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The Guild launched the Initiative in April 2000 by notifying a broad cross-section of arts organizations across the country about this opportunity. Organizations were also permitted to self-nominate. Requests for Proposals were subsequently issued to nearly 300 potential applicants.
Applicants were asked to focus not only on their accomplishments, but also on their challenges and problem-solving strategies. Announcing the initiative, Lolita Mayadas, the Guild's Executive Director, said, "While partnership models themselves are important, we believe that it is the complex processes that lead to successful models which need to be better understood and shared. We are interested in finding out what makes these partnerships work and how they are sustained. We also expect to find out more about organic changes in and long term impact on the institutional partners. This initiative offers a unique opportunity for people from diverse sectors to participate in and learn from a focused and candid discourse about their experiences."
Fifty-five proposals were received from 21 states and Canada. Through a panel review process, 15 partnerships were selected to be featured at the conference. In making its selections, the panel looked for a record of progressive development, promising practices, and strategies for sustainability along one or more of the following dimensions:
The panel found that many collaborative relationships that are called partnerships are in the form of so-called "service provider" models, in which the arts organizations offer a roster of services, sometimes "tailored" to the schools’ needs, and the public schools purchase programs. While these arrangements are not without merit, they lack the opportunity to take joint advantage of the expertise of both the arts and the education communities to create in-depth, pedagogically sound arts experiences for children and professional enrichment for both teachers and artists. In such situations, true "buy-in" from the schools, and particularly from the teachers, tends to be minimal.
The review panel placed special emphasis on those elements it deemed critical to a true partnership among equals. They include shared goals, values, and decision-making regarding both structural and curriculum issues; equitable distribution of financial responsibility, resources and leadership roles; evidence of existing problem-solving strategies; and changes made in response to evaluation and assessment processes.
Some of the partnerships have existed for a decade or more while others are pilot projects. They involve arts education organizations, community arts schools, performing organizations, arts centers and even a juvenile probation department. Some organizations can be defined as partnership agents, coordinating the activities of disparate collaborators. All have one or more public schools as partners. The partnerships involve anywhere from two to six institutions and 25 to 23,000 students. Budgets vary widely.
Although they have many differences, their common denominator is a commitment to artistic and educational excellence, mutual respect and shared responsibility. They also share a commitment to the concept of creating together. Indeed, as was pointed out several times during the conference, among these partnerships, the very act of collaborative planning becomes, in and of itself, professional development in the highest sense of the word.
Advising and assisting with the PIE initiative is a distinguished steering committee. Chaired by David E. Myers, Director of the Center for Educational Partnerships in Music and Associate Director of the School of Music at Georgia State University in Atlanta, the committee also includes: Ronne Hartfield, Consultant and former Executive Director of Museum Education at The Art Institute of Chicago and of Urban Gateways: The Center for Arts in Education, also in Chicago; Jane Remer, Author and Consultant; Larry Scripp, Director of the Music-in-Education Program and Research Center for Learning Through Music at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston; and Andrea Temkin, Executive Director of the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, California.
While the fifteen selected partnerships are very different from one another, their common denominator is a commitment to artistic and educational excellence, mutual respect and shared responsibility. They also share a commitment to the concept of creating together. The featured arts organizations, and their public school and other partners are listed below:
ArtsConnection
Community Elementary
School (CES) 53
One of this organization’s long-term, in-depth programs that are models of collaborative planning and professional development for artists, teachers and administrators alike.
New York, NY
Founded: 1980’s
Enrollment: 1600, Grades: K-5
The Cleveland Orchestra
Margaret Ireland/Lafayette Contemporary Academy, Roosevelt Elementary, Rozelle Elementary, William Cullen Bryant Elementary Schools
A relatively new undertaking that responded to a need, moved beyond their original idea of "what would work", and developed very strong connections among the orchestra, the musicians and the community.
Cleveland, OH
Founded: 1997
Enrollment: 1400, Grades: K-4
Elaine Kaufman Cultural Centter (Lucy Moses School for Music and Dance)
Manhattan School for Children
A high quality model of a public school/community arts school collaboration that could be replicated in many communities.
