Oregon Alliance History and Work

Teacher Professional Development:
Background: Since 1998, the Alliance has offered the annual Oregon Teacher Arts Institute, a unique experiential professional development in the arts for generalist classroom elementary teachers from around the state. The original program design was changed in summer 2009 - Arts Without Boundaries It was housed at the Art Institute of Portland. The organizations joining the Alliance in this teacher professional development activity include: The Right Brain Initiative (Portland), OregonASK(Salem), Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington (Portland), The Children’s Museum (Portland), Arts Work for Education (Eugene) and Arts Learning Project (Hood River.)

Recognition: National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute
Background: For the last eight years, the Alliance has partnered with the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) to identify young Oregon musicians to participate in the NSO’s annual Summer Music Institute in Washington DC. Since the year 2000, thirteen talented high school age musicians from our state have been selected for this experience. The Alliance has managed the administration of the project: marketing the opportunity to potential candidates, accepting and processing applications, and identifying finalists for the Kennedy Center’s final review and selection.

Advocacy:
Background: The Alliance has a long history of speaking out for the arts in education. Perhaps, our strategies have too-often consisted of “preaching to the choir” rather than actively working to change opinions and experiences of the general population. We are committed to: Increasing understanding and appreciation of arts education.

2009-2010: The Board of Directors is being reconstituted and is working closely with the Oregon Arts Commission and Oregon Department of Education to look at the role of the Alliance. The “Arts Without Boundaries” was an effective process to create conversations around advocacy for the arts in education. Oregon’s participation in the NSO Summer Institute is clearly an opportunity for increased advocacy about the arts in children’s education. The Alliance has sponsored the 2009 publication and distribution of an important report on research about arts education, prepared by John Frohnmayer, through collaboration with the Oregon Health Sciences University’s “Arts & The Brain” project.