Interchange Named Best Arts Organization by RFT
Interchange is
pleased to be recognized in the Riverfront Times 2009 Best of St. Louis
listing as Best Arts Organization. The RFT highlights a 2008
collaborative residency on the Civil Rights movement. The residency
paired Jefferson Elementary 4th grade teacher Sue Ellen Turner with
Emily Kohring, Diane Davenport and Laurie Melnik from Metro Theater
Company.
Here's an excerpt: "Throughout the four-month program, the fourth
graders went beyond textbooks and reports. They lived the exciting,
tense, challenging, world-changing days of 1960s America...Tellingly,
during the four-month program in Ms. Turner's classroom, not one
student missed a single day of school. Think about your future, St.
Louis." Read the October 7 article in the
RFT.
Congratulations to Sue Ellen Turner, Metro Theater Company and all
of the teachers and teaching artists who made this honor possible
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Columbia University’s Dr. Rob Horowitz at COCA
Monday, November 16 at 4:00p
 Dr. Rob Horowitz, from Teachers’ College at Columbia University, will address Interchange constituents and the general public regarding the results of his first-year evaluation of Interchange and its arts integration program in the St. Louis Public Schools. Dr. Horowitz will place his comments in the context of educational evaluation in general and the role of evaluation in non-profit organizations. Interchange is a collaborative program of COCA.
Read more about Interchange and COCA’s arts integration activities in the St. Louis Public Schools.
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Contact Your Legislators!
Last week Governor Jay Nixon announced $204 million in spending cuts to the fiscal 2010 budget in response to declining state revenue. This is in addition to $430 million in cuts already announced. As part of this announcement, $4.4 million was cut from the Missouri Arts Council (MAC) budget. Because MAC has the ability to take money from the professional athlete-and-entertainment-tax-funded Missouri Arts Council Cultural Trust Fund, MAC grants for the current fiscal year will not be impacted.
COCA and its collaborative arts education program, Interchange, are recipients of grant support through MAC. Let your state representative and senator know how much MAC's support of COCA means to you. Contact them today and thank them for MAC support of COCA. While you are at it, contact Rep. Rachel Storch and Sen. Joan Bray in whose district COCA resides and thank them too!
For more information visit Missouri Citizens for the Arts online.
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Nathalie Means, far left, was announced as the principal of Jefferson Elementary School at the Interchange Arts Integration Forum in June.
Jefferson Elementary School teachers make
site visit to CAPE
Teachers from Jefferson Elementary, the first whole school arts integrated pilot school in SLPS, traveled to Chicago to visit Agassiz Elementary School. Jefferson teachers were motivated by the student work seen at Agassiz, a fully arts integrated school. A visit to Agassiz last year with a group from Interchange inspired principal Nathalie Means to devote Jefferson to the arts integration model.
Agassiz is a partner with CAPE, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, which like Interchange develops partnerships between community arts organizations and the public schools.
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Rep. Rachel Storch is one of three state legislators to be recognized for arts advocacy.
Missouri Citizens for the Arts Advocacy Awards
Missouri Citizens for the Arts will hold its 2009 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 11 at the Kranzberg Arts Center at Craft Alliance in Grand Center. Following the meeting, MCA will present Arts Advocacy Awards to Rep. Rachel Storch and Rep. Larry Wilson. The Frederick Laas Memorial Award will be presented to Rep. Bob Dixon who has led legislative efforts to include fine arts education coordinators at the state's regional professional development centers. The legislation would support professional development for arts education and arts integration statewide.
We hope you can join us to show your support for the legislators who are supporting us. Registration information can be found through MCA.
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Students perform in the Capitol rotunda as part of Fine Arts Education Day 2008. Make plans to join us in 2009!
Get your students involved in advocacy!
Interchange is a member of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education which advocates for arts education in our schools. Last year, high school students in two school districts, Logan-Rogersville and Jefferson City, joined forces with Rep. Bob Dixon to create House Bill 870 supporting teacher professional development in arts education. These forward-thinking students recognize that professional development for their teachers will benefit them.
MAAE is encouraging other high school students to form arts education advocacy committees in their schools. If you know of students - or arts educators - who would be interested, guide them to the Show Me Arts Committee start-up toolkit online at MAAE's website.
Need more information? Contact Laura Winter or Deb Fisher.
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Interchange is a collaborative program of COCA. For more information, visit Interchange or contact Mark Cross, director, at (314) 725-1834 x 135.
Interchange is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation, the Missouri Arts Council, St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, the Norman J. Stupp Foundation, and individual donors. We thank them for their support and welcome yours.
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