Transforming Education through the Arts Challenge
The selection of 36 TETAC Schools to participate in a nationwide
experiment to reform education was announced today by the
Annenberg Foundation, the Getty Education Institute for the
Arts, and the National Arts Education Consortium. The schools
will serve as demonstration sites for implementing a comprehensive
approach to arts education linked to whole school reform strategies
to improve student achievement.
This five-year, $15-million effort to reform education in
and through the arts is being supported by grants from the
Annenberg Foundation, the Getty Education Institute, and other
private and public sources. The grants will provide for professional
development, implementation of arts curricula and school reform
strategies, and the measurement of student achievement in
the Arts Partner Schools. Collectively, the Arts Partner Schools
will serve K-12 students in rural, urban, and suburban schools
in eight states, including 14 schools that primarily serve
at-risk students.
"Through the TETAC Schools, the Annenberg Foundation's commitment
to fundamental school reform can be accomplished by the inclusion
of a strong arts education curriculum," adds Vartan Gregorian,
president of Brown University and a pro bono advisor to the
Annenberg Foundation. This grant is one of only three awarded
by the foundation nationally that focuses on the arts as a
key to reform. "The 36 schools represent great diversity in
terms of geography, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
This diversity provides an ideal laboratory for exploring
how a comprehensive arts education can serve as a viable focal
point for school reform and for transforming the lives of
students and teachers," notes D. Jack Davis, Co-Director of
the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts.
National cross-site evaluations of the 36 schools will be
conducted to monitor the schools' progress in merging a comprehensive
arts education with fundamental school reform and its impact
on student performance. "This project presents an important
opportunity to collect and analyze essential statistical data
on student achievement to demonstrate why arts education needs
to be at the core of school reform," notes Lelani Lattin Duke,
Director of the Getty Education Institute for the Arts. The
Arts Partner Schools were selected from among hundreds of
schools within six regional institutes. These regional institutes,
which form the National Arts Education Consortium, are comprised
of school districts, universities, art museums, and other
art and education organizations.
The Annenberg Foundation, founded by Walter H. Annenberg,
former U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, has funded the Annenberg
Challenge, the largest single gift ever made to American public
education. The $500 million, five-year challenge to the nation
is designed to energize and support promising efforts at school
reform throughout the country. The Getty Education Institute
for the Arts, part of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is dedicated
to improving the quality and status of arts education in the
nation's schools. It initiates and supports programs in four
major areas: advocacy for the value of art in education; professional
development for teachers and administrators in schools and
universities; theory development; and curriculum development.
Six Regional Institutes
All TETAC Schools
Mitchell Elementary School
Oakhurst Elementary School
Shady Brook Elementary School
Greenbriar Elementary School
North Hi Mount Elementary
E.M. Daggett Middle School
The National PTA
The National
Arts Education Consortium
