Attention arts education advocates in Southern Maryland! There’s an upcoming rare opportunity to have the community’s collective voice heard by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. The Governor’s Leadership Council “Task Force on Arts Education in Maryland Schools” is coming to Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf on Thursday, February 6, for a regional forum to receive public input on arts education issues.
Co-chairing the statewide task force are nationally known sculptor and founder of Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) Alliance, Mary Ann Mears, and Dr. Jack Smith, Deputy Superintendent at the Maryland State Department of Education. Governor O’Malley’s commitment to arts education is longstanding, and he has been recognized nationally with the prestigious Public Leadership in Arts Award. To continue Maryland’s standing as a national leader in education, the Governor wants to ensure that all students have access to a quality education which includes the arts
In September 2013, Governor O’Malley’s P20 Leadership Council established a statewide task force on arts education in Maryland schools. The task force is charged with making recommendations on policy, regulations, curriculum, instruction, professional development, and resources regarding students’ Pre K-12 education in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts. The final report of the task force will be presented to the Governor and his Council in September 2014.
The 28-member distinguished task force includes school superintendents, university presidents, and state/county fine arts education specialists. The task force is emphasizing the critical need for broad community involvement by seeking public input to help inform their deliberations and recommendations.
For more information about the task force, click here to visit the website. Also, there is an online public comment questionnaire. Responses to the questionnaire will be open until 5:00 pm on February 10. Click here to access the questionnaire. Please email Alex at amilroy@aems-edu.org, if you have any questions. If the Charles County Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather, the forum will be cancelled and rescheduled, if possible.
Please mark your calendars and join us on February 6! And please help us spread the word far and wide – feel free to forward this press release to your colleagues, friends and neighbors. Show the Governor’s Task Force that Charles County citizens strongly support all forms of arts education in our schools: music, visual art, drama and dance. We look forward to seeing you!
