The Rotary Club of Akron had the pleasure of listening to Jarrod Hartzler discuss the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education during our Tuesday, June 20th Club meeting. The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education (OAAE), a
statewide arts education service organization, is a nationally recognized leader in arts education. Working at the local, state, and federal levels, the organization has achieved significant success in advocacy work, capacity building, collaboration, program expansion, teaching artists’ support and arts education data analysis. The arts are defined as: dance, drama/theater, music, visual, and media arts. You can view the meeting by clicking here.
statewide arts education service organization, is a nationally recognized leader in arts education. Working at the local, state, and federal levels, the organization has achieved significant success in advocacy work, capacity building, collaboration, program expansion, teaching artists’ support and arts education data analysis. The arts are defined as: dance, drama/theater, music, visual, and media arts. You can view the meeting by clicking here.What is OAAE’s Mission Statement?
It is the mission of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education to ensure that the arts are an integral part of the education of every Ohioan.
The Alliance has several belief statements:
- All children in school must have quality arts education provided by licensed arts educators.
- All Ohioans have the right to expect quality arts education.
- All arts programs must have adequate resources.
- All arts and cultural organizations and artists have a critical role in arts education.
What are some of the major initiatives of OAAE?
The major initiatives the OAAE focuses on are Advocacy, Building Collaborations, Building Capacity (diversified funding, membership, and communication), Professional Development
According to Mr. Hartzler, the following are a few of the reasons advocacy is so important:
- Arts Education continues to face serious challenges. Despite model programs, studies, and research that demonstrate the value of arts learning, national education policies and budget constraints continue to put arts education programs at risk of being reduced or eliminated.
- As school systems across the country face funding challenges and budget cuts, arts education programs are among the first to be threatened or eliminated. Many schools are forced to choose among a music teacher, visual arts teacher, librarian, guidance counselor, or nurse on staff. Many districts resort to asking communities to pass levies to help ease the financial burdens they face. School funding is a critical advocacy issue.
- Arts education advocates know that the only way even strong arts learning programs can survive is when advocates actively promote their cause. Advocates help make the program’s value and impact understood and supported by all stakeholders—from parents, to community leaders, to school district administrators, to state legislators, federal policymakers, and others.
The Ohio Arts Education Data Project:
Mr. Hartzler also discussed the Ohio Arts Education Data Project. Ohio is proud to be among the first few states in the nation to provide an online arts education data system available to the public. This interactive, color-coded dashboard displays arts participation for Ohio’s preK-12 schools.
Developed through the collaboration of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Arts Council, and Quadrant Research, the information presented in this dashboard will help arts education advocates across the state make the case for the benefits of arts learning. To view the data and within Ohio and particularly Summit County, check out the following link: https://oaae.net/ohio-arts-education-data-project-introduction/.
I would encourage our readers to check out the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education website at https://oaae.net to explore more of the association’s strategic goals and initiatives, community programs, Ohio Teaching Artist Roster, etc.
Yours in Service,
Terry Dalton
2023-2024 Club Secretary & Scholarship Chair
