Call To Action - Arts Education

To:Members of NCTAE and NCTC

From:NCTAE President Keith Taylor and NCTC Executive Director Angie
Hays

Re:Arts Education Advocacy

North Carolina Theatre Arts Educators (NCTAE) and the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) have united to address the issue of Arts Education policy in North Carolina.

In January, legislation will be introduced in the NC House and Senate, requiring an arts graduation requirement in NC high schools. If passed, this legislation will secure the future employment of NC Theatre Arts Educators, it will solidly declare that the arts are essential to a complete education and therefore cannot be cut, and it will work to cultivate our next generation of artists and audiences.

The legislation will be met with great protest, as it makes its way through the House and Senate committees. The opposition is already preparing, already pooling resources, and is readying for a long fight. Therefore, we must do the same.

Members of the leadership of NCTAE and NCTC have met to discuss strategy. We have agreed to work in complete cooperation on this issue. You will soon be hearing from one or both organizations with detailed instructions, to prepare us for the work ahead. We will need to assemble an army of educators, parents, volunteers, arts administrators, and school board members to advocate. We will need grassroots help with phone calls and emails, but we will also need members of both organizations to be prepared to travel to Raleigh, on more than one occasion, sometimes with very little notice. As we know you cannot always take time off from work, we will need you to secure members of your community that can travel to Raleigh in your place or with you.

We will face opposition from other statewide organizations, and will need you to communicate our side of the issue to your local administration, parent organizations, and members of your School Board.

We need your help in many ways, one of which is with your membership dollars. Please take a moment to be sure that your membership dues are current with NCTC, NCTAE, and ARTS NC - so we can stand ready with resources, materials, and staff to appropriately address this issue.

We can do this.

We have a long road ahead, but know that we can do this.

More information to come, please stand ready. Thank you for your continued support and hard work.