Launching an organization

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A growing foundation dedicated to promoting increased access and equity in arts education for NYC’s public school students.

  • The Arthur Miller Foundation for Theater and Film Education believes that arts education is a right of every New York City public school student. To honor the legacy of Arthur Miller and his NYC public school education, the Foundation is committed to promoting increased access and equity to theater arts education in our schools and to increasing the number of students receiving theater arts education as an integral part of their academic curriculum. We believe that if arts education assumes its rightful place in the NYC public school curriculum, we will foster generations of imaginative graduates, enhancing the evolving world of theater and other fields of human endeavor.The Arthur Miller Foundation for Theater and Film Education’s board is led by Founder Rebecca Miller and comprised of Daniel Day-Lewis, Sandi Farkas, Brian Kenet, Jane Doyle, and Robert Miller.  Mara joined the Foundation as the Founding Director in its programmatic infancy.
  • The Arthur Miller Theater Education Program will provide significant mentorship, training, and support for new theater teachers, increasing the number of New York City public school students with access to dedicated theater education. In partnership with the Arts Office at the New York City Department of Education, this comprehensive program seeks to establish sustainability for theater programs in schools throughout the city, reaching over 2,500 middle and high school students.The Theater Education Program provides the following methods of support for first and second year theater teachers selected to participate in the program:
    • A Mentorship Program for new theater teachers to support their development of curriculum and teaching skills under the guidance of experienced mentor teachers and artists
    • Resources for theater teachers, including curriculum toolkits and funds for theater field trips to expose the students to NYC’s theater and theater-makers
    • Teaching Artist Residencies in classrooms to partner new theater teachers with New York’s most celebrated cultural institutions and arts educators
    • Theater tickets and special events for participating teachers to attend professional performances and networking eventsParticipants for this program will be selected through an application process open to teachers entering their first and second years as full-time DOE certified theater teachers.
  • The Arthur Miller Theater and Film Pilot Program at NYC public school, Quest to Learn (grades 6-12), was initiated to address the lack of any arts courses offered at the school. Since the Spring of 2014, we have supported this program, created in partnership with the Institute of Play, which offers theater and film academic day courses, co-taught with teaching artists from The Wooster Group and Reel Works Teen Filmmaking. It has had a significant halo effect on the school and, as a result:
    • Quest to Learn will offer nine arts courses in the 2015-2016 school year including basic, intermediate, and advanced classes, an increase from just two courses in 2014-2015
    • Quest to Learn will have its first full-time arts teachers in the 2015-2016 year
    • Quest’s principal has stated her desire that every incoming 9th grader meets an arts requirement
    • The Quest administration has an active Arts Committee that includes administrators, teachers, and students
    • Surveys from the 2014-2015 school year reflect that students with learning disabilities in the theater and film classes show greater success, confidence, and desire to attend schoolIn August 2015, the Arthur Miller Foundation piloted a Summer Teacher Institute, aimed at exporting the teaching methods developed in this program, to seven new schools across the city.
  • The Arthur Miller Foundation is seeking to play a catalytic role in growing arts education in the public school system by galvanizing its administration, further activating private funding in support of arts education, and driving awareness of the myriad benefits of the arts in schools through a public messaging campaign.

 

For more information about the Foundation visit www.arthurmillerfoundation.org.