Nine high school students from across the nation are vying for the title of 2022 Poetry Out Loud™ National Champion and the $20,000 prize as part of an annual poetry recitation competition from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Poetry Foundation. The 2022 competition will culminate on Sunday, June 5, 2022, with a one-time-only webcast available on the NEA’s website at Arts.gov/Poetry-Out-Loud beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CT / 4:00 p.m. PT. Poet, publisher, and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander will host the virtual event that will include poetry recitations by each of the finalists and the announcement of the National Champion. 

In the 2021-2022 school year, participation in the State Seal of Arts Proficiency grew 132%! 41 LEAs administered Seals and 35 LEAs awarded Seals to graduates. School participation grew 178% with 146 schools participating. Most impressive was the 147% increase in student achievement! In the 2021-2022 school year, 978 students earned a State Seal of Arts Proficiency, 27 students achieved a Seal in two artistic discipline, and 1001 total Arts Seals awarded! 

The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education, will present a livestream Jazz Informance on Tuesday, April 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.  Hosted by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and 14-time GRAMMY Award-winning jazz legend Herbie Hancock, the event – a combination of performance with educational information – will feature five of the local area’s most gifted high school music students, internationally acclaimed jazz trumpet recording artist Sean Jones, and renowned jazz educator Dr. J. B. Dyas.  The event will focus not only on what jazz is and why it is so important to America but also on the American values that jazz represents: teamwork, unity with ethnic diversity, the correlation of hard work and goal accomplishment, perseverance, democracy, and listening to one another. 

Arizona Department of Education: Arts Education is excited to share the 2022 Virtual Youth Arts Month Celebration Video! 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Nogales High School Student Art Featured at 2021 National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington DC

The Arizona Department of Education is exicted to share student ornament designs from Nogales High School will be featured in the National Christmas Tree display in Washington D.C. This photo shows ornaments from last year's celebration. Please see the press announcemnt from the National Park Service (below) to learn more about this year's student ornaments and the National Christmas Tree display.

Congratulations to the 2022 LEAs Approved to Administer

the

State Seal of Arts Proficiency

The Arizona Department of Education: Arts Education is beyond thrilled to announce the approval of 39 LEAs and 145 schools to administer the State Seal of Arts Proficiency in the 2021-2022 school year.

Join Dustin Loehr, Director of Arts Education and Title IV-A, as he sits down with two mavericks of Arizona Arts Education, Zarco Guerrero and Catherine "Rusty" Foley. They chat about their roles influencing the Arts Education landscape in Arizona and their personal experiences that brought them to the field. This is one you don't want to miss!