Most decisions about theatre in the school curriculum are made at the local level by principals, superintendents, and school boards.
Getting started
- Establish a positive and open communication channel with your school administrators.
- Make a point to learn when your school board meets and who its members are.
- Find
out who the local decision makers are and reach out to them: the mayor,
district school superintendent, city council, chamber of commerce,
superintendent, etc.
- Build a network of supporters that you can call on when there is a need for quick action.
Teachers:
Contact other ITS troupe directors in your district to help organize a long-term theatre education advocacy strategy.
Students:
Participate in the year-round Theatre In Our Schools (TIOS) campaign, an effort to promote awareness of theatre education's value and purpose in schools across America, culminating in a month-long celebration in March. Encourage your fellow Thespians to do the same, and begin planning how you can promote TIOS at public events--shows, school board meetings, and your Thespian conferences. TIOS is jointly sponsored by the Educational Theatre Association and the American Alliance for Theatre & Education.
Community members:
Attend school board meetings and request to get on the agenda. Use the materials below to advocate for starting a theatre program or growing resources for the theatre program.
Here's a set of EdTA-created tools and resources to help you articulate the value of your program and defend it:
|
Ads for member conference and production programs
|
|
The Dear Ms. Smith
template letters are designed to help teachers and students create a
statement that supports the value of their program and theatre education
in general.
|
|
The Advocacy Game is
an improv exercise designed to help advocates refine their public
presentation skills. In the game, scene partners are either “Askers” or a “Target Audience." The "Askers" are seeking support while members of the "Target Audience" resist giving giving it.
|
|
The Thank, Ask, Explain Powerpoint
is an editable slide presentation and narrative that can be used a
guide for creating an in-person advocacy presentation before a school
board or other decision making body.
|
|
In
2008, EdTA, in collaboration the American Alliance for Theatre and
Education, and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, created a
Freedom of Expression Statement.
The statement provides guidelines and support for theatre educators in
the play selection process and policy guidance for school and district
administrators.
|
.jpg) |
Arts Education for America’s Students, A Shared Endeavor, a statement created and endorsed by twelve national arts and education organizations (including EdTA), outlines the importance of high quality arts education and those responsible for providing it to students. |