Heartland

              he Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
and Illinois Arts Council have formed a
groundbreaking new partnership for arts educa-tion.
This partnership was created by Public Act
94-835, which was signed into law on June 6,
2006, establishing the Arts and Foreign
Language Education Grant Program.
Under new Section 2-3.65a of the School Code
as added by this year’s legislation, ISBE entered
into an interagency agreement with the Illinois
Arts Council to administer and award grants,“for
the purpose of supporting arts and foreign lan-guage
education in the schools,with an empha-sis
on ensuring that art and foreign language
courses are available as part of a school’s core
curriculum.”
“Every child should have an opportunity to learn
and develop the skills they’ll need to succeed in
the future. That’s why we’ve put such a strong
focus on improving education in Illinois, from
preschool all the way through high-school grad-uation,”
says Governor Rod Blagojevich. “I
directed ISBE and the Illinois Arts Council to
form a partnership to strengthen and sustain the
fine arts and foreign languages in our schools
because they are key to developing creative and
critical thinking skills that will help our kids
compete and get ahead in an increasingly
diverse society.”
Illinois School Superintendent Dr. Randy
Dunn and Illinois Arts Council Executive
Director Terry A. Scrogum awarded Arts and
Foreign Language grants totaling more than $1.1
million to 38 school districts across Illinois to
strengthen their arts education and foreign lan-guage
programs during a two-day Illinois
Alliance for Arts Education conference held at
Princeton High School in late July.
“It is an exciting time for arts education,” said
Dunn. “Arts education is no longer seen as an
add-on and is increasingly being viewed as a
necessity. It enhances the overall educational
process by helping kids create mental frameworks
and ways of thinking that support learning across
the board. By working with the Illinois Arts
Council and leveraging the expertise and
resources of the two agencies, we can reach out
to more students, teachers, and schools.”
“This partnership is a significant step
toward ensuring the arts are an influential part
of every Illinois student’s education,” says
Shirley R.Madigan, Illinois Arts Council
Chairman. “The Illinois Arts Council is grate-ful
to all those who helped make this partner-ship
possible. We thank Governor Rod
Blagojevich for his unwavering support and lead-ership
role in funding this initiative, and for his
foresight in recognizing the long-term benefit of
a strong, comprehensive, statewide arts education
program.We thank the General Assembly for its
recognition and willingness to fund the initiative.
We also thank Elliot Regenstein, former Director
of Education Reform in the Governor’s Office,
for his dedicated and tireless work.”
“I recall working with the Illinois Arts Council
when I was a principal, especially the great work
they did with the Artists-in-Residence pro-gram,”
said Dunn, who began his education
career as a fourth grade teacher in Gibson City,
Illinois and later moved into administration, serv-ing
as principal for two schools in central Illinois
and then as Superintendent of the Argenta-
Oreana Community and Chester Community
School Districts.“I was in a rural community and
was always looking for an opportunity to
expand our kids’ thinking about the world and
its culture. Championing the arts and arts edu-cation
was an important part of that work then—
and it remains just as important today.”
“Not only does the funding of this initiative
reflect the national trend of close cooperation
between state education and arts agencies,” said
Madigan.“This initiative marks a new beginning.
We look forward to working together with the
Illinois State Board of Education and empower-ing
Illinoisans through arts and education to
achieve their greatest potential – both in school
and throughout their lives.”
“This is an ongoing journey,” agrees Dunn.“In the
greater goal of seeing students reach their potential,
the more we can do to deliver arts programs to stu-dents
and make the arts come alive in our schools,
the greater the possibilities for our students.”
Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Arts
Council Form Partnership for Arts Education
I L L I N O I S A R T S C O U N C I L
HeA R T l a n d, a q u a r t e r ly p u bl i c a t i o n o f t h e I l l i n o i s A r t s C o u n c i l , a n a g e n c y o f th e s t a t e o f Il l i no is V ol um e 1 1 , N um b er 3 F al l 20 0 6
Illinois School Superintendent Dr. Randy Dunn
(left) and Illinois Arts Council Executive Director
Terry A. Scrogum
1
“A significant step
toward ensuring the
arts are an influential
part of every Illinois
student’s education,”
Shirley R. Madigan,
Chairman, Illinois Arts Council.
Applied Experience in Arts Education:
n October 2005, a statewide arts education coalition called Illinois Creates released the results
of a groundbreaking study called “Arts at the Core.”The study found that 20 percent of Illinois
principals reported having no arts program of any kind in their school. “Arts at the Core” also
revealed broad disparities in the amount of arts education students receive across the state.“Students
in Illinois do not have equal access to arts education,” the study reported, “the strongest correlation
factor being where they live. Students in rural areas tend to receive the least amount of
arts education.”
The coalition was led by the Chicago Community Trust and Illinois Arts Alliance (IAA), with the
initial research funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council.Two co-chairs * on the steering committee,
Nancy Stemper and Libby Chiu, were also active members of the Illinois Arts Council’s Strategic
PlanTask Force.HeARTland caught up with Stemper and Chiu recently to discuss their experience.
continued on page 2
Libby Chiu at the
Public Listening Tour in Rockford.
T
I