Professional Development
Strengthening investment and engagement in the arts
FOR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS
The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) is a state agency whose mission is to fund and support quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Created in 1965, the OAC provides both financial assistance to arts organizations, artists, and educators to make arts activities available to a broad segment of Ohioans, as well as other services and resources to enhance the growth of Ohio’s creative sector. The agency’s State Arts Plan 2020 focuses on four strategic goals—to invest, engage, innovate, and lead.
Arts education is critical and fundamental to achieving the OAC’s mission. It has been—and remains—a historic priority of the agency with dedicated grant programs and funding. Simply put, the arts strengthen education and are an essential curriculum component. The arts aid success inside and outside the classroom, preparing students to succeed in an economy driven by innovation and creativity. Ongoing research confirms a positive relationship between arts education and improved academics—from better math and reading skills, to higher standardized test scores and graduation rates. An education that includes the arts helps to train our workforce and produce creative, critical thinkers and problem-solvers whose skills are attractive to employers across industries.
Arts education is critical and fundamental to achieving the OAC’s mission. It has been—and remains—a historic priority of the agency with dedicated grant programs and funding. Simply put, the arts strengthen education and are an essential curriculum component. The arts aid success inside and outside the classroom, preparing students to succeed in an economy driven by innovation and creativity. Ongoing research confirms a positive relationship between arts education and improved academics—from better math and reading skills, to higher standardized test scores and graduation rates. An education that includes the arts helps to train our workforce and produce creative, critical thinkers and problem-solvers whose skills are attractive to employers across industries.
OAC Grants in Arts Education
From school visits to performing arts venues to artist residencies taking place right in the classroom, the Ohio Arts Council's arts learning programs seek to inspire and encourage artistic expression through engaging experiences. The OAC currently offers three grant programs focusing specifically on arts learning initiatives, including the OAC's newest program, TeachArtsOhio.
TeachArtsOhio
The TeachArtsOhio (TAO) program brings schools and community organizations together with teaching artists to share engaging, personal, high-quality arts learning experiences. Engagements can vary from short introductory exposures lasting one week to in-depth immersive experiences spanning a full school year. Through TAO grant awards, creative and experienced teaching artists offer PK-12 learners the opportunity to participate in a unique creative process, bridge cultural differences, develop fresh ways of learning through the arts, and realize lasting benefits from contact and collaboration with professional artists who are experienced in working with school-age children and youth. Students benefit from the in-depth, sustained arts instruction meant to supplement a school’s established curricula that is developed through a collaborative effort between teachers, artists, and administrators. Through TAO, the OAC has created an improved model of arts education delivery in partnership with schools and communities throughout the state. Each year, TeachArtsOhio applications are open beginning November 1 with a deadline of February 1 for artist residencies occurring the following school year.
For more information about TeachArtsOhio, or to begin your application, email Jarred Small, OAC arts learning coordinator, at jarred.small@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4481.
For more information about TeachArtsOhio, or to begin your application, email Jarred Small, OAC arts learning coordinator, at jarred.small@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4481.
Big Yellow School Bus
The Big Yellow School Bus (BYSB) program helps schools and other educational groups defray student transportation costs to professional arts and cultural activities, facilitating travel to museums, performances, and other arts opportunities. School field trips play an important role in arts education efforts, providing exposure to arts events otherwise inaccessible to many students. These formative arts experiences create new relationships between Ohio's youth and the state’s creative sector and support in-school arts learning activities that are critical to overall academic development. BYSB applications are accepted year-round but should be submitted at least eight weeks prior to planned travel.
For more information about Big Yellow School Bus, email Chiquita Mullins Lee, OAC arts learning coordinator, at chiquita.mullinslee@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4455.
For more information about Big Yellow School Bus, email Chiquita Mullins Lee, OAC arts learning coordinator, at chiquita.mullinslee@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4455.
Arts Partnership
Arts Partnership grants support arts education projects that address the needs of individual learners and their communities. This program supports Ohio schools and organizations that plan and conduct projects with arts learning at their core. Priority is given to projects that target underserved populations, including but not limited to rural and urban youth. Funds may be used for a wide variety of expenses. Many grantees use Arts Partnership funds to support artistic or educational expenses. Other allowable expenses include program planning and evaluation. Grant recipients engage in collaborative planning with partners, emphasize in-depth study of the arts, and use arts learning outcomes and standards-based arts education practices. By supporting these projects and programs, the OAC strengthens arts education locally, regionally, and statewide. Arts Partnership offers two-year grants, and the application deadline is March 1 of odd-numbered years (e.g., 2021, 2023).
