New York State Alliance for Arts Education
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Empire State Plaza |
Carol Brown |
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Tel.: 1-800-ARTS NED or (518) 474-4589 |
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Full-time Staff: 3 |
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Organizational Profile:
Founded in 1973 and headquartered in the Cultural Education Center in Albany, New York, NYSAAE is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that the arts are an integral part of every person's education in the state of New York, believing that children who do not receive a comprehensive, quality education in the arts will be at a disadvantage in school and in life.
To this end, the organization disseminates information about model programs, funding, and standards of excellence. It develops training models for constituent organizations and advocates for arts education at the local, state, and national levels.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
New York State Council on the Arts; New York State Education Department; Dana Foundation; John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Golub Foundation; membership and private donations
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
Educational Programs
Artist Residency Program
The Teaching Artist residency program grows out of the findings of a statewide survey that NYSAAE conducted to assess the quality and availability of opportunities in schools and communities for students with special needs to participate in all the arts. Overall, the survey found that students with special needs in grades K–12 in the state of New York have limited access to in-school programs in the arts. NYSAAE is seeking to improve access at the participating sites by identifying and partnering with cultural/educational organizations to extend and further develop artist residency programs that reflect the field’s best practices.
The Artist Residency program is intended to demonstrate methods to improve access to arts learning for the participating students, in keeping with NYSAAE’s fundamental conviction that arts education benefits every individual by fostering self-expression, communication skills, self-esteem, and teamwork while addressing the basic human impulse toward creativity.
NYSAAE will draw on its statewide constituency to support innovative teaching artist residencies in New York state communities during the 2007–08 school year. The residency program provides extended residencies (10–12 days in length) that integrate arts into the curriculum. Additionally, the residencies address state arts education standards and meet the IEP goals of individual students.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
Professional Development for Educators and Teaching Artists
The professional development initiative will be directed toward a broad constituency of individuals who work with youth with disabilities in school and community settings. This includes teachers, teaching artists, professional and paraprofessional staff at residency sites, as well as a broader constituency that will be reached through presentations at conferences in the state of New York, connecting with a large portion of the arts education field. The professional development initiative will provide specialized disability awareness training for teaching artists and teachers, in addition to providing a broad understanding of issues and methods of teaching the arts in an inclusive setting.
Each workshop will examine key issues such as increasing awareness of disability; kinds of disabilities; the importance of “people-first” language; strategies for using the arts in an inclusive setting; differentiated instruction; possible modifications in various arts disciplines; finding resources; maintaining the integrity of the art forms while providing quality experiences for all students; hands-on practice in creating accommodations; and take-away resources and materials.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Web Site
NYSAAE has created a virtual community for people with special needs and those who serve them. The virtual community will enable people to form connections on the Web that will bring them into direct contact with the resources and opportunities available to them. In addition, NYSAAE is expanding awareness of disabilities through direct presentations to parents, teachers, and educators involved in arts in education; the populations will gain increased awareness of disabilities and inclusive practices.
NYSAAE, working with a Web design consultant, has launched and will maintain a Web site devoted to VSA arts programs, opportunities, and issues in the state of New York. The site is broadly inclusive, serving as an information source for people with disabilities, parents and other family members, educators, artists, and the general public. It includes resources such as descriptions of and links to programs and resources; opportunities to subscribe to and participate in Listservs and online communities devoted to disability issues, arts education practices, opportunities, and other related topics. The site has been developed and designed in accordance with accessibility standards by a Web consultant and will be maintained on an ongoing basis by NYSAAE, using a dedicated staff Webmaster position. The site was completed and launched at the end of 2007.
Public Presentations
NYSAAE will increase public awareness and outreach of disability issues and needs through a series of workshops delivered at conferences throughout the state. These presentations, focused on disability awareness, will be directed to parents through parent-teacher organization conferences, and further delivered through an existing network of Arts in Education Roundtables, which are active throughout the state.
(F) 202-429-0868