By Jim Speirs, Executive Director, Arts South Dakota
South Dakota is fortunate that arts instructors have always joined together to enhance their skills and advocate for increased support for their disciplines. Arts South Dakota has recently collaborated with several of these arts educator associations to establish the South Dakota Arts Education Advocacy Cohort, providing a channel through which all of our state’s arts education resources can speak with one voice. The cohort will promote a stronger, more effective message that will resonate with statewide constituent populations and the South Dakota legislature.
Focused on arts education advocacy at the state and local levels, this new cohort will ensure that arts education remains a priority for the students of South Dakota. Representatives of seven statewide arts educator groups are meeting under the coordination of retired Brookings music instructor Mary Cogswell to formulate a legislative agenda and establish priorities for the future. This unification gives arts educators the opportunity to study the big picture and create issues-oriented communications to inform the public and help shape the arts education policy for South Dakota.
This is an important step, and Arts South Dakota is excited about its potential for enhancing the impact of arts education and communicating the importance of maintaining a strong arts education component in every school in our state. Forming alliances and working with organizations like the arts educator cohort is what Arts South Dakota was created to do. Strengthening advocacy efforts and focusing the energy of dedicated arts supporters is the most effective strategy for ensuring that creative learning and cultural understanding are part of the South Dakota curriculum for decades to come. We congratulate the volunteer members of the Arts Education Advocacy Cohort and commend them for their willingness to serve our state.
To learn more about the cohort and the advocacy efforts of Arts South Dakota, and add your voice to our advocacy efforts, go to artssouthdakota.org!
