​I grew up on one of the Finger Lakes about forty miles east of Rochester, New York where summers were spent in a carefree existence of riding bikes and playing tag.  Our concerns were the color popsicle we’d get at the end of the day (hopefully cherry) and if the fireflies would be out that night.  I can remember so many specific details from my childhood summers, almost forty-five years ago, as if they happened yesterday.  Yet, I don’t remember the capitols of all fifty states (even though I memorized them in 5th grade) and I can recite less than ten presidents in order (even though at one time I could rattle off Washington to Ford in less than two minutes).  Why is it that we remember some things, while others fade away almost immediately?  I’ve learned through the years that what we remember is connected to experiences that were fun, engaging and interesting.  The things that get us excited and that spark our curiosity are the things that keep us motivated and inspired to the point we often lose track of time. 
 
When I was teaching first grade, I would start virtually every lesson or book by tapping into my students’ past experiences.  “Who has seen a bird’s nest,” “Have you ever slipped on a wet rock?”  Inevitably, the high achievers in my class were always the students who had a wide range of experiences and opportunities, especially over the summer.  From horseback riding to playing guitar, swimming in the lake or playing Kick the Can, those experiences provided the platform for future learning.  It’s important to point out here that incidental learning is just as important, and sometimes more important, than intentional teaching.  My summer experiences provided opportunities such as learning about plants by creating my own terrarium or reinforcing geometry and engineering when we were building a tree fort.  Play is a child’s job.

National Summer Learning Day is a national advocacy day aimed at elevating the importance of keeping kids learning, safe and healthy every summer, ensuring they return to school in the fall ready to succeed in the year. Your participation sends a powerful message across the nation that summers matter and offers an opportunity to showcase how summers can make a life-changing difference in the lives of young people.

We all know that it takes a village to develop and sustain a successful arts program.  That includes having a highly motivated and competent teacher at the helm, student buy-in, support from parents, support from the community and support from school and district administration.  If any one of these components is lacking or missing it is likely that achieving success, whatever that might be defined as, will be hard to come by.  In our blog today we are going to take a look at support from school and district administration – what it looks like, is it given or earned, developing professional relationships and how to handle situations where you might not feel supported.  

School and district administrative support for arts programs is going to look different from district to district, school to school, program to program and teacher to teacher depending on the scenario and a million different variables.  That means there is not just one clear cut answer.  What one district or school can do to support teachers might or might not be possible in other places.  However, here are universal supports that can be provided by school and district administration, in my opinion.

• Be visible – visit classrooms, rehearsals and attend performances.
• Be available to meet if needed.
• Provide financial support.
• Be willing to listen with an open mind – even if you can’t fix the problem.
• Advocate for arts programs at the local, state and national level when appropriate.
• Provide honest feedback to teachers that articulates your expectations.
• Provide adequate facilities and supplies.
• Work to ensure the arts are scheduled with fidelity.
• Provide access to content specific professional development to teachers.
• Protect instructional time.
• Respond to emails, phone calls or conversations in a timely manner.
• Be a cheerleader for arts programs – celebrate successes and be encouraging.
• In difficult situations always have your teacher’s back if they are right and help them understand and navigate situations if they made a mistake. 
• Be open to expanding arts programs.
• Have extremely high expectations of your teachers and the quality of their programs.
• Ensure the highest quality personnel is hired to teach your arts programs.
• Be consistent in all things you do.
• Provide explicitly clear communication.
• Ensure that each school has a cohesive master calendar that does not allow for overlapping, conflicting events where students and parents must choose.
• Treat all teachers with respect – even in difficult situations.
• Make equitable decisions.
• Be 100% Professional, 100% of the Time.

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Is it possible for every administrator to provide all of these supports to all teachers every single day? Of course not.  However, it is a great place to start and a good way to do some self-reflection as an administrator to see if you are providing support to arts programs in the way it’s needed the most. 

