Connect with AEC

Customized professional learning support

How can AEC support you this year? We have expertise in the national core arts standards, curriculum writing, arts integration, SEL, culturally responsive practices, program evaluation and more. Book a 15-minute conversation with Yael to get started!


Check out artlook® SWPA to find new arts partnerships this school year

artlook® SWPA is a free online hub created to help educators in our region immerse young people in powerful, personally relevant arts learning opportunities.

Are you a teacher looking for a field trip? Check out this 1 min video to get started!

Are you a principal looking for PD? Check out this 1 min video to get started!

Go to swpa.artlookmap.com today to start your customized search for regional arts partners!

Employment

Two small groups of arts educators circle up during a workshop.

Various arts teaching positions | Propel Charter Schools

See various open positions, including music, art, and phys. ed. teachers, and site based creative arts classroom advisors.


Part-time Assemble Teacher, Assemble

Assemble needs a part-time Assemble Teacher. If you need assistance to fully participate in the application or the interview process, or have questions, reach out to nina@assemblepgh.org.

Professional Learning and Networking

Learning and Thinking That Make a Difference | Project Zero

October 14, Pittsburgh, PA

Join us for an exciting event at MuseumLab where we will explore the power of thinking and learning and the connections to Harvard Graduate School of Education, Project Zero ideas, and frameworks! The day will focus on core throughlines, or big questions that will thread through all conference experiences.

How do we create the conditions for deep thinking and learning within our classrooms, buildings, and school communities?

How can we design for and with diverse learners and in diverse contexts?

What does it mean to understand? How does understanding develop?

Arts Schools Network Annual Conference | Arts Schools Network

Oct. 24–25, Washington, D.C.

“Arts at the Forefront of Change,” the Arts Schools Network Annual Conference in October 2024, will explore the extraordinary power of storytelling in the 21st century — the economy, policies, and politics driven by storytelling and the important role of the arts in shaping not only the culture of the nation and the globe but the future as well. Early bird registration ends 9/6.

2024 Adding Voices Conference | Adding Voices

Nov. 8–10, Philadelphia, PA

The 2024 Conference theme “Reimagining the Field: Talking Back, Pouring In, & Bearing Witness” is a call to action. This call is inspired by bell hooks’ critical text, Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black, honoring the ongoing legacy of people from the Global Majority owning our experiences, engaging in acts of survival, and amplifying our voices.

Invoking our foremother, bell hooks, we desire to become united through the liberatory praxis of talking back to the art field, from the classroom to the gallery space. This Adding Voices conference is an invitation for Global Majority art professionals to pour into themselves and one another. Together, we will hold space for bearing witness to our collective struggle, individual journeys, and our triumphs as we actively reimagine the arts profession.

Funding

Closeup of someone's hands as they film a jazz ensemble on a smartphone.

The Grable Foundation

The Grable Foundation endeavors to improve the lives of children and youth in the greater Pittsburgh region, with attention to kids whose opportunities are limited due to economic circumstances. Applications are welcome every four months.


Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant opportunities

The PCA supports a range of arts and cultural activities and organizations via a number of programs and opportunities.


National Endowment for the Arts grants

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is proud to support the nation’s arts sector with grant opportunities so that together we can help everyone live more artful lives.


Guide to Accessing Federal Funds for Arts Ed, PMEA

The PMEA is a resource to explain what federal funds are available, provide some examples of ways to use them, and show you how to make the ask for these funds in your school.


Guide to Using Title IV Funding to Support Arts Ed, PMEA

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), new funding opportunities are available that could directly benefit music education. One of those is in Title IV of the law and known as Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAEG). ESSA eliminated what we knew as “core” academic subjects and created what we now know as “well-rounded” subject areas. Music has, for the first time, been called out in federal law as a well-rounded subject. The SSAEG grants are designed to be used to ensure a well-rounded education and that means music is a part of it.

Advocacy

Yael stands in front of two flags next to Senator Casey's name plate outside his office in D.C.

Arts Ed Advocacy Toolkit | Arts ARE Education

This toolkit includes current school year talking points, school board resolution language, a parent/caregiver letter template, and more!


The Arts Educator Workforce | Arts Education Partnership

Check out this brief article about the current state of the arts educator workforce in the United States.