ArtsNOW was honored to partner with Palmetto State Arts Educators (PSAE) in hosting their annual conference for arts educators, integrators, and advocates. This year's theme was JOY, and joy was evident throughout the two-day event.

ArtsNOW team members in attendance enjoyed networking and connecting with current ArtsNOW school partners and partner organizations, as well as making new connections from around the state. We were thrilled to facilitate five different presentations supporting arts integration, arts integration administrators, and STEAM initiatives. We were also proud to support our partner schools as they presented sessions.

We look forward to continuing our partnership with PSAE and collaborating on next year's conference!

The Chestnut Family Foundation announced its 3-year commitment to ArtsNOW for a total donation of $3,000,000. Over the next three years, ArtsNOW will expand its partnerships by adding more schools to its arts-integrated model and will impact more children in need. These funds will also help expand their current team to develop new grade content and offer more services and experiences to their students, partners, and families.

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ArtsNOW earned a $2.8 million Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) grant award from the US Department of Education (USDOE) for its program, “Reimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI).”

The Innovative Approaches to Literacy program supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through grade 12 in high-need local educational agencies and schools.

The REALAI program will foster students’ literacy achievement through professional development designed to build the capacity of teachers and media specialists to plan and deliver integrated instruction. It will also contribute significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

In addition, this project will include parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development. Each year, REALAI will serve approximately 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six high-need schools.

ArtsNOW partners in the project will include

• Clayton County Public Schools: East Clayton Elementary School
• Florence School District 3: JC Lynch Elementary School and Lake City Early Childhood Center of the Arts
• Colleton County School District: Northside Elementary School, Cottageville Elementary School, and Forest Hills Elementary School

The REALAI grant will begin in the fall of 2021 and conclude in the fall of 2026.

ArtsNOW is a national non-profit that offers customized solutions to improve teacher efficacy and student results through authentic arts integration.

ArtsNOW has been awarded a $2.78 million Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) grant by the US Department of Education (USDOE) for its project, “STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning (SAIL).”

The AAE program promotes arts education for students and teachers through professional learning, development, and dissemination of accessible instructional materials and arts-based programming, and community and national outreach activities that strengthen and expand partnerships among schools, local educational agencies, communities, and arts centers.

The focus of this project is two-fold. First, ArtsNOW will develop and test the use of a set of arts-integrated lessons that are:

• aligned with the 3rd through 5th-grade content standards for math and science,
• supported by standards in the arts, and
• incorporate inquiry-based activities to support the development of students’ critical thinking skills.

To support the lesson plan writing component and lend their expertise, ArtsNOW will partner with Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Math, and Computing (CEISMC).

SAIL will include the development of eighteen inquiry-based math and science units supported by 124 hours of professional development over three years and will benefit six elementary schools with over 2,200 students and 114 teachers.

Project partners will include:

• Barrow County School System: Winder Elementary and Statham Elementary
• Cobb County School District: Dowell Elementary and Mableton Elementary
• Savannah-Chatham County Public School System: Garden City Elementary and Gadsden Elementary

Second, SAIL will also explore ways in which arts-based programming can be used to build students’ social-emotional competencies. Fine arts teachers will develop lesson plans focused on integrating the arts with student well-being.

In partnership with Young Audiences, Inc., ArtsNOW consultants will participate in training for trauma-informed practice to develop a deeper understanding and responsiveness to students’ well-being to foster a safer, inclusive classroom.

Project partners will include:

• Atlanta Public Schools: Hillside Conant School
• Douglas County School System: Youth Villages-Inner Harbor campus

The SAIL grant will begin in the fall of 2021 and conclude in the fall of 2026.

ArtsNOW is a national non-profit that offers customized solutions to improve teacher efficacy and student results through authentic arts integration.