New $50M arts program will reach every San Francisco student
First the state of California… now we have San Francisco investing heavily to provide arts education to every child. This is a trend we like! Visual, performing arts to be reborn in schools as city frees funding – Every public student to benefit from comprehensive program after years of spotty offerings San Francisco educators will […]
California Press Conference Announcing Arts Education Funding
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a press conference yesterday announcing California's massive half-a-billion dollar investment in arts education featuring American Idol's Randy Jackson and Earth WInd and FIres Phillip Baily. We have posted a podcast of the event at: http://www.music-for-all.org/FromtheTrenchesPodcast.html For details on the funding Click Here The quick recap: ARTS AND MUSIC BLOCK GRANT The […]
$500+ Million for Arts Education! Now this is Leadership!
When someone is committed… REALLY committed to creating change… great things can happen. In some places people just TALK about supporting arts education and being committed to change but do not back it up with resources or political will (See New York Article below) This is what real leadership looks like: In January I proposed […]
Important subjects being left behind
The Indianapolis Star printed a "My View" today on the topic of NCLB. Not that I want to sound like a one note Johnny or anything… but this reinforces my bigger point about how the debate about NCLB is now as mucha public debate as it is political. The result will be significant changes, if […]
Off to Notre Dame!
I a heading off to Notre Dame for a speech on Music and Arts Education Advocacy for the attendees of Conn-Selmer University. While there… I am sitting down to record a podcast with Dr. Tim (Lautzenheiser) on this topic. May even grab some sound bites from some of the other education luminaries. It is bound […]
Dump NCLB?
As the National Commission on No Child Left Behind continues to hold hearings (Next stop Madison WI!) the drum beat for major changes or outright repeal of the law get louder and louder (being a drummer I love drum metaphors!) I have written often in this blog about all the various reports on NCLB including […]
No Idol left Behind
Some creative teachers are using the hot cultural phenom of American Idol to teach music. ABC's World News Tonight had this story featuring a music teacher, Evan Tobias, whose Catalysts & Connections blog we have frequented regularly. Thirty-five million people watch "American Idol" every week none more intently than Evan Tobias' fifth and sixth graders […]
NJ Survey Hits the NY Times
As media coverage of our work has been building we welcome this new contribution courtesy of the New York Times. This is an excellent and thorough report on our work and what we hope to accomplish. An excerpt: AS fine arts supervisor for this large Ocean County school district, Kim Defibaugh is scrambling to complete […]
No Child Left Behind: 2001-2007 R.I.P.
Five years ago I wrote a somewhat controversial essay called The Perfect Storm where I predicted that the combination of proposed federal laws, now known as No Child Left Behind, and an eroding economy meant we would face the loss of programs in the coming years. I am not happy that I was right… Nor […]
Podcast and Media Coverage of our Announcement
We have posted a podcast of the press conference with Secretary of State Wells and Acting Commisioner of Education Davy regarding the launch of the New Jersey Visual and Performing Arts Education Survey. Great, passionate comments by all. Includes the Question and Answer session with the members of the media. To listen it go to: […]
