The decisions regarding school curriculum are based on mandates from state and local policies and funding from local, state, and federal government funding. In most K-12 public school systems, decisions regarding funding issues are approved by the local board of education upon the recommendation from the superintendent. As chief executive officer…

At the 2009 Professional Conference of the NCSSSMST, humanities types were gratified to find eight sessions devoted to the arts and humanities as well as several others with a civic or humanistic component. Integration and inclusion, it seemed, were in the air, embracing not just science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but philosophy,…

Describes how high school students are involved in using natural materials found in the local environment for art projects. The materials used include wood, clay, and natural fibers. Provides photographs of ten students' projects. (JDH)

Prodigy is an example of a program that is successful due to its being a program that is community engaged. Prodigy is a community arts program, crime prevention and diversion program, serving ten thousand people in seven counties. This article discusses the roles, challenges, and successes of the partnerships with the School of Social Work at the…

This paper examines the role of visual arts in student creativity development and gives guidelines for using a comprehensive visual arts program which can foster interdisciplinary connections throughout the curriculum. Sections of the paper include: (1) "Visual Arts in Education"; (2) "Visual Arts is a Way to..."; (3)…

A renewed emphasis on arts education has come after a period of neglect during the 1980s and early 1990s when the arts were often slighted as school budgets grew tight and as educational priorities shifted to the basic academic subjects. Recently, results of several research studies have confirmed the advantages of student participation in arts…

Discusses the events leading up to the development of the new arts education program for the Sarasota Country School District in Florida. Addresses the work of the Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts, its role in developing the arts program, and the interactions between the community and the school district. (CMK)

Addresses the Sarasota County school district's decision to eliminate the arts programs in the elementary and middle schools. Discusses the efforts by the school district in rescuing the arts in the Sarasota schools and the superintendent's idea for creating the Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts that is working for world-class arts…

Describes the community of Sarasota County in Florida (Tampa) as one in which the arts are highly valued. Explains that the Sarasota County School Board eliminated the arts program devastating Sarasota County and the surrounding areas. Introduces three articles that discuss the elimination and renewal of Sarasota County's arts program. (CMK)

Addresses the role of the professional arts community in reestablishing the arts programs in the Sarasota County's schools and their interaction with the school district. Identifies how the Arts Education Task Force, a committee of arts organizations in Sarasota County, assisted in the development of the Community/Schools Partnership for the Arts.…

This document details Florida's state, elementary and secondary, arts education standards, approved May 29, 1996. The document outlines standards for dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. For each subject area, standards are given for grades preK-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12. The student standards focus on skills and…

Discusses the Web site, "A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust," created to assist Florida teachers in educating students about the Holocaust. Describes each section of the Web site (Timeline, People, Arts, Student Activities, and Teacher Resources) and also discusses the responses of teachers and others about the Web site. (CMK)

During October and November of 1975, course outlines were solicited from the sixteen Florida community colleges offering an integrated humanities course. Ten colleges provided outlines, which were subsequently reviewed in terms of the textual materials used, the teaching approach employed, and stated objectives. The review showed that all of the…

This report examines arts engagement in ten key states in the U.S. by analyzing data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). It is organized into ten state profiles that summarize key demographic characteristics, the arts landscape, and public participation in the arts. Because the regions profiled here are not a random…

This course of study was written as part of a total effort to revise curriculum to fit the quinmester (five 9-week periods) administrative organization of the Dade County Schools. The major intent of this publication is to provide a broad framework of goals and objectives, content, teaching strategies, class activities, and materials all related…