherd, Director, National Partnerships
  The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

An interactive, participatory session on Afro-Cuban and Caribbean drumming designed to stimulate the mind and energize the body. Each participant will have a drum (supplied by presenter). The presenter will lead the group in synergizing the collective skill-building of rhythm, communication, participation, creativity and community (team building).

Facilitated exploration of pertinent topics with Colleagues

Briefings too brief? ... Tease your interest? ... Leave you wanting more? Something you wish was in the briefings - but wasn't? It seems that the more intricately 'connected' we are - the faster essential information whizzes by. In this session participants will have three opportunities to explore, discuss, inquire, learn more, share expertise, or probe the experts about a particular topic with colleagues. Three 30 minute Round Table Discussion Rotations allow participants to choose three topics from a pre-determined list or perhaps generate interest in a Round Table topic of their own.

Experience authentic Austin culture by learning the two-step and eating some of the finest Tex-Mex food this side of the border at the Broken Spoke. The Broken Spoke is Texas' most definitive dance hall. It's has a musical history that dates back to Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. AE managers will have the opportunity to learn traditional Texas Two Step in lively atmosphere in this historic Austin venue.
http://www.brokenspokeaustintx.com/legend.htm

Movement warm ups should be safe and sane for all ages and every level of expertise. A safe warm up includes four components: 1) raising body temperature, 2) activating synovial fluid in the joints, 3) strengthening and 4) stretching (in that order). Since one the foci of our Professional Development Institute is health, we will undertake a healthful dance warm up that is also artistic and fun.

Pecha Kucha(TM) inspired presentations: Statewide Arts Learning Surveys Fellow AE Managers will share current arts learning research spearheaded by their agencies. Learn about various approaches and partnerships in recent statewide and multi-state surveys. Presenters will share information about issues addressed, challenges in conducting surveys, as well as important outcomes resulting from their research. An open Q&A session will follow. Presenters will use the highly acclaimed Pecha Kucha format in which presenters show and discuss presentations consisting of 20 images each for 20 seconds.

Pecha Kucha^TM, correctly pronounced in four syllables as "peh-cha koo-cha", is the onomatopoeic Japanese word for the sound of conversation. The equivalent English term is "chit-chat". Conceived in 2003 as means through which young designers could meet, show their work, exchange ideas, and network, the format keeps presentations concise, fast-paced and entertaining.

National Policy Initiatives and K-12 Arts Education
What is policy? What are the key national policy initiatives that we should know about, and what should we know about them? What's happening with the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the development of Common Core Standards? How will they affect our work, and how can we use them to our advantage, and to build bridges between SAAs and State DOEs? Dr. Sarah Bainter Cunningham will lead this session and moderate a policy panel and a full-group conversation.

Proposed areas to cover include:

• 21st Century Skills
• Common Core Standards in Arts Education
• A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/index.html.