The DC Collaborative invites our members and other community arts educators to participate in an arts education convening on Wednesday, January 26th from 1-5 p.m.. Together we will take steps to Identify Promising Approaches for Providing Arts Education Via Community Partnerships.

During this half-day meeting, participants will explore how arts education providers can work together to serve Washington, DC, children, youth and families more comprehensively. This convening builds on the take-aways -- and responds to the needs identified -- at Arts Education for a Better DC, a November Arts Education conference sponsored by the Sitar Arts Center.

Providing access to a comprehensive arts education for every child in Washington, DC, involves: 

• Identifying current opportunities for --and barriers to --this goal; and
• Mapping existing arts education programs across the city to identify gaps.

An Agenda for the conference follows:

Plenary 1:00 to 1:40 p.m.

Successful Approaches to Arts Education Partnerships from Other Major Cities

Speaker: Catherine Augustine of RAND Corporation, co-author, Revitalizing Arts Education Through Community-wide Coordination, The Wallace Foundation

Small Break-out Sessions 1:45 to 2:30

What are the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats we encounter in providing arts education to all students? Laying the foundation for advancing a comprehensive, high-quality arts education plan begins with a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges we face doing this work in Washington, DC, 2011. Participants will work together to establish a shared understanding of the contextual factors that facilitate or hinder our progress. 

Larger group report out: 2:35 to 2:55

Plenary 3:00 to 3:30 p.m.

Speaker: Jennifer Sloane McCombs, author, Hours of Opportunity: How Cities Can Use Data to Increase Access and Participation in High-Quality Programming

Small Break-out Sessions: 3:35 to 4:20

Collecting Data for the DC Arts Education Community

In order to ensure a comprehensive strategic plan will be grounded in reality, we must inventory the current edcuation partnerships in DC schools. Effective data collection is a critical step and provides a valuable baseline for measuring progress in future years. These break-out groups will identify useful data categories and will consider strategies for data collection.

Report Out and Next Steps: 4:30 to 5:00 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you there!