NYSCA’s Upcoming Arts in Education Funding Deadlines
The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) funds cultural organizations that work in partnership with schools to create programs providing students with the opportunity to explore the arts and arts-related environmental sciences. NYSCA also supports projects that allow teachers, administrators, students, and parents to explore and examine the powerful role the arts can play in education. Support of these programs is also meant to encourage and complement sequential, skills-based study of the arts in all of the artistic disciplines.

There are eight categories in which NYSCA offers funding, each of them with a March 1, 2007 deadline for registration. Registration is necessary in order to apply.

Applicants are encouraged to apply with school partners whether or not the schools have certified arts educators on staff. NYSCA’s goal is to help schools build and benefit from strong arts programs. Support for these collaborative programs is offered through the Empire State Partnerships (ESP) granting categories.

The categories for funding are:
ESP Project-based Planning
ESP Project-based Implementation
ESP School-wide Arts Planning
ESP School-wide Arts Implementation
ESP Dissemination
General Program Support
Services to the Field
Local Capacity Building (Regrants)

The ESP categories provide a sequential funding structure that supports the development and evolution of funded partnerships. Generally, eligible partnerships will involve collaborations between artists and teachers as they create units of study that explore the artistic process. For complete information about NYSCA’s Arts in Education grants and on the specific categories, visit:
www.nysca.org/public/guidelines/arts_in_education/index.htm

The Surdna Foundation’s Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowships Program
The Surdna Foundation’s Surdna Arts Teachers Fellowships Program offers $5,000 awards to arts teachers in specialized public arts high schools. Selected fellows will design individualized courses that will give them the opportunity to interact with artists in their fields.

The foundation offers 20 awards of $5,000 apiece. A complementary grant of $1,500 is also given to each fellow’s school in support of post-fellowship activities. Applicants must be a full- or part-time faculty member in a specialized public arts high school, must have been teaching for a minimum of five years, and must plan to continue as an arts teacher in the application year.

The deadline for applications is November 17.

For complete information on how to apply and on what constitutes a specialized public arts high school, visit:
www.surdna.org

The NEA Foundation’s Fine Arts Grant
The NEA Foundation’s Fine Arts Grant is a $2,000 award given to teachers through their local NEA affiliates. The program allows teachers to create and implement fine arts programs that promote learning among students at the risk of school failure. Proposed programs must address the arts.

Applicants must be members of the National Education Association and work in a US public secondary school serving economically disadvantaged students. If the applicant is not a fine arts specialist, he or she must teach one or more fine arts classes and must collaborate with a fine arts specialist who will serve as an advisor for the proposed project.

The deadline for applications is December 15.

For complete information on how to apply, visit:
www.neafoundation.org.

The American String Teachers Association’s CodaBows for America
The American String Teachers Association’s (ASTA) and the National School Orchestra Association’s (NSOA) CodaBows for America program supports excellence in string musicians who are attending under-resourced schools and studio music programs. The program donates approximately $5,000 worth of full-size CodaBow Aspire violin, viola, or cello bows to deserving schools and studios. Applications must be made by ASTA and NSOA members on behalf of their schools or studios.

Applicants must demonstrate the worthiness, promise, and need of their program. Schools and studios must be registered and recognized as a legal corporation or public school.

The deadline for applications is March 1, 2007.

For complete information on how to apply, visit:
www.astaweb.com