Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Program
The U.S. Department of Education’s Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Program is designed to enable schools and organizations to develop and disseminate comprehensive approaches for integrating the arts into elementary and middle school curricula, strengthening arts instruction in these grade levels, and improving students’ academic performance. Innovative, cohesive models should be based on research and have demonstrated that they effectively integrate standards-based arts education into the core elementary and middle school curriculum; strengthen standards-based arts instruction in these grades; and improve students' academic performance, including their skills in creating, performing, and responding to the arts. This program must be administered in partnership with a local education agency. The project duration can be up to four years, with the first year used to plan an imbedded evaluation process.
In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education announced 18 awards under the FY 2014 AEMDD competition. These highly competitive grants support the further development, implementation and expansion of standards-based arts education programs and the integration of arts instruction into the core curriculum. Grants are awarded to both local educational agencies (LEAs) and state and local nonprofit arts organizations that work in partnership with LEAs. Among previous grants, at least five awards have supported collaborations with orchestras: Anne Arundel County Public Schools which includes the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra among its artists in residence, Houston Independent School District for partnering with the Houston Symphony; Rockford Public Schools for working in partnership with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra; Tucson Unified School District has partnered with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra; and the Brooklyn Philharmonic has received a grant award.
The AEMDD competition is currently closed.