The answer is very simple.  BOTH!  Some of the supports listed above are simple and come very natural to administrators.  However, many of the supports listed above only come with trust.  Trust is built when teachers demonstrate over time that he or she is highly competent, dependable and a team player.  Remember, actions speak much louder than words.  If you want a high level of trust and support from administration you’ve got to be sure you are 100% professional, 100% of the time too.  Be on time, be organized and always be willing to be a team player.  That means that you are willing to work with others outside of your arts area and do whatever is needed to be done.  One last thing that will help you earn the trust of administration is to be FLEXIBLE.  That can sometimes be hard for arts teachers but your flexibility helps the administration carryout initiatives that are important to them.  Your willingness to help and your flexibility will make you a valuable team player.  In the long run that builds credibility and trust and as a result you will feel valued and supported by school and district administration at a higher level.    

​Get to know your school and district administration.  Communicate with them on a regular basis about all of the great things going on in your program.  They should hear from you, know you and know your program long before a problem comes up.  Watch this great video to hear more about this from a teacher’s perspective. 

This is not a concrete list and I’m sure all of you could come up with just as many if not more suggestions.  However, here are my thoughts on what you can do if you feel that you or your program is not supported by school and district administration.

1. Always work hard and do your personal best, no matter what! Often your work speaks for itself and even though the administration might not shout it from the rooftops they really are very proud of what you and the students are accomplishing.  
2. Always communicate in a kind and professional manner.  Be able to clearly communicate your vision and what is needed.  Do your very best to leave emotion out of professional conversations.  Understand that Rome was not built in a day and it is most likely going to take time to achieve all of the great plans you have in place.  Work together with your administration to achieve those plans and be open to achieving the goals they have in mind too.   
3. Find ways to positively interact with your administration.  This will go a long way in building a two-way reciprocal professional relationship. 
4. Know where your program is at the moment in terms of achievement and develop a clear plan of where you want to take them over the next several years.  Have a good understanding of what is needed in terms of financial and administrative support.  Share the vision and what you will need with your administration (via email) and ask if you can meet so you can discuss what their vision is for the program.  In the meeting have an open, honest discussion where you find common ground and hash through things that might be in conflict.  Then get to work towards meeting those common goals.  Be sure to communicate with your administration as you meet the goals.       
5. Ask for ongoing honest feedback in terms of teaching and learning, the development of your program and any other input your administration might feel is important for growth and expansion.  However, you must but be prepared for the sometimes raw truth.  Even the strongest of strong teachers has room for growth and improvement.  Don’t take their feedback as a personal attack – view it as a learning opportunity for you, your students and the well-being of your program.  
6. Take the time to educate administration about what achievement looks like in your arts world – don’t assume they know.  Be knowledgeable about local, state and national measurements of arts programs and regularly compare your program.  Be sure to share that information and how you stack up with your school administration.  They love to see growth and improvement.  
7. Understand that sometimes things works out in your favor and sometimes they don’t when it comes to the support you expect from school and district administration.  Keep a good attitude, keep working hard to ensure the success of your students and eventually everything will fall into place. 
8. Understand that you are a piece of the pie – not the whole pie when it comes to the school environment.  Work to be viewed as a team player who is willing to work for the greater good of the school while you are building your own program.  Volunteer to work on committees, volunteer to cover classes during planning if needed, volunteer to do the things that no one else wants to do.  This will pay huge dividends in the long run.  It will give you a much more global perspective of the school environment outside of your program. 
9. Take every opportunity to showcase achievements your students have earned – big and small.  This will build a reputation of excellence for your program outside of the 4 walls of your classroom, it will boost student morale and will create a since of identity for your program in the community.  This helps administration tangibly see the fruits of what you are providing for students and makes it easier to support you.   
10. Understand that administrators really do want strong programs.  Sometimes they need your help in understanding what strong arts programs look like.  Have open and honest conversations with your school administration. 

​On an afternoon in May of 2000, I received a call from a friend of mine, Dr. Roxanna Albury.  Roxanna was on the board of the then SC Alliance for Arts Education. She said that they were in the midst of a board retreat with the purpose of revitalizing the organization. One of the ways they had come up with to move SCAAE ahead was to hire an executive director, and would I be interested. After finding out a little more including the fact that the board was made up of an incredible group of people, I agreed.

