NCCAS seeking adjudicators to score high school student work
Contact: Cory Wilkerson
Tel: 800-587-6814
Email: projectmanager@seadae.org
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) is issuing an invitation for arts educators interested in serving as adjudicators of the high school student work collected from diverse school settings across the nation as part of the 2015-16 Model Cornerstone Assessment (MCA) Pilot Project. The MCA high school pilot, partially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, is the second phase of the project that began last year with a benchmarking of elementary and middle school student work in the arts disciplines of dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. As was done in the project’s first phase, adjudicators will score the collected high school student work, with the goal of creating a resource bank of standards-based student work aligned to the 2014 National Core Arts Standards.
Model Cornerstone Assessments tasks at the benchmark grades of 2, 5, 8 and the three high school levels (proficient, accomplished, advanced) were released simultaneously with the Core Arts Standards. They were created by the five arts discipline NCCAS writing teams to serve as examples of the type of evidence needed to show student achievement reflected in targeted performance standards. The benchmark teams will conduct independent reviews of the student work virtually before gathering for a three-day meeting in Reston, Virginia, August 6-9 to determine final benchmark scoring. Five educators from each arts discipline will be selected to serve as benchmarking team members through a rigorous application and interview process that will open April 26th and continue until midnight, May 23, 2016. All travel, room, and board costs for the team members will be covered by NCCAS. Interested individuals may apply at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HSBenchmarkers.
To access more details about the project please go to the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards wiki at http://nccas.wikispaces.com. The National Core Arts Standards can be found at www.nationalartsstandards.org
TIGs provide funding and support directly to teachers for promising teacher-led, administrator-supported ideas, programs, or initiatives to improve education. These grants allow teachers to develop and execute projects that can serve as models to be replicated and scaled.
Inspired by the great work teachers do in classrooms every day, Farmers wants to say thank you for their tireless dedication. Through Thank America’s Teachers, Farmers Insurance is giving away more than $1 million in two separate grant opportunities again in 2016.
Trevor Marcho has taught instrumental and choral music at Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln for six years. He also co-conducts the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestras and teaches private music lessons at Main Street Music Studios in Bangor. He is a graduate of the University of Maine, where he also teaches MUE 217, Brass Methods to undergraduate music education majors.
Thursday May 12, 2016 – Noon to 1:15 CENTRAL
James Palmarini is the Director of Educational Policy for the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), and was the founding editor of Teaching Theatre, the association’s journal for theatre educators. James serves on the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) Advisory Board; the Washington D.C.-based Arts Education Working Group; the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) Leadership committee, and the board for the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education.
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I hope that you receive the shiniest and most delicious apple this week from someone who really cares about you. If you don’t, please imagine me presenting you one with a giant hug and a THANK YOU! I know that the path of educational excellence is through teachers who have taken on the challenge and joys of teaching.
This Friday is the deadline for two MALI opportunities. One is for PK-12 visual and performing arts teachers to apply to be a MALI Teacher Leader. The details of what this involves are located at 
Everyday each teacher has the potential to influence and shape our nation by the teaching you do. Our young people are our greatest resource and we owe it to them to be the best that we can be at teaching. Thank you for the amazing work you do inspiring and changing student’s lives, going above and beyond day in and day out, for the long days you put in, for the collaboration with your colleagues, the interactions with parents, and for all the things you do as a teacher that go unnoticed. My appreciation for you goes deep and wide – THANK YOU!
Nancy Kinkade presently teaches in RSU #67: 5-6 general music (150 students), 6-8 choral music (68 students), beginning band, 6th grade band and ⅞ band (65 students). I was hired 25 years ago in RSU #67 as an elementary music teacher EK-5 (525 students). My position was eliminated four years ago and she was able to shift to the 5-8 general music & 6-12 choral position (450 students). Last year her school district suffered yet another cut/restructure to the music department which provided the opportunity for Nancy’s present position.
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