NEA Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth Grant

Projects that engage children and youth over an extended period to increase their proficiency in and understanding of an arts discipline, genre, or form.

Projects that explore new ways to integrate arts learning with learning in other subjects.

Projects in which artists, whose training specifically includes education, or arts organizations provide a series of lessons or courses in the arts that have explicit learning objectives that ensure the application of national or state arts education standards.

Projects that provide rigorous, challenging summer arts education that enables children and youth to acquire knowledge and skills in the arts as well as gain lifelong interests in the arts and culture.

Artists’ engagements that provide instruction in the arts for children and youth for one week or longer during non-school hours and that may complement the school curriculum of the intended beneficiaries. Such projects may furnish space, project material, equipment, job training, and guidance in locations such as arts organizations, community centers, schools, faith-based organizations, public housing, tribal communities, or juvenile facilities.

Professional development programs that increase the knowledge and skills of teachers, artists, youth program providers, and others who work in arts learning with children and youth.

Projects that involve NEA National Heritage Fellows in the Folk & Traditional Arts and arts learning, with goals and assessment based on the values and benchmarks appropriate to the traditions studied.

The Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth category offers funding for projects that help children and youth acquire knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts. Projects must provide participatory learning and engage students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art. Funded projects apply national or state arts education standards. All projects submitted to the Learning in the Arts category must include:

Experience: Students and their teachers will have the chance to experience exemplary works of art — in live form where possible.

Study: Through the guidance of teachers, teaching artists, and cultural organizations, students will study works of art in order to understand the cultural and social context from which they come, and to appreciate the technical and/or aesthetic qualities of each work. Where appropriate, study will include the acquisition of skills relevant to practicing the art form.

Performance: Informed by their experience and study, students will create artwork. In the case of literature, the primary creative activities will be writing and/or recitation.

Assessment: Students will be assessed according to national or state arts education standards. Where appropriate, projects will employ multiple forms of assessment including pre- and post-testing.

NOTE: The required Learning in the Arts components may be provided in partnership with other organizations.

The Arts Endowment strongly endorses the arts as a core academic subject area. Organizations must provide curriculum frameworks and carefully designed evaluations to assess every child’s progress in achieving proficiency in the arts. In this category, the Arts Endowment hopes to call attention to projects that recognize and cultivate best practices in the field of arts education for children and youth.

Learning in the Arts projects may take place in school-based or community-based settings and should focus on children and youth in the general age range of 5 through 18 years. (NOTE: Adult and intergenerational learning is supported under Access to Artistic Excellence .)

These guidelines divide Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth into two areas:

School-Based

School-based projects are for children and youth between kindergarten and grade 12, are directly connected to the school curriculum and instructional program, and ensure the application of national or state arts education standards. Such activities may take place in or outside of the school building at any time of the day. This includes after-school and summer enrichment programs that are formally connected to school curricula. Projects also may address professional development for teachers, teaching artists, and school administrators.

NOTE: The Arts Endowment does not make awards directly to individual elementary or secondary schools — charter, private, or public. Schools may participate as partners in projects for which another eligible organization applies. Local education agencies (school districts) and state and regional education agencies are eligible. If a single school also is the local education agency, as is the case with some charter schools, the school may apply with documentation that supports its status as the local education agency.

Community-Based

Community-based projects are for children and youth generally between ages 5 and 18. This area supports important activities and training in the arts that occur outside of the school system. Activities must occur outside of the regular school day, and may take place in a variety of settings. These activities may be offered by arts organizations or by other community-based, non-arts organizations or agencies in partnership with artists and arts groups. While not formally linked to schools or their instructional programs, projects must be based on a curriculum that ensures the application of national or state arts education standards. Projects may include professional development for teachers, artists, and program providers.