Since that time, what changes have I seen!  – the most obvious being the name change to Palmetto State Arts Education. But the most substantive changes have been in the organization’s finding of purpose. When I joined SCAAE in 2000, we were focused on trying to find our niche – a place where we could make the most difference and where we were helping our state partners, not competing with them. In 2003, that place was identified as arts infusion/integration.  A few years later, professional development for district arts coordinators was added as another place where SCAAE/now PSAE could make a difference.

Now it’s 2018, and the PSAE board remains incredible with a new generation of dedicated professionals!  They are hard at work expanding what we do, always with the same goal in mind as we had in 2000, to ensure that the arts are an integral part of all students’ education.

You've read about the history of PSAE, now it's time to discover some new projects PSAE will be working on during 2018:

On February 2, PSAE released the inaugural issue of a new electronic newsletter.  Designed to keep educators up to date, Arts Ed Thread features news and trends in arts education as well as updates from statewide partners such as SC Arts Commission, SC Dept. of Education, and SC Arts Alliance.  Arts Ed Thread will be produced quarterly (late January/early February, late April/early May, August, late October/early November). 

​We would love to include news from you!  Contact [email protected] to submit news items for the late April/early May issue.   And if you didn’t receive the February 2 issue, be sure to sign up!

​PSAE has been invested in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) for a number of years. STEAM has been an important strand in every PSAE annual conference since 2011 when our annual conference theme was Powering STEM with STEAM. This year, PSAE is expanding its STEAM work in 2 ways, both designed to help support STEAM efforts in South Carolina. 

The first will be the creation of a SC STEAM Schools Directory, which schools can use to identify others that are like them or have programs they are interested in. Using an online survey developed by PSAE, information will be gathered from schools that have identified themselves as having a STEAM focus. The survey will be sent out this spring.  PSAE will then compile the information and release an online directory by late fall.   

PSAE is also developing a new STEAM School Award. South Carolina has so many schools that are doing such amazing things in STEAM. PSAE wants to recognize those schools through its new award.  Details will be coming out in the next several weeks. So please look for that and plan on nominating your school!

And of course, we will continue our work through…

Help us advocate for quality arts education by identifying the schools that are doing an outstanding job of making arts essential to the education of their students.  Be sure to nominate your school for the SC Schools of Excellence in Arts Education Award so that it can receive the recognition it deserves!

Celebrate administrators who are making a difference in our schools through their support of arts programs.  Nominate your administrator for PSAE’s SC Arts Administrator of the Year!

What better way to honor those individuals and/or organizations who have helped to support, strengthen and grow arts integration opportunities in our schools than to nominate them for the Ray Doughty Arts Integration Award, an award designed to recognize those who embody the true spirit of arts integration through the use of community partnerships.  
 
Deadline for award applications is Monday, April 16.

​The Rising Stars Piccolo Spoleto Series is 10 years old! 
 
PSAE is currently accepting applications for the 2018 Rising Stars Piccolo Spoleto, a series designed to give young artists the opportunity to participate in the high profile venue of Spoleto USA Festival through its affiliation with Piccolo Spoleto.
 
Who is eligible? 

• Students between the ages of 9 and 18 who are not full-time college students
• Students who are visual artists, actors, dancers, creative writers, and musicians (instrumentalists and vocalists)

 
Help us celebrate our artistically gifted young people!
 
Deadline for applications is Friday, March 30.

October 15-16, 2018
Charleston, SC

How do we as educators and administrators empower our students to question, to explore, and to become the creative innovators that the future will need? 
 
On October 15-16, 2018, PSAE will host a two-day conference to help educators and administrators meet this challenge.  In its 16th year, this annual conference will offer a wealth of opportunities for potential sessions and workshops that explore innovative strategies to nurture inquiry, prepare for inventiveness, and stimulate creativity in today’s classrooms.
 