New York, NY
Founded: 1995
Enrollment: 450, Grades: K-7
Fitton Center for Creative Arts/SPECTRA®
Harrison Elementary, Adams Elementary, Van Buren Elementary Schools, Miami University of Ohio
An arts integration project with a strong research component and an unusual genesis as part of a community plan.
Hamilton, OH
Founded: 1992
Enrollment: 2000, Grades: K-6
Institute for Arts and Humanities Education
Paul Robeson Theme School for the Arts
An all-around high-quality and continually evolving arts integration program that has shown a particular sensitivity to the needs of the school and community on all levels.
New Brunswick, NJ
Founded: 1993
Enrollment: 450, Grades: pre-K-8
Las Vegas Artist in Residence Collaborative
Las Vegas City and West Las Vegas Schools, Las Vegas Arts Council,
New Mexico Arts
A program that has engaged area artists who use the local culture to help teach about global issues and who also serve as role models.
Las Vegas, NM
Founded: 1990
Enrollment: 2500, Grades: 2-12
Maui Arts & Cultural Center
Department of Education - Maui District, Haiku School
Modeled on the Kennedy Center’s educational partnerships program, the program has been adapted to the specific educational needs and geographical limitations of a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Maui, HI
Founded: 1995
Enrollment: 2300, Grades: K-12
New York City Opera
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School
A program that dramatically changed the students’ and teachers’ relationships with neighboring Lincoln Center and demonstrated that children, teachers and parents can be captivated by opera.
New York, NY
Founded: 1993
Enrollment: 675, Grades: 10-12
The New York Philharmonic
PS 165,108, 59, 199 171, Dual Language Middle School (Manhattan), PS 19, PS 84 (Queens), PS 39 (Brooklyn), CS 61 (Bronx)
An established, well-focused program and a good example of a multi-faceted relationship that also involves community schools of the arts.
New York, NY
Founded: 1994
Enrollment: 2400, Grades: 2-8
North Carolina Dance Theatre
Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools Curriculum Department, Northwest School of the Arts, Northridge Middle School, University of NC
Capturing Creativity, a project which researches the creative choreographic process and, from the information gained, is developing innovative approaches to teaching dance in the schools.
Charlotte, NC
Founded: 1998
Enrollment: 3000, Grades: 6-12
Paul Robeson and Diego Rivera Academy
Performing Arts Workshop, San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department, Department of Human Services, Department of Mental Health-Child Crisis, SF Unified School District
A pilot project involving young offenders in an intensive art-integrated and arts discipline-based program.
San Francisco, CA
Founded: 1999
Enrollment: 25, Grades: 6-8 + families
Studio in a School
PS 213, Queens (Carl Ullman Elementary School)
One of several innovative Studio programs in which a teaching artist works in an on-site studio and serves as a consultant and resource throughout the year, truly immersing the school and its students in art.
New York, NY
Founded: 1992
Enrollment: 537, Grades: 2-5
Trident Regional Arts Collaborative Endeavor (TRACE)
Berkeley County, Charleston County and Dorchester Two School Districts, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston Ballet Theater, Charleston Stage Company, Spoleto Festival, USA
An agent for artistic and educational development, not only for the schools served, but for the several arts organizations involved in this project.
Moncks Corner, SC
Founded: 1993
Enrollment: 3500, Grade 3
Tucson Arts Connections
Tucson Unified School District, UAPresents*
A well-balanced partnership that has allowed classroom teachers to enhance their ability to teach through the arts, while developing a broader audience base for UAPresents Schooltime Matinees.
*The performing arts series of the University of Arizona.
Tucson, AZ
Founded: 1994
Enrollment: 8400
Young Audiences/New York
Brooklyn School for Career Development (BSCD), a.k.a. P753K (special needs population)
A video and technology based project for neurologically and emotionally impaired high school students which helps prepare them for a role in the workplace.
New York, NY
Founded: 1996
Enrollment: 211, Ages 14.9 -17
