Special needs dance educator Ann Kathleen Shea passed away on October 10 at the age of 67, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. One of Shea’s many recognitions for her tireless advocacy for dance education in public schools was the 2009 Dance Teacher K–12 national award. A lifelong dance educator, Shea knew her calling […]
Who could forget last May’s news story on the troubled elementary school transformed by administrators’ decision to decrease security and hire more arts teachers? Those inspiring results just scratch the surface of topics covered in the latest report from the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). Evidence: A Report on The Impact of Dance in the […]
Pamela Plagge-Isaac, a 2012 NATF Fellow from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota At last week’s Dance Teacher Summit, speakers emphasized the importance of feeding your craft and nurturing your passion. Don’t let your enthusiasm for self-development fade in the wake of the event. Keep those creative juices flowing, and apply to the Boston Arts Academy’s fellowship program […]
Three lesson plans to teach science through movement Third-graders at Mt. Eccles Elementary School create a glacier dance. A group of third-graders gathers in the center of the classroom, ready to learn how water cycles through precipitation, evaporation and condensation. They have no open textbooks, No. 2 pencils or notebook paper nearby. They have only […]
How Arvin Arjona took the Millburn High School dance program from zero to the Orange Bowl in six years Most of his students call him Mr. Arjona or Mr. A. “But some call me Papa Panda because they saw my Kung Fu Panda screen saver,” says Arvin Cheng Arjona. “Kids will be kids.” Arjona is […]
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) is hosting a public review of US arts standards in Pre-K–8 school settings, including standards in dance creating, performing, responding and connecting. According to the NCCAS, these standards—available online—outline the arts’ “philosophical foundations, enduring understandings and essential questions,” and will guide arts curricula in schools nationwide. Interested […]
Bridging high school with college and beyond in Virginia Many of Abigail Agresta-Stratton’s students go on to study dance in college. When her teaching hours dropped roughly 38 percent between September 2011 and June 2012, Abigail Agresta-Stratton had an inkling. New York State school dance programs were being cut left and right, and dance teachers—only […]
K–12 teachers go to the mat for proper floors. West Briar Middle School students now dance on aresilient surface, thanks to their teacher Lynn Reynolds. Teaching dance in a K–12 setting often means holding classes in hallways or cafeterias, sharing space with other student groups or dealing with ceilings that are too low for jumps. […]
A Memphis arts assessment pilot program tracks K–12 teacher performance. Taurus Hines teaches creative dance at Colonial Middle School in Memphis.How do you measure a teacher’s job performance? The Memphis school district has taken on that sticky and sometimes contentious question, piloting a solution last year that remarkably satisfies both arts teachers and state requirements. […]
Earlier this year, DT invited you to register your school as part of the National Dance Education Organization’s K–12 Data Collection Project. The goal is to create a “master database” of where dance is offered in K-12 schools throughout the US. Over 1,200 schools have provided contact and demographic info, but we know there are […]