Governing Committee Appointed

At its May 28^th meeting, the RACC Board of Directors confirmed the appointment of the Arts Partners Governing Committee. This group of educators, government officials, business leaders, and philanthropists is responsible for overseeing the project’s design and implementation. The first committee meeting is scheduled for June 9^th.

In addition to the Governing Committee, three working committees, comprised of teachers, arts specialists, principals, artists, parents, business owners and civic leaders, have been meeting regularly since March and are addressing program design, policies and procedures, and advocacy. An Advisory Council, representing a broad range of stakeholders across the community, will meet quarterly to respond to the work of these three committees.

In total, over 100 volunteers are involved in the development of Arts Partners! What a statement of support and commitment!

Thank You!

Due to overwhelming response from the community, Mayor Potter has put $150,000 into the FY09 budget to help fund Arts Partners. Within 48 hours of our call to action, hundreds of messages had been received by the Mayor and Commissioners. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send an email in support of arts education. What an extraordinary accomplishment for our community!

CALL TO ACTION for the arts community!

Our children need your help. Arts Partners needs your voice!

Please help us in securing public funding to support Arts Partners and our efforts to bring arts education to every K-8 student in the region by 2012. When Mayor Potter released his proposed budget for FY09 on April 15, it did not include essential support from the City of Portland to help make this vision a reality. Even if you reside outside city limits, you can express your concern that Portland school children would not have the same meaningful learning opportunities as the students from neighboring communities. Equitable access for all students requires the support of all communities.

Please write to Mayor Potter and the Portland City Commissioners today and tell them that you support investing $200,000 of the city’s $33 million surplus in arts education activities that are proven to enhance our children's education. (That’s 0.6% of the surplus funds available!) We’ll help you write the message, and it only takes two minutes to make a difference.

Click here for more information and to email Mayor Potter and the Portland City Commissioners today, or visit www.racc.org/help .

Thank you!

From Dialog to Doing

Don’t worry if you missed the March 4th Update Meeting. Here’s what was shared, including an opportunity to become involved in the planning of Arts Partners.

In November, the Arts Partners Visioning Committee was charged with three tasks:
1) Finalize a purpose statement for the initiative,
2) Propose a governance structure and
3) Develop a process to launch the planning.

The Visioning Committee Recommendations were presented to and approved by the RACC Board of Directors at its February 20th meeting, paving the way for project design and implementation. With a governance structure in place, the Visioning Committee has been dissolved; its members are identifying their places within the newly established committee structure.

We now invite you to join the planning effort by participating in one of the working committees – Program Design, Program Implementation or Partnership Advancement – or to become part of the Arts Partners Advisory Council. Details about the committees and council (beginning on page 2 of the Governance Description) will help you make your choice. Indicate your interest by submitting an Arts Partners Interest Form or via e-mail to mstalcup@racc.org.

What’s Happened. What’s Next!

Arts Partners continues to move forward. In the past month, the purpose statement has been solidified and a governance structure determined.

Please join us for an update on this new regional arts education initiative and learn how you can become involved in the actual program design, implementation and communication. Gina Thorsen, one of our mentors from Big Thought in Dallas, TX, will be on hand for the launch of this crucial next step.

Arts Partners Update Meeting
Tuesday, March 4th
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Northwest Children's Theater
1819 NW Everett Street ~ Portland
(limited parking in lot at NW 19th & Flanders)

RSVP appreciated: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/100556768

“Arts Education Touted as Key to U.S. Innovation Agenda”

Following the release of national poll results, Education Week reports an emerging agenda to promote imagination and innovation as key outcomes of learning. Commissioned by the Arts Education Partnership, the poll substantiates the importance of arts education in addressing this need. In addition, AEP has launched the Imagine Nation, a new website providing information and resources to support arts in education including the Dallas Arts Learning Initiative managed by Big Thought. How might this movement support our regional efforts?

Arts Partners Purpose Statement

Based on input from key stakeholders and area citizens, the Arts Partners Visioning Committee has drafted the following purpose statement and would like your feedback. As stated by Big Thought consultant Gigi Antoni, “It is important to keep in mind that the purpose statement is a target or compass – a directional tool – not the ‘how’.” For example, measurable impact will be determined by the program design and assessment planning, all part of the dynamic design process.

Proposed Arts Partners Purpose Statement: To integrate the community’s arts and cultural resources into the education of every K-8 student in the region’s school districts, resulting in a measurable impact on learning.

Responses received by January 28^th will be most useful to the planning process. To give your feedback or see what others are saying, click 'comments' below.

The Lowdown

Arts Partners is a collaborative initiative to bring arts education to every student in the Portland metropolitan area. This effort is a systemic approach intended to address the inequity in delivery of arts services to the children of our community. The emerging vision – arts resources for every school and integration of arts and culture into every elementary classroom in the tri-county area. The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is the convening partner. The initial planning for this regional effort has been facilitated by the Arts Partners Visioning Committee under the guidance of leaders from Big Thought, a highly successful model in Dallas, Texas. Big Thought selected Portland as the only city they will mentor through the process of developing a local partnership.

In August 2007, nearly 200 educators, artists, business leaders and community members attended a public unveiling of the Portland area Arts Partners initiative. In October and November, a series of community meetings were conducted throughout the tri-county area which were designed to identify the values and educational priorities of area residents. Simultaneously, school district leaders and arts/cultural providers were interviewed in order to identify their organizational goals and needs. The results of these conversations were shared in the Stakeholder Feedback Report which provides information needed to further define the scope and direction of this initiative.

During a site visit in late November, Big Thought consultants presented the report and facilitated continued conversations with the Portland arts and cultural community and regional school district leaders. The Visioning Committee reconvened to review findings and implications from these meetings and to make decisions on how to proceed. The Visioning Committee will retire in early spring as program design begins and a governance structure is in place. Implementation in 15 to 20 pilot sites across the tri-county area is slated for September 2008.

Arts Partners in the Trib

After attending the Arts Focus Meeting during Big Thought’s November site visit, Jennifer Anderson of the Portland Tribune reports on the state of the arts in the Portland schools and the role Arts Partners plays in addressing the need in schools across the tri-county area.

Read the Tribune article here.

Community Provides Input

Throughout the fall, a series of community meetings were conducted across the tri-county area as part of the planning process for Arts Partners, a new vision for integrating arts and culture into every classroom in the Portland metropolitan area.

Over 200 area residents attended a series of community conversations held in Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie and Portland which were designed to identify their values and educational priorities. Read the Sellwood Bee article here for a report on the October 29 meeting at the Community Music Center.

Simultaneously, school district leaders were interviewed and arts providers participated in a special session to identify their organizational goals and needs. The results, available in the Stakeholder Feedback Report (pdf), provide the information needed to further define the scope and direction of this initiative.

On November 27th, consultants from Big Thought presented the report and facilitated discussions with partnering school districts and the arts and culture community. Based on these conversations, the Arts Partners Visioning Committee expects to solicit input on a recommended purpose statement by January.