For more information about Arts Partnership, email Chiquita Mullins Lee, OAC arts learning coordinator, at chiquita.mullinslee@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4455.
For more information about Arts Partnership, email Chiquita Mullins Lee, OAC arts learning coordinator, at chiquita.mullinslee@oac.ohio.gov or call 614-728-4455.
Ohio Teaching Artist Roster
Launched in 2019, the Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is a new online tool that helps connect communities with well-qualified Ohio teaching artists. Teaching artists are community members who partner with schools and other educational providers to supplement and build on existing arts and non-arts curricula.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is designed for use by the public, particularly educators, to assist in identifying teaching artists who can lead high-quality, arts-integrated creative opportunities that are aligned with academic content standards.
The roster is searchable by art form and focus, geography, and other key criteria. Educators can currently browse 54 profiles of individuals or organizations specializing in a variety of arts disciplines—ranging from comic and graphic novels to ceramics, mural-making, and bookbinding. Teaching artists on this roster have been vetted by an application and observation process and participate in ongoing professional development to provide the highest quality arts education experiences and grow their teaching artist knowledge and skills.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is a partnership between the Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), OhioDance, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and VSA Ohio. These partner organizations share administrative maintenance responsibilities and manage the roster and related professional development opportunities.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is designed for use by the public, particularly educators, to assist in identifying teaching artists who can lead high-quality, arts-integrated creative opportunities that are aligned with academic content standards.
The roster is searchable by art form and focus, geography, and other key criteria. Educators can currently browse 54 profiles of individuals or organizations specializing in a variety of arts disciplines—ranging from comic and graphic novels to ceramics, mural-making, and bookbinding. Teaching artists on this roster have been vetted by an application and observation process and participate in ongoing professional development to provide the highest quality arts education experiences and grow their teaching artist knowledge and skills.
The Ohio Teaching Artist Roster is a partnership between the Ohio Arts Council, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), OhioDance, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and VSA Ohio. These partner organizations share administrative maintenance responsibilities and manage the roster and related professional development opportunities.
Ohio Arts Education Data Dashboard
|
Launched in 2018, the Ohio Arts Education Data Project is a partnership of the OAC, OAAE, Ohio Department of Education, and New Jersey-based research firm Quadrant Research. Central to this partnership is the Ohio Arts Education Data Dashboard, an online, interactive, color-coded database displaying arts education access and enrollment in Ohio’s preK-12 schools at the school, district, county, and statewide levels.
Because we know the arts are vital to the development and future success of Ohio’s children, the project partners developed the dashboard to enable parents, educators, principals, superintendents, policymakers, and business leaders (e.g., realtors and others who seek to promote the quality of the communities they serve) to see what arts education is being offered in schools and school districts in Ohio. Multiple years of data, as reported annually via the state’s Education Management Information System, gives educators the ability to track trends and compare data with schools across the state. Data from ensuing school years is added annually, allowing the project to show the status of arts education over time. |
|
Ohio House of Representatives Student Art Exhibition
Similar to the Congressional Art Competition at the federal level, the Ohio House of Representatives Student Art Exhibition features exemplary visual art created by high school students from each of the 99 Ohio House districts. The yearlong exhibition recognizes the talent, creativity, and innovative visions of students who receive high-quality arts instruction as a part of their academic experience. Artwork is displayed in the underground hallway that connects the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts to the Statehouse Parking Garage and, ultimately, the Ohio Statehouse. The exhibition is presented by the OAC in conjunction with the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Art Education Association, with additional support from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.
Poetry Out Loud
Do your students have a competitive edge? Explore Ohio Poetry Out Loud (POL), a program that helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary heritage and contemporary life.
POL encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and public recitation in a competition format. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with the state arts agencies of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Teachers, librarians, or administrators register their high schools each year with the OAC and organize contests with one class, several classes, or a whole school. Contests, workshops, and multimedia program materials, including curricula, are free. Poetry Out Loud is aligned with Common Core and National Council of Teachers of English standards.
POL encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and public recitation in a competition format. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud is administered in partnership with the state arts agencies of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Teachers, librarians, or administrators register their high schools each year with the OAC and organize contests with one class, several classes, or a whole school. Contests, workshops, and multimedia program materials, including curricula, are free. Poetry Out Loud is aligned with Common Core and National Council of Teachers of English standards.