Arts in the Communities, Arts in the Schools (Yearly)

This program, a partnership between the Arizona Community Foundation and the Arizona Alliance for Arts Education, supports and strengthens arts education in Arizona.  Schools have the opportunity to submit a proposal to plan an arts program in collaboration with community artistic organizations and resources. The planning grant phase includes the use of the Kennedy Center Community Audit to conduct a thorough planning process, including identification of community and school resources to support arts education. Planning grantees are invited to apply for implementation grants upon successful completion of their planning process. The arts programs are evaluated, both internally by a grant review process and self-evaluated by participants, on informed leadership, educational content and community connections.  As a result, art educators gain professional knowledge and establish programs in communities, which generally have not supported arts education in the schools without the grant.

Early Childhood Arts Partnership (ECAP)

ECAP focuses on arts-based professional development in early childhood education at three school districts or care centers. An in-service is provided to teachers and caregivers to increase confidence and competence in arts education, including the topic areas: arts in the classroom, arts standards, and focused breakout sessions in movement, drama, visual arts and music. The in-service is followed by residencies with ASU arts education students, with the goal of collaborative curriculum and skills development. Consultations and workshops round out the professional development training. Evaluation includes quantitative and qualitative measurements, using portfolios, interviews, and pre/post tests.  Feedback from the evaluation has seen an 80-100% excellence rating.