Lt. Governor Landrieu announces $50,000 Arts Education Dana Foundation Grant

BATON ROUGE – Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu today announced that the Dana Foundation has selected the Louisiana Division of the Arts, an agency of the Office of Cultural Development in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, to receive a $50,000 States Arts Learning Initiative Grant. This award follows the success of the Louisiana team at the 2008 Education Leaders Institute, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts. At the Institute, the team focused on creating a model for the implementation of Act 175 . . . these funds will be used for the planning and implementation of a model school program for our state. This is a comprehensive arts education program that will be implemented in select Louisiana public schools during the 2010/2011 school year.

In Louisiana, arts education has become a key component for policies and initiatives ranging from economic development to school improvement. Landrieu championed arts education curriculum in 2007, working with legislators to unanimously pass a bill requiring the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to develop, adopt, and implement a visual and performing arts curriculum in public schools.

We look forward to working with the State and offering any help that we can in order to bring more arts in education to the classroom.