Kennedy Center selects two Maryland schools for national award

Two Baltimore County schools – George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology (Towson) and Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts (Dundalk) – were among the five national winners of an award presented by the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education. The alliance is a coalition of statewide nonprofit alliances for arts education that have partnered with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in order to ensure that the arts are an integral part of K-12 education.

The Maryland schools were named “National Schools of Distinction in Arts Education” for 2008-2009. They will receive monetary awards to support their arts education programs and may be invited to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) Alliance will also honor the two schools at its Cultural Arts for Education (CAFÉ) Conference in spring 2010.

MAIN event focuses on integrating art into curriculum

The Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) Alliance is hosting the first meeting of the 2009 Maryland Arts Integration Network (MAIN) on Friday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Lucy School in Middletown, Frederick County.

MAIN provides opportunities for representatives of Maryland schools to meet and discuss the best ways to integrate arts into other school subjects. AEMS maintains that connections between an art form and another subject area in an art-integrated lesson are natural and meaningful for students.

Lucy School is a K-2 arts integration school, developed by author and educator Victoria Brown. It is located on a 17-acre farm. A 19th-century barn has been transformed into a state-of-the-art facility. The curriculum at Lucy is a product of 20 years of research. According to the school’s web site, children who are exposed to the arts at a young age are more likely to master basic academics and are apt to develop advanced learning skills.

Call or e-mail John Ceschini at AEMS, 410-783-2367, to register for this free event.