ACE/FAAE Programs

Providing Models of Excellence

Arts Achieve! Awards Program Arts Achieve! is an extensive awards program to recognize exemplary school-based programs of arts education and to honor Floridians who have made outstanding contributions to improve and enhance arts education. Some Florida awards are linked to national awards provided by the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network, the National School Board Association, and others.

Arts Recognition Scholarship Program
This program annually recognizes twenty-four high school seniors who have demonstrated exemplary talents in music, media, dance, theatre, and visual arts. They are awarded $1,000 scholarships that are intended to assist students with pursuing further study in their chosen art form. The program is managed by the Foundation for Florida’s Future.

Curriculum Programs

Putting Creativity to Work: The Middle School Career Exploration Project Substantive materials for teaching and learning about careers in the arts as a component of the Florida Middle School Career Exploration Course that will be developed in 2008. The project will provide all students, with and without disabilities, knowledge of a broad span of arts-related careers and the means by which to select and develop and individually appropriate plan for further career exploration. Arts career modules developed will be field-tested by middle school students and teachers to determine their effectiveness. Modification of materials will follow, with the intention that these will be fully integrated into the Middle Schools Career Exploration course in the fall of 2008.

Heritage Programs
ACE/FAAE celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, Black Heritage Month, Florida Heritage Month and
National Anthem Project programs by providing teacher’s guides and arts integrated curriculum to Florida’s schools and community art organizations.

Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales
The purpose of this program is to link arts education with community arts resources, especially those resources that have statewide significance. Theatre- and visual arts-based, interdisciplinary curricular materials have been developed that focus on Florida folklore, with specific emphasis on literacy and cultural diversity. Curricular materials are suited for young children up to grade 4, with adaptations for older students.

Start with the Arts
This project, in partnership with VSA arts of Florida, extends “Start with the Arts” (SWTA), an arts-integrated, early-childhood curriculum written and disseminated through VSA arts International. The Florida adaptation of SWTA is comprised of arts-integrated curriculum for use by K-3 general classroom and arts teachers to foster skill development important for all children, particularly those with special needs.

Programs

Arts Assessment and Accountability

Accountability for individual student learning in the arts is as important as it is in the other academic disciplines. ACE/FAAE has provided support to the Florida Music Educators’ Association in its development of Music assessment tools for use in Florida schools. In 2007-2008, ACE/FAAE will continue to work with the Florida Art Education Association (FAEA) to develop pilot test forms of a visual arts assessment instrument. These will be piloted with grade 4 students throughout Florida during the spring of 2008.It is expected that these items will be field-tested in 2008-2009.

Arts Education Highly Effective Teacher Development Pilot Program

This program focuses on development of teaching in and through the arts in the 13 Districts of Florida’s Panhandle. In addition to experiencing on-site training, teachers will be paired with experienced arts teachers from throughout Florida; teachers will provide ongoing connections for their mutual professional development. It is expected that the technology utilized to implement this program will impact other arts education professional development programs which address rural and underserved communities.

Public Awareness

Coalitions Development and Partnerships in the Arts

ACE/FAAE supports the work of 24 local ACE Coalitions throughout Florida. This grassroots effort builds public awareness and action for programs and challenges facing arts education programs in Florida. Local ACE Coalitions seek to:

• Strengthen existing networks of support for arts education in counties across Florida;
• Strengthen the relationship between schools and community cultural resources;
• Identify and act on issues of local concern.

Promoting Awareness of Arts Education Benefits

The public awareness program of ACE/FAAE focuses on the value of arts education in schools and communities and on building public support for the arts and arts education.

Through ACE/FAAEinformation is provided to the public to raise awareness of issues in arts education, e.g. the unintended consequences of physical education requirements, the impact of diminishing required arts education credits, the narrowing of the school curriculum.

Arts Education: Inside and Outside

Working in collaboration with the Florida Department of State/Division of Cultural Affairs, ACE/FAAE is gathering information on exemplary arts education programs offered both in and out of schools. Through a survey of agencies and organizations such as community arts organizations and institutions, hospitals, juvenile detention centers, and community social service agencies, exemplary programs will be identified and profiled to serve as models to others. Five community meetings will be held in 2008 in locations throughout Florida to expand the constituency for arts education in Florida.

Leaders for Florida Arts Education

ACE/FAAE will continue to promote and facilitate leadership development in the arts though the annual ACE Leadership Summit.  This annual statewide conference forges collaborative relationships among arts educators, school administrators, business leaders, local arts organizations, and ACE Coalition members. The Summit focuses on issues of current importance to Arts Education in Florida.