IAAE Webinar Training

January 10 & 17, 2015

Agenda Introductions Purpose of Advocacy Day

Advocate for Fine Arts Education Ask for legislative support for addition of Fine Arts to Iowa Core Ask for full time Fine Arts position at Department of Education

Schedule for Advocacy Day  Literature for legislative visit

AEP handout Bulleted handout: Why Legislate the Iowa Core?

Iowa Core: Myth vs. Fact Iowa Core/Fine Arts Timeline Testimonial booklet on importance of Fine Arts education

How to schedule visits with assigned legislators How to speak to legislators Questions from participants

Presenters: Leon Kuehner, Larry Murphy, Robin Walenta

Schedule of Advocacy Day8:00 a.m.: Meeting begins at State Capitol (room #19, bottom floor)

Pick up legislative packets, receive final information

8:30 a.m.: Iowa House session begins/Simon Estes sings

9:00 a.m.: Iowa Senate session begins/Simon Estes sings

9:15 a.m. Advocates start meetings with legislators/meetings with House & Senate

Leadership

11:45 a.m.: Lunch for advocates in Room # 116 in State Capitol

12:30 p.m. Dessert Reception in room #116 with members of House and

Senate Education Committees. Comments by Simon Estes, Joe

Giunta, student testimonials. Music provided by Grant Ganzer

1:00 p.m. Continue visits with legislators, Education Committee meetings

3:00 p.m. Reception for all Advocates

Why Legislate Fine Arts Into The Iowa Core?  “Developed by Iowa Teachers for Iowa Teachers”  

*The Fine Arts Skills alignment with Iowa Core have been written and vetted by practicing Iowa teachers under the guidance of the Iowa Department of Education at NO COST to the Iowa taxpayer.

  *This alignment with Iowa Core was a collaborative effort of the Fine Arts professional organizations in Iowa. Chairs of the writing teams were:

Art Educators of Iowa: Maggie Parks-Marshalltown

Iowa Bandmasters/Iowa String Teachers : Elizabeth Fritz-Decorah

Iowa Choral Directors Association: Roger Henderson-Grinnell

Iowa Music Educators: Linda Murphy-Oelwein

Theater/Drama: Gretta Berghammer-Cedar Falls  

“This Is About The Students of Iowa”  

*The Fine Arts are inherently part of a complete and comprehensive education that all Iowa students deserve.   *Research supports that an education in Fine Arts prepares students for success in school, success in the workplace, and success in life. Adding Fine Arts to the current Iowa Core content areas provides a link

to interdisciplinary learning opportunities.   *The Fine Arts skills align with the Universal Constructs of Creativity, Collaboration, Effective Communication, Flexibility & Adaptability, and Productivity. These are the overarching skills of all subject

areas that are necessary for student success in the 21st century.   *When the Fine Arts are legislated as a “core” subject, professional development opportunities for “core subject” areas can be made available to Fine Arts teachers to improve their quality of teaching. The

students of Iowa will be the beneficiaries. “This is Nothing New”

*The Fine Arts are currently listed as a core subject in the Elementary & Secondary Education Act   *The Fine Arts are currently listed as “core” or “academic” subject in 27 states.   The Fine Arts were listed as an expansion subject area to Iowa Core in Governor Brandstad’s “Blueprint for Education”

“This is About the Students of Iowa”

  The Fine Arts are inherently part of a complete and comprehensive

education that all Iowa students deserve.  Research supports that an education in Fine Arts prepares students for

success in school, success in the workplace, and success in life. Adding Fine Arts to the current Iowa Core content areas provides a link to interdisciplinary learning opportunities.

The Fine Arts skills align with the Universal Constructs of Creativity, Collaboration, Effective Communication, Flexibility & Adaptability, and Productivity. These are the overarching skills of all subject areas that are necessary for student success in the 21st century.

  When the Fine Arts are legislated as a “core” subject, professional

development opportunities for “core subject” areas can be made available to Fine Arts teachers to improve their quality of teaching. The students of Iowa will be the beneficiaries.

“This Is Nothing New”

The Fine Arts are currently listed as a core subject in the Elementary & Secondary Education Act

The Fine Arts are currently listed as “core” or “academic” subject in 27 states.

 The Fine Arts were listed as an expansion

subject area to Iowa Core in Governor Branstad’s “Blueprint for Education”

Iowa Core/Fine Arts Timeline

May 2007 Initial meeting with Department of Education

July 2008 Writing of sample units of instruction

October 2009 Writing begins of Fine Arts Skills & Concepts

April 2010 Initial draft presented to DE

October 2011 Fine Arts included in “Blueprint for Education”

November 2012 Meeting at DE with writing chairs

June 2013 Iowa Core/Fine Arts presentations at 10 AEAs

January 2014 Iowa Core/Fine Arts legislation introduced

April 2014 “Fine Arts Companion” on DE website

Testimonials

“Fine arts education has remained a central part of my life since my first music education classes in elementary school. Now as an adult and a working professional in the arts, I proudly celebrate the opportunity to study and practice the fine arts with the hope that they continue to flourish in my own life and community” - Ben Otis, photographer

“The fine arts enriched my children's lives and helped them to be creative thinkers and good problem solvers. It helped to instill discipline and patience. They use what has been instilled through the arts in their jobs. - Kate Holt, LPN

Will there be a cost to develop and align the Fine Arts to the Iowa Core?

