Poetry Out Loud

The Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest was created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Administered in New York State by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Alliance for Arts Education, Poetry Out Loud provides a new and exciting channel for learning in high school English  classrooms by inviting the dynamic aspects of world literature and charismatic public speaking.

Students benefit by reading a wide range of literature to build an understanding of texts and the world around them. Additionally, Poetry Out Loud helps students to master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about their literary heritage. 

School competitions will begin in January 2007, leading up to the New York State finals in March and Nationals in Washington, DC in April. 

Learn more about Poetry Out Loud and download a registration form to participate.

NYSAAE - VSAarts Project

We are pleased to report that NYSAAE received a grant from VSAarts for 2006-07.  VSAarts is an international, non profit organization that celebrates the power of the arts in the lives of individuals with special needs.  With this grant, we will provide matching funds for programs in Buffalo, Rochester and Oneonta, professional development opportunities, and cultural access through reduced tickets and/or providing assisted hearing devices/interpretive services for performing arts organizations across the state, and will develop a website focused on issues related to special needs and arts education as a resource for New York State.

Building Resiliency:  A Model Professional Development Pilot Program

The New York State Alliance for Arts Education, with support from the Kennedy Center and the New York Times School Arts Rescue Initiative (SARI), has developed a program designed to enable arts organization administrators and teaching artists to address the emotional needs of adolescent students through the arts. In the first phase of the project, NYSAAE worked in collaboration with two arts organizations--City Lights Youth Theater in New York City and the Westchester Arts Council in White Plains. Participants worked with Dale Davis, President of the Association of Teaching Artists and Executive Director of The New York State Literary Center, and John Woodall MD, Founder and Executive Director of The Unity Project and a faculty member of Harvard Medical School.  Workshop leaders and participants demonstrated how the arts can serve as a vehicle for students to identify their personal strengths through making and responding to each other’s creative work.  The program helped teaching artists acquire insights and practical strategies to strengthen their residency work. Furthermore, participants developed their own strategies and have integrated the acquired methods into their residencies.  The teaching artists are being mentored and supported as they try out the new ideas gained from the program. 

If your school or organization would like to learn more about this model program, please contact Lainy Slyder, NYSAAE Program Associate at exec@nysaae.org.

The project is facilitated by Dr. Carol Fineberg, NYSAAE Board Chair and Jeremy Johannesen, NYSAAE Executive Director.

Toolkit for Teaching the Arts

Professional artists who desire to work in schools frequently lack pedagogical skills to make the most of their intentions. They need to know how to engage students successfully in art making and how to link their work and expertise with state and local arts education standards.  With funds from The Dana Foundation, NYSAAE is in the process developing a curriculum and instruction Toolkit that will enable Teaching Artists and Arts Specialists to maneuver their way through the challenges of working in school settings.  Through a replication strategy, the grant will also enable others to use the training model and instrumentation with technical assistance from NYSAAE. Contents of the toolkit are being developed in response to surveys by NYFA, ATA, NYSAAE, as a teaching artist initiative.  The project will upgrade the quality of artists' residences as it is used in subsequent years by various arts organizations that work in partnership with schools.

Advocacy Toolkit

The NYSAAE Advocacy Toolkit provides helpful resources for parents, teachers, artists, administrators, and members of the community to make the case for why the arts are an essential part of a quality education.  Topics covered in the Toolkit include methods of assessing the status of arts education in schools and communities, tips for including the arts in every classroom, advocacy organizations in your community, and more.  Visit our Advocacy Resources page to browse the toolkit contents.

For more information on our new initiatives, please contact us at 1.800.ARTS.N.ED.