Austin ISD Creative Learning Initiative to Receive $100,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

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The Austin ISD Creative Learning Initiative has been approved for a $100,000 Art Works grant, marking the fifth time CLI has received the grant.  

This one-year award will support increased access to the arts through campus and classroom partnerships with over 100 community arts organizations, ongoing professional learning about creative teaching, teacher resources, and additional contributions toward sustaining arts-rich schools.

Overall, the National Endowment for the Arts has approved 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million in the first round of fiscal year 2020. This funding supports arts projects in every state in the nation, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Art Works funding category supports projects that focus on public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation. The funding also aims to support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence; learning in the arts at all stages of life; and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.

"The arts are at the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression," said Arts Endowment Chairman Mary Anne Carter. "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support the Creative Learning Initiative."

CLI is a long-standing, collective-impact partnership among AISD, the arts non-profit MINDPOP and the city of Austin. In the 2019-20 school year, the Initiative provides arts learning for approximately 58,500 Austin ISD students on 100 campuses, including all of the district's 83 elementary schools and half of its secondary schools.

"Receiving this prestigious grant allows us to better provide all kids with equitable access to the arts and creative learning. This kind of learning offers demonstrative benefits to the academic, cognitive, and social and emotional wellbeing of the students of our city," said AISD Creative Learning Initiative Coordinator John Green-Otero. "It is an honor to be with this select group of people doing amazing work. This award confirms that our Initiative's innovative partnership is a national leader in the education landscape."

 

For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.