The Fine Arts Skills were written by practicing Iowa teachers under the

guidance of the Department of Education at no cost to the Iowa taxpayer.

This was collaborative effort of Iowa educators representing the following

professional organizations: Art Educators of Iowa, Iowa Bandmasters

Association, Iowa Choral Directors Association, Iowa Communications

Association, Iowa Music Educators Association, Iowa String Teachers

Association, Iowa Thespians Association, Kodaly Educators of Iowa and the

Orff Shulwerk Association. Chairs of the writing teams are: Visual Art-

Maggie Parks (Marshalltown), General Music-Linda Murphy (Oelwein),

Instrumental Music-Elizabeth Fritz (Decorah), Vocal Music-Roger Henderson

(Grinnell), and Theater/Drama-Gretta Berghammer (Cedar Falls).

Will the Fine Arts have to “catch up”?

The short answer is “no”. The Fine Arts have been involved with the Iowa Core

process since 2007. Fine Arts teachers participated in the sample unit and

professional development unit writing coordinated by the Department of Education.

Professional development sessions on incorporating the Fine Arts into the Iowa

Core, utilizing the current Essential Skill and Concepts documents, were held in

June of 2012 in Des Moines and May/June of 2013 at ten Area Education Agency

sites across Iowa. Approximately 700 teachers/administrators attended these

sessions that were sponsored and funded by the Iowa Department of Education.

This information is provided by the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education. If you have

any questions, please contact IAAE Executive Director, Leon Kuehner, at:

Llkuehner@fastermac.net

Myth: The federal government developed the Common Core State Standards.FACT: The federal government did not play a role in developing the Common Core. For years, states independently developed their own standards. Over time, state leaders recognized that many students were graduating from high school unprepared for the demands of college and careers. In 2007, state education leaders began discussing the idea of working together to develop a set of rigorous academic expectations for English/language arts and math to ensure all students finish high school prepared for the next step. In 2009, governors and state education chiefs from 48 states engaged in a bipartisan collaboration toward this goal. The states worked with teachers, parents, content experts and others to develop and release the Common Core. Forty-five states, the District of Columbia and four territories have adopted the Common Core State Standards. Myth: The Iowa State Board of Education did not have the authority to adopt the Common Core as part of the Iowa Core. FACT: Iowa, through authority vested in the State Board of Education by the Iowa Legislature, adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010 and blended them with our state standards. State board authority is provided by Iowa Code Chapter 256.7(26). Myth: Iowa is receiving federal funding to implement the Common Core. FACT: Iowa receives no federal money to implement the Common Core as part of the Iowa Core. The Iowa Department of Education has a $2 million state appropriation for fiscal year 2014 to support the work of Iowa Core implementation.   

Myth vs. Fact

.  Myth: Iowa has adopted a federal curriculum. FACT: The Common Core State Standards set common, rigorous expectations for what students should know and be able to do, but leave decisions about teaching and lesson plans up to local schools and teachers. Myth: Implementing the standards requires states to collect and share vast amounts of personally identifiable student information.FACT: Implementing the standards does not require data collection. The Iowa Department of Education collects student data and information to learn how schools in Iowa are changing, to follow the academic progress of students from preschool to high school, and to guide efforts to improve our education system. Data help teachers and parents gauge whether students are on track from year to year and whether they graduate ready for success in college and careers. This information is used to detect and report shifts in student populations and demographics and student achievement results, such as high school graduation rates, attendance rates, and state assessment scores. Under No Child Left Behind and other federal laws, data, such as test scores, are provided to the federal government. Students are never identified by name.  Myth: The Common Core prevents teachers from teaching literature.FACT: The standards do not limit reading to non-fiction, but strike a balance between literature and non-fiction so students build knowledge and broaden their perspectives.  

Myth vs. Fact

Fine Arts Position at Department of Education:

Past position was .5 Fine Arts/.5 Talented & Gifted

In June of 2014, position was rearranged to: 23.75% Fine Arts 23.75% Talented & Gifted 47.5% Title I

5% Other

Funding stream not available to fund .5 position One of the reasons given not to fund Fine Arts position was that is was not a “core subject”

Currently there are 3,125 Fine Arts teachers in the state being offered assistance by the Department of Education by a 23.75% position

Draft of language revision 11/13/13

The State Board of Education shall establish a core curriculum, that

through the rules process, shall address the core content standards

in subsection 28 and the skills and knowledge students need to be

successful in the twenty-first century, including music, visual art,

drama/theatre and other fine and applied arts, and shall address the

curricular needs of students in kindergarten through grade twelve in

those areas. The department shall continue to provide a consultant

to oversee the writing and compliance of the fine arts core content

standards and provide guidance for professional development

based under the rules of the State Board of Education

How to Schedule Visits: Each individual or team will be assigned 4-5 legislators to talk to

How to Speak with Legislators

Questions?