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Arts in Education (AiE) Program

The Maryland State Arts Council is proud to announce the publication of Voices Fly from CityLit Press, an anthology of student poetry from the MSAC artist-in-residence program, edited by poets-in-residence Virginia Crawford and Laura Shovan. Containing exercises, tips, and assessments from eight poets in the residency program, along with student poetry resulting from the chosen exercise, Voices Fly is an excellent and inspiring resource for teachers, parents, and students. It is available for download at no cost for everyone to read and enjoy.

“It is wonderful. Despite the storm on Friday, we sat with my son (Lorenzo grade 3 Animal talk) and our neighbor on our front lawn without power and in the heat…and read poetry throughout this entire book together. We marveled, we pondered and discussed as we read. What a priceless and timeless opportunity we seized. I do believe the 18 year old neighbor gal who was inexperienced as a poetry writer is now open to this possibility of writing and more reading of poetry.” Kimberly Ianniciello, Montgomery County.

The Arts in Education (AiE) Program is designed to promote, strengthen, and enhance the arts and arts education in Maryland's elementary and secondary schools and other community settings. The two components of the AiE Program are the AiE Visiting Performers Program and the AiE Artists-in-Residence Program.

The AiE Program provides funding for quality arts and curriculum based residencies and assemblies with over 130 skilled, highly-trained, creative artists who are passionate about bringing the arts into the classroom and providing professional development to teachers and staff.

On average, the AiE Program provides support for approximately 6,500 performances and workshop sessions for an audience of more than 200,000 students in nearly 500 Maryland schools.

Click on the AiE components in the left menu for additional details.

Contact: Christine Stewart, Program Director, 410-767-6476

"The arts can no longer be treated as a frill," said U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan in an address to the Arts Education Partnership National Forum, April 9, 2010. "Now--as we move forward with reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--is the time to rethink and strengthen arts education. I believe education is the civil rights issue of our generation. ...First, the arts significantly boost student achievement, reduce discipline problems, and increase the odds that students will go on to graduate from college. Second, arts education is essential to stimulating the creativity and innovation that will prove critical to young Americans competing in a global economy. And last, but not least, the arts are valuable for their own sake, and they empower students to create and appreciate aesthetic works."

Arne Duncan, Education Secretary