Ms. Kate O. McClanahan

ESEA Reauthorization – The Senate Takes Action!

Posted by Ms. Kate O. McClanahan, Jul 06, 2015


Ms. Kate O. McClanahan

Although the timing of congressional votes keep getting kicked around, it remains a crucial time in Washington for arts education.

Anything’s possible*, but what’s most likely is a U.S. Senate floor vote and amendment consideration this weekas well as a long-delayed House floor vote—on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization.

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Donn Harris

ESEA THOUGHTS: The Law of Unintended Consequences

Posted by Donn Harris, Sep 17, 2015


Donn Harris

I became aware of the recent flurry of activity around the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) almost accidentally; the acronym ESEA was hardly familiar when I first heard it. I was at a California Arts Council meeting, our discussion in full view of the public, and the tape was rolling for posterity. I had been riffing on the entire NCLB experience as it had affected arts education, especially the past nine years (!!) of non-authorized, non-replaced limbo, when a staff member mentioned optimism about the upcoming Senate vote on the new bill, the Every Child Can Achieve Act. Later it passed by an 81-17 margin and now we await a House vote and most likely a bill on President Obama’s desk this fall.

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Ms. Stacy Lasner

The 10 Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts Take the Stage!

Posted by Ms. Stacy Lasner, Oct 15, 2015


Ms. Stacy Lasner

On Tuesday, the 6th of October, 175 businesses and arts leaders gathered together at the iconic Central Park Boathouse in New York City to honor the best businesses partnering with the arts in America at the annual BCA 10 Awards. Now in its eleventh year, this black-tie gala presented by Americans for the Arts’ Business Committee for the Arts brought an evening of stories and musical performances that testified to the ability of the arts to uplift and inspire.

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Ms. Stacy Lasner

The Impact of the Arts in the Innovation Era

Posted by Ms. Stacy Lasner, Oct 22, 2015


Ms. Stacy Lasner

In 1883, John Michael Kohler, who was in the business of making cast iron farm implements and cemetery crosses, looked at a watering trough and realized he could add four ornamental feet to transform it into the company’s first bathtub. 120 years later, that same innovative spark is what turned a simple dorm room project into Facebook, a $200 billion company that changed the world and ignited a new era in entrepreneurial innovation.

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Ms. Lauren S. Hess

Where Would I Be Without My Mentor?

Posted by Ms. Lauren S. Hess, Oct 27, 2015


Ms. Lauren S. Hess

As I reflect on my nearly twenty years spent in the arts integration field, I feel blessed to have had a trio of amazing mentors in my life. Without these three women I certainly would not have had the career I have had. As a first year music teacher in Buffalo, NY, without a mentor, I wished that arts organizations could do more to assist schoolteachers in preparing students for field trips, and to help provide deeper experiences for the students. I dabbled in creating an independent study in arts administration to start to understand what the role of arts organizations could be in arts education.

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Mr. Robert Lynch

Through the Power of their Creativity, Veterans Continue to Serve

Posted by Mr. Robert Lynch, Nov 11, 2015


Mr. Robert Lynch

During a recent trip to Denver to join in presenting a national award for state arts leadership to Governor Hickenlooper, Deborah Jordy, Executive Director of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, approached me. "There is someone I'd really like you to meet." Curtis Bean was his name.

A remarkable community activist, an entrepreneur and an artist, Curtis is doing transformational work through the arts. He is also a Veteran. Straight out of high school and over the course of five years and two tours in Iraq, he completed his military service as an Army sniper.

Like many others, Curtis returned home with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He planned on being a fireman, but anger and nightmares were interfering with his life. His girlfriend, an art student, suggested he try painting when counseling wasn't enough, and that's when something clicked. Healing started to happen -- and a new doorway was opened.

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