I first started wondering about the viability and rationality of the non-profit field when I ran the American Music Center. (Actually, I started thinking about it when I was at Juilliard, and began to realize just how many trombonists were being graduated from music schools across the United States, into a distinctly smaller job market to say the least.) I started at the AMC in … [Read more...] about This Moment for the Arts Sector: Will the Economy Force Significant Change?
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The USDOE Consults with the Arts Education Field on NCLB
Okay, we're not using the name NCLB anymore, and you might think this is a bait and switch, but if I used its formal name, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), you might not know what this blog is all about. A couple of weeks ago I blogged about an invitation that was extended to arts education leaders across the nation to meet with the USDOE about ways in which … [Read more...] about The USDOE Consults with the Arts Education Field on NCLB
Reflections on the Possible Closing of My High School: Beach Channel High School
It makes for a really great chest-beating sound-bite: "we just closed another low performing school!" It's all the rage in New York City, at the USDOE, and at many other urban school districts: School Turnaround. And, although the term denotes a number of possible strategies, it almost always connotes the closing of a school. And, you may ask what happens to the building after … [Read more...] about Reflections on the Possible Closing of My High School: Beach Channel High School
The Sweet Spot for Schools and Cultural Organzations
I once had a colleague complain to me about the disparities in quality among those organizations providing services to schools. Some programs were great; others were terrible. Some artists where thoughtfully developed and supported to work in schools; others were simply booked into the gig. Some organizations spent a great deal of time on reflective practice; others did … [Read more...] about The Sweet Spot for Schools and Cultural Organzations
Oh NCLB, Where Art Thou?
On January 20th, the USDOE is hosting an information session for arts education constituents concerning the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), otherwise known during the Bush administration as No Child Left Behind.In regards to the arts, I know no one who holds the view that NCLB was anything but bad legislation. In a GAO report last year, it … [Read more...] about Oh NCLB, Where Art Thou?