The theme for the 2018 conference is Innovate!   And PSAE has its own innovation for this year’s conference. PSAE will be offering ½ price conference registration for the proposals for sessions that best address the theme of innovation. Up to 12 proposals will be selected, so be sure to get your proposal in before the April 30th deadline!
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We in PSAE celebrate the creativity of our young people every day in all that we do! But nationally, the month of March is designated as Youth Art Month.

Youth Art Month is a celebration of the visual arts through student exhibitions, public artworks, art festivals and school events which raise awareness and support of the visual arts to local and state education officials, business and community leaders, and state and federal legislators.

The Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) created Children’s Art Month in 1961 as an event to emphasize the value to children from participating in visual art education. In 1969, the celebration expanded to include secondary school students, and the Children’s Art Month event officially became known as Youth Art Month. In 1984, ACMI created the non-profit organization The Council for Art Education (CFAE) to advocate for visual art education.

Communities throughout the country celebrate Youth Art Month in many ways. In Spartanburg, SC, the Chapman Cultural Center hosts a student exhibition with works from every public and private school in the county, grades K-12. It’s a wonderful tapestry of colorful and imaginative artwork filling two floors of our exhibition building! Each year, a different Spartanburg School District hosts a reception, and the local SunTrust Bank sponsors the exhibit, providing volunteer greeters at the reception, which is usually attended by over 1,000 people! The 2018 reception will be the evening of Monday, March 19th hosted by Spartanburg School District Four.

​According to the CFAE, Youth Art Month exists to:

1. Recognize art education as a viable factor in the total education curriculum that develops citizens of a global society.
2. Recognize art is a necessity for the full development of better quality of life for all.
3. Direct attention to the value of art education for divergent and critical thinking.
4. Expand art programs in schools and stimulate new art programs.
5. Encourage commitment to the arts by students, community organizations, and individuals everywhere.
6. Provide additional opportunities for individuals of all ages to participate in creative art learning.
7. Increase community, business and governmental support for art education.
8. Increase community understanding and interest in art and art education through involvement in art exhibits, workshops, and other creative ventures.
9. Reflect and demonstrate the goals of the National Art Education Association that work toward the improvement of art education at all levels.

To find out more, visit councilforarteducation.org. Join with others in your community and celebrate Youth Art Month in your own unique way! And share your celebrations with PSAE!

1986
We officially joined the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network (KCAAEN) as a member in good standing under the name SC Alliance for Arts Education (SCAAE). The organization would go on to change its name to Palmetto State Arts Education in 2016. 

1987
Under the leadership of Roy Biddle, Mac Arthur Goodwin, Alicia Moore, Elbin Cleveland, and Virginia Uldrick, SCAAE successfully filed its articles of incorporation, and in 1989 would go on to successfully emerge as a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999!
It’s our very first conference! This highly successful event (titled The Arts: Assessment for Arts Reform) would set the stage for an annual conference dedicated to arts education and arts integration every year since. 

Over time, the conference has grown to reach approximately 350 educators and administrators. 

In 2007, with no professional development opportunities available designed to address the specific concerns of District Fine Arts Coordinators, SCAAE created a District Arts Coordinators Committee and began offering meetings designed to support this population.

The committee still exists, and now joins its efforts with the ABC Project’s Peer to Peer Principal’s Network for a twice yearly Joint Arts Administrator’s Institute.

​PSAE has presented 4 major support documents for arts education:  Fine Arts Careers, Standards Companion Documents for Media Arts, Essential Elements of a Quality Visual and Performing Arts Program, and Teaching Standards-Based Creativity in the Arts.

we received funding for some great additional projects, including the development of an Arts Schools Directory and supporting lesson plans for the ABC Arts Infusion Continuum.

Although the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network eventually dissolved at the national level, our organization has remained strong.  We continue to offer comprehensive conferences, support for educators, and are now proud to present Rising Stars Piccolo Spoleto to showcase the artistically talented youth of the southeast in a high quality setting.

YOU are the reason PSAE (formerly SCAAE) has continued to be a leader in arts education in our state. As we look to the future, we hope you will continue to stay with us as we journey along the way.