NCCAS selects writing teams for the next generation of arts standards project

The National Coalition of Core Arts Standards has completed the selection of writing teams and chairs for the next generation of arts standards project. NCCAS is a coalition of eight national organizations committed to developing new voluntary national arts education standards that will build on the foundations created by the 1994 National Arts Standards to help guide curriculum designers, teacher training programs, funders, and federal and state policy makers in their arts education decision-making.

NCCAS received more than 360 applications from throughout the country to serve on one of the four writing teams of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts. Nearly eighty applicants were considered for the Theatre Writing Team, selected jointly by the Educational Theatre Association and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Writers were chosen based on breadth of experience and skills in teaching, standards and curriculum writing, assessment and leadership, and practical knowledge in their area of expertise.

 Theatre writing team members are:

• Julia Ashworth, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
• Victoria Brown, Lucy School, Middletown, Maryland
• Betsy Quinn, Evanston School District 65/Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
• Mary J. Schuttler, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
• Robert Smith, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland
• Joshua Streeter, Towanda Area School District, Towanda, Pennsylvania
• Leslie Van Leishout, River Ridge High School, Lacey, Washington
• Gustave J. Weltsek, Indiana University/Ivy Tech Community College, Bloomington, Indiana
• Christa J. Whittaker, Ft. Walton Beach High School, Florida
• Susan Yelverton, Satchel Ford Elementary School, Columbia, South Carolina

Rachel Evans, Kean University assistant professor of theatre education and theatre education coordinator, will serve as chair for the team. The State Agency of Education Directors of Arts Education will be represented by Jack Mitchell, the secondary arts consultant for the California Department of Education. The NCCAS Leadership Team (the coalition’s governing body) for theatre includes: EdTA Executive Director Julie Woffington, Director of Educational Policy James Palmarini, AATE Executive Director Lynne Kingsley and Advocacy Director Amy Jensen.   

It’s expected that the creation of the first draft of the new arts standards will take about six months, with additional time for review and revision. A paper version will be issued in early 2013, with the expectation that an interactive online version will follow in the near future.

Palmarini praised the efforts of all the committees involved in the choosing of team members. “It was a very challenging process, given the quality of applicants. For theatre, we tried to find the right mix of individuals whom we thought could work in a collaborative fashion to create the next generation of theatre standards. Six of the ten writers are working PreK-12 arts educators, and those from the higher education community have extensive teaching experience as well as curriculum writing and standards writing in their states and districts.” Palmarini urged EdTA members to participate in the review process of the first draft of the new theatre standards, which he expects will be ready for review in fall 2012. “There will be a new NCCAS application call for reviewing teams for each discipline, and I hope our members will respond,” he said. “The reviewers are the gatekeepers that will really help refine and clarify the work of the writers.”  

The NCCAS Leadership Team and chairs will meet in Reston, Virginia January 23-24 to finalize work on a learning framework that will guide the writers, and to discuss the project’s timeline and plans to include media arts as a discrete fifth arts discipline in the next generation standards. The meeting will include a streaming video public Q&A period on January 24. Links to the interactive blog and available video streams will be posted the day of the event on the NCCAS website at http://nccas.wikispaces.com/Framing+Meeting+-+Reston%2C+VA+-+Jan+2012.

For more information about NCCAS and the next generation arts standards project go to http://nccas.wikispaces.com.