First Fellowships to be awarded in March 2007
by Carl Little
Nearly a year ago, the Surdna Foundation in New York City approached the Maine Community Foundation to ask if MCF would be interested in starting a fellowship program for arts teachers in Maine’s public schools that would be modeled on its own highly successful Arts Teachers Fellowship Program. MCF turned to the Maine Alliance for Arts Education for counsel; convened a focus group at the Blaine House with First Lady Karen Baldacci serving as host; and approached a group of Maine Community Foundation donors to seek their support.
Henry Schmelzer,
President Maine
Community Foundation
With enthusiastic donors on board and a substantial grant from the Surdna Foundation, the Maine Arts Teachers Fellowship Program was born. Open to K-12 arts teachers from across the state of Maine, the program was officially launched at MAAE’s annual Arts Education Advocacy Day in the State House’s Hall of Flags in February 2006.
In his remarks at the ceremony, MCF President Henry Schmelzer stated, “Maine Community Foundation and the Maine Alliance for Arts Education believe that providing opportunities for arts teachers to immerse themselves in their particular discipline will lead to an enrichment of arts education throughout Maine.”
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The program will support up to eight fellows annually, beginning in the 2007 school year. Tuition, travel and expenses up to $4,000 will be covered by the fellowships. The Fellows’ schools will also receive $1,000 for post-Fellowship work, restricted for the Fellow’s use with students. Most fellowship activities will be conducted during the summer, but they can occur throughout the year. Fellowships might include attending an international photography institute, dance festival, playwriting program or craft school; personal study with a master musician; or participation in an artist’s retreat.
Guidelines and applications will be available on the Maine Alliance for Arts Education website, www.maineallforartsed.org, on July 1, 2006, and the first fellowships will be awarded in March 2007.
The program will encourage applications from public school teacher-artists from the visual arts, theater, music, dance, creative writing, film, video and multi-disciplinary arts. The fellows will be selected through a competitive process. Recruitment will be statewide with special emphasis on underserved areas.
This new program helps to further fulfill a core goal of MCF’s and MAAE’s mission: to expand educational opportunities for Maine citizens.
Carl Little is director of communications and marketing at the Maine Community Foundation.
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