Dear Arts Enthusiasts: 

As the 2011-2012 academic year is coming to closure, please know that your leadership within the Arts Schools Network (ASN) is working tirelessly to continually advance the arts. ASN's Board of Directors represents a diverse group of leaders in the arts. Allow me to recognize your Executive Committee: Rory Pullens, First Vice President, CEO and Head of School, Duke Ellington School of the Arts; Pamela Jordan, Second Vice President and Head of School, Chicago Academy for the Arts; Patricia Decker, Secretary, Director of Recruitment, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts; Donn Harris, Treasurer, Executive Director, Oakland School for the Arts; and Dr. Ralph Opacic, Immediate Past President, Executive Director, Orange County High School of the Arts. 

Our inaugural student talent competition, On Your Way, culminated at our Orlando conference with performances by the awarded recipients. Our 2013 On Your Way competition will launch in May, with scholarship awards announced Spring 2013. Our Life in the Arts videos provide membership schools connectivity to programs and artists around the nation. These videos may be used for classroom or total-school study. Remaining schools showcased for this year include Oakland School for the Arts, Howard W. Blake School of the Arts, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, College of Charleston School of the Arts, and Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano. The videos are simply another member benefit of ASN, while allowing time to glean some new and novel ideas without leaving your school. 

We have several new board members who will prove invaluable to our Board of Directors. Please join me in welcoming Tracie Fraley, Principal, Booker T. Washington Visual and Performing Arts, Dallas, Texas; Sally Gaskill, Associate Director, Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, Bloomington, Indiana; Valerie Morris, Dean, School of the Arts, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; and, Dr. Mary Palmer, Professor Emerita, University of Central Florida and President of Mary Palmer and Associates, LLC. 

A new initiative, of which ASN members will be beneficiaries, is our webinars. At this juncture, arts agencies partnering in this endeavor include the Arts Education Policy Review Journal, National Art Educators Association, National Dance Educators Organization, and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. These webinars will focus on current and relevant issues related to teaching in the arts. Topics include, but are not limited to, teacher evaluation, updates on revisions to arts standards, education reform initiatives, and arts integration. 

I encourage you to make plans now to join us for our coming ASN Conference in Chicago, Illinois, October 16-19, 2012. David Flatley and Columbia College, our conference hosts, have prepared an inspirational conference that will be second-to-none. Opportunities exist for a day of content-specific professional development at the pre-conference (October 16) for such topics as fund development and governance. Our main conference days, October 17-19, provide numerous breakout sessions and school visits while providing attendees the opportunity to "network" with some of the nation's premier leaders in arts education. 

One of the intangibles of ASN is the opportunity to, my hope is that you will consider making application for Exemplary Schools' Recognition. Chaired by Dr. Scott Allen, the Best Practices Committee invites you to take your school through a rigorous and introspective process that when awarded, represents the epitome of arts education. Please consider participating in this valuable opportunity to receive specific arts-related feedback for your institution. 

In closing, I hope that even during these trying economic times we can look to the arts for hope and inspiration. Despite the challenges we all face at our schools and colleges, the value of an arts education has never been more important. By sowing seeds of creativity and by fostering problem-solving skills, arts educators are the stalwarts in holding back the forces which serve to marginalize the arts. 

Please call on me if I may be of assistance to you. 

Sincerely,
Craig S. Collins, Ed.D
President, Arts Schools Network
Principal, Harrison School for the Arts
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it