State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education and Public Consulting Group Partner to Offer Professional Learning on New National Arts Standards

News provided by

Nov 02, 2016, 08:35 ET

BOSTON, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) and Public Consulting Group (PCG), a leading national provider of web-based tools for educators including Pepper, an online interactive professional learning platform, have partnered to provide professional development to support teachers and students in arts education.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161101/434943LOGO

The National Core Arts Standards were publically released as a web-based, searchable set of standards in 2014. Today, as more and more state Departments of Education adopt versions of these voluntary national arts standards, professional development geared toward improving teaching and learning in arts education is imperative.

Responding to this need, SEADAE and PCG's new partnership will expand the reach and vision of SEADAE's work by providing online professional learning opportunities for teachers focused on the new arts standards, via the Pepper platform. The partnership brings teachers, administrators, and faculty members from post-secondary institutions across the country together to form communities of learning to promote online collaboration, share instructional practices, and exchange resources around topics in arts education.

The Visual, Media, and Performing Arts content will include a series on the National Core Arts Standards including an introductory course, a standards-based curriculum design course, and a course on arts assessment literacy.

"SEADAE is thrilled to be partnering with PCG to provide relevant and essential arts content that supports teacher expectations and student outcomes. With PCG and the Pepper platform we are able draw on SEADAEs' expertise in policy and practices in arts education and reach teachers all across our states and the nation," says Marcia McCaffrey, Arts Consultant to the New Hampshire Department of Education and SEADAE Immediate Past President. Ms. McCaffrey was a founding member of the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards.

"Research shows that arts experiences for students in school boost critical thinking, teaching students to take time to be more careful and thorough in how they observe the world," said Dr. Jack McLaughlin, Manager in PCG's Education practice. "In addition to learning math and reading, we want our students to be knowledgeable and frequent patrons of the arts. Our partnership with SEADAE will move the dial in this direction."

About Public Consulting Group
Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) is a leading public sector consulting firm that partners with health, education, and human services agencies to improve lives. PCG's Education practice offers consulting solutions that help schools, school districts, and state education agencies/ministries of education to promote student success, improve programs and processes, and optimize financial resources. (www.publicconsultinggroup.com)

Pepper is a vibrant, online learning community where educators engage with high-quality, interactive content while collaborating with coaches and peers. Pepper is built on the powerful edX platform, the Cambridge-based education partnership founded by Harvard University and M.I.T. to support two important missions: improving online education, and advancing teaching and learning through research. (www.pepperpd.com)

About State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education
The mission of the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education's (SEADAE) is to support the professional effectiveness of individual members and provide a collective voice for leadership on issues affecting arts education. With the purpose to achieve quality, comprehensive, sequential, standards based education in the arts for all students PreK-20, SEADAE is made up of individuals at state education agencies whose responsibility is education in the arts (Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts). For more information, visit http://www.seadae.org/.

Contact
PCG
Dr. Jack McLaughlin, Manager
(775) 313-3121
[email protected]

Contact
Marcia McCaffrey, SEADAE Past-President
New Hampshire Department of Education
Phone: 603-271-3193
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Public Consulting Group