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Arts Commission News

The "Winds of Change" bring new and engaging programs to the 2006 whole schools institute

DATE:              June 29, 2006

CONTACT:     Susan Dobbs, Public Relations Director                                       601-359-6031 or sdobbs@arts.state.ms.us

For Immediate Release

JACKSON—The eighth annual Summer Institute of the Mississippi Arts Commission’s Whole Schools Initiative will offer educators new and innovative ideas for classroom arts integration.  The Institute, themed “The Winds of Change,” will be held on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi July 17 – 21, 2006.  

Approximately 300 teachers, artists and administrators from more than 40 schools will gather in Hattiesburg and will have the opportunity to study everything from arts integrated curriculum design to African drumming.  This year’s Institute is about bringing new and exciting educational opportunities to Mississippi students. “The Summer Institute goes beyond providing teachers with new ideas in arts education,” said Commission Executive Director, Malcolm White. “It brings to light new and engaging ways the arts can be used to help students with every aspect of their education.”

The event will begin on the morning of July 17th with a series of pre-institute sessions and arts experiences, followed by a keynote address by Dr. Hank Bounds, state Superintendent of Education.  Dr. Bounds will discuss the “State of Arts Education in Mississippi” and afterward, he will be available to answer questions.  Several excellent mini-tracks will be available in the afternoon, followed at 7:30 pm by the Hattiesburg Arts Council reception at the downtown Cultural Center with renowned watercolorist Wyatt Waters as the featured artist.  The public is invited to attend. 

Each day of the Institute is filled with outstanding educational opportunities.  On Wednesday, Dr. John Woodall, a research fellow at the Judge Baker Children’s Center at the Harvard Medical School, will share his insight into resilient responses to crises.  The trauma of the Hurricane Katrina will affect children and adults long into the future and he will show educators how to design arts based teaching plans that move through the stages of resilient growth.

Since 1992, the Commission has provided grant funds, technical assistance and professional development opportunities to Mississippi schools. It is the goal of the Commission to assist schools in the development and implementation of arts-based, interdisciplinary curriculum. The Summer Institute was created eight years ago to offer comprehensive professional development opportunities educators need to deliver effective arts-infused instruction. “When the arts are brought into the classroom, the dynamics change and subjects come alive to students,” said Judi Holifield, Whole Schools Initiative Director. “The arts open new pathways of learning for today’s students.”  In addition to the Institute training, participating Whole Schools receive up to $8,000 a year in grant support, several retreat opportunities during the school year, plus a Field Advisor to offer assistance, support, advice and training.  

The Whole Schools Initiative is open to grades kindergarten through 12 and strives to engage everyone from principals to parents to work toward integrating the arts into existing school curricula in order to further prove the powerful role the arts play in learning. 

Visit the WSI website at www.mswholeschools.org to learn more about Whole Schools and the annual Institute.  For more information about the Mississippi Arts Commission, visit http://www.arts.state.ms.us/.

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds, the U.S. Department of Education and other public and private sources.

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