Posted on Wed, Oct. 18, 2006

11% INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR

Schools to get $864,430 for arts education
Money will be used to integrate the arts in teaching core subjects
STEVE LYTTLE
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com

A local organization linking arts and education will provide grants and programs worth $864,430 to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools during the coming academic year.

Deborah Cooper, executive director of ArtsTeach, made the announcement last week to the school board.

ArtsTeach, based at Spirit Square, is an educational partner to the Arts & Science Council. It provides professional artists and training for arts teachers, using the arts to help students achieve in core subject areas.

Cooper said this year's total is an 11 percent increase from the 2005-06 academic year.

She said a grant from the U.S. Department of Education helped ArtsTeach increase its support to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Grants and programs scheduled for the coming year:

• $249,500 -- Combined total awarded to five organizations through Learning Events grants, in which live arts performances are used to teach students.

• $211,187 -- Combined total awarded to 21 recipients through Curriculum Connections grants, in which the arts are used to teach concepts of science, social studies and mathematics.

• $173,143 -- Combined total awarded to 16 applicants through Education in the Arts grants, designed to teach students specific arts skills.

• $130,000 -- For ArtStart, a program that uses the arts to teach writing to fourth-graders. That helps them prepare for the state writing competency test.

• $59,000 -- Professional development for classroom teachers, arts teachers, and teaching artists.

• $27,600 -- Funding for the pilot year of North Carolina Wolf Trap, which will provide arts-in-education services for at-risk preschoolers (ages 3-5) attending the Tryon Hills Pre-K program.

• $14,000 -- Funding for the annual CMS Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards.