The Dana Foundation has extended its longtime interest in education to support innovative professional development programs leading to improved teaching of the performing arts in public schools.

Dana support is primarily directed at professional development courses for arts educators.  Our grants specifically target the training of in-school arts specialists and professional artists who teach students preK-12 in the public schools. Organizations must have not-for-profit status to qualify for a grant. The Foundation's arts education work includes offering free publications, books and articles related to the field, organizing conferences, and providing access to resources in arts learning on this Web site.

Grants

Three-City Initative Grants

The Foundation supports professional development projects as described above that originate in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and their surrounding areas within a fifty-mile radius. For more information on this program and guidelines click here.

Rural Initiative Grants

The Dana Foundation funds professional development programs for arts educators who teach in rural areas of the United States. To be considered for this round, all applicants must describe why the proposed service area is considered to be rural, what challenges this presents and how the proposed project addresses these challenges. For more information on this program and guidelines click here.

Grantees

To learn more about current and former Dana arts education grants and grantees, click here.

Grantee Surveys

Dana Arts Education Publications

Scientists Harmonize on the Theme of Arts Advocacy
News Column

Scientists Harmonize on the Theme of Arts Advocacy

by Janet Eilber

Arts Education in the News | April 2008

The Dana Foundation's "Learning, Arts, and the Brain" report contains a number of hard-science studies that strengthen the link between arts training and cognitive performance.

Learning, Arts, and the Brain
New Report

Learning, Arts, and the Brain

Dana Consortium studies find strong links

For the first time, coordinated, multi-university scientific research brings us closer to answering the question: Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter?

See also

Transforming Arts Teaching: The Role of Higher Education
Free publication

Transforming Arts Teaching: The Role of Higher Education

Edited By Barbara Rich, Ed.D., Jane L. Polin

Transforming Arts Teaching: The Role of Higher Education examines innovations in arts-teacher training. Best practices at 24 higher-education institutions are featured, along with proceedings from Dana’s national symposium, an event that examined ways in which colleges, universities, and conservatories can enhance arts learning.

Rethinking Arts in School
News story

Rethinking Arts in School

by Nicky Penttila

If Americans wish their children to thrive in the 21st century economy, they should be demanding that the arts—which can teach discipline, focus and creative thinking—be returned to the regular public school day, say education activists during a symposium in Washington, D.C.

A Well-Tempered Mind: Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn

by Peter Perrer And Janet Fox

Dana Press

A Well-Tempered Mind: Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn documents an acclaimed music and education program developed a decade ago by Winston-Salem Symphony conductor and music director Peter Perret.

Acts of Achievement: The Role of Performing Art Centers in Education

Edited By Barbara Rich, Ed.D., Jane L. Polin, Stephen J. Marcus

Dana Press

Acts of Achievement: The Role of Performing Art Centers in Education, a 168-page publication, provides the first study of K-12 education programs offered by performing arts centers nationwide, and showcases 74 performing art center institutions, large and small, partnering with their local schools.

Planning an Arts-Centered School: A Handbook

Edited by Carol Fineberg, Doctor of Arts, Prolegomenon by William Safire

Dana Press

Planning an Arts-Centered School: A Handbook is comprised of eighteen essays by artists and educators highlighting best practices and offering approaches from their varied experiences in the development of successful arts-centered schools. There is also a prolegomenon and an opening commentary.

Partnering Arts Education: A Working Model from ArtsConnection

Edited By Barbara Rich, Ed.D.

Dana Press

Partnering Arts Education: A Working Model from ArtsConnection details the importance of classroom teachers and artists forming partnerships as they build successful residencies in schools. Partnering Arts Education provides insight and concrete steps in using the ArtsConnection model.

Center Theatre Group 1 

A Center Theatre Group training session for teaching artists in Los Angeles. (Kimiko Broder. Photo courtesy of the Center Theatre Group)