me arts ed

Imagination Intensive Communities – Maine Education Project Wins National Recognition

Maine’s Imagination Intensive Communities (IIC) project was one of nine projects in the United States to receive a Best Practice award from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) at their National Summit in Washington, D.C, recently.  IIC is a process developed by the Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Department of Education to identify, recognize, research, and share information on communities where schools and community organizations work effectively together to provide imaginative learning opportunities for students. The project was piloted in 2009-2010 with funding from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Betterment Fund, the Maine Arts Commission, and the Maine Department of Education.

Dr. Steven Paine, West Virginia superintendent of schools and chair of the P21 state partner advisory council, said of the nine states/programs that received awards, “These states are shining examples of best practices related to 21st century learning. This summit provides an extraordinary illustration for the nation and states as to how to build education systems that ensure 21st century college and career readiness for every student.”

During the 2009-2010 IIC pilot year, 6 Maine communities were identified as Imagination Intensive Communities. They are Arundel, Blue Hill, Camden-Rockport, Deer Isle-Stonington, North Haven, and York. Information on each community and the strategies they use to provide imaginative learning opportunities for students will be posted in November on the website of the Maine Alliance for Arts Education at http://www.maineartsed.org , as will application information for the 2010-2011 search for Imagination Intensive Communities.

For more information, please contact Carol Trimble, Executive Director, Maine Alliance for Arts Education, at ctrimble@maineartsed.org or Argy Nestor, Visual and Performing Arts Specialist, Maine Department of Education, at argy.nestor@maine.gov.

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education is a statewide nonprofit that works to strengthen education in all of the arts for all Maine students. Information is available at http://www.maineartsed.org .