Middle Level Division

The US Department of Education has asked officials in Colorado to rework some parts of the state's Every Student Succeeds Act plan. So far, 16 states and Washington, D.C., have received feedback on their plans.

The public-school district in Nashville, Tenn., has launched a three-year middle-school science, technology, engineering, art and math initiative to bring a more interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to learning. Nearly all of the district's 450 middle-school teachers took part in STEAM workshops to prepare.

IES is accepting applications for its 2018 special topics grant in Arts in Education. Grants awarded in Arts in Education support research assessing K-12 programs and policies to help improve education outcomes for students and potentially increase their success in other academic areas through the arts. The deadline to submit proposals is Aug. 17, 2017.

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and its cultural partners – the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services – are proud to recognize 50 outstanding programs in the field of Creative Youth Development across the country for their work in providing excellent arts and humanities learning opportunities to young people. From big cities to small towns, the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award Finalists reflect the diversity of disciplines and settings of these exceptional creative youth development programs that are taking place from coast to coast.

The Teaching Residency program at Fallingwater is for K-12 Teachers and Museum Education Professionals. The week-long program offers teachers an opportunity to develop programs that integrate STEAM learning with architectural and design methods. We have a few spots open for the July 8-15 session. The price is $1,000 and includes meals, housing, and all materials. Scholarships are available.

NAEA Advisory, a free NAEA member benefit, translates research and theory into practice for the K-12 NAEA member.

This three-day workshop is a part of Cooper Hewitt's larger Design in the Classroom National initiative. It provides educators with opportunities to explore design thinking, to integrate the design process into curriculum, and to discuss transforming the teaching and learning processes in classrooms. This program is free to accepted applicants and will be held in New York City.

For only the third time ever, the government released today a national report card examining the knowledge, understanding and abilities of U.S. eighth-graders in visual arts and music. And in many ways, the numbers aren't great, with little progress shown in most categories since the last time the assessment was given in 2008.

When it comes to music and visual arts, American teenagers could use some help. The National Center for Education Statistics reported Tuesday that in 2016, American eighth graders scored an average 147 in music and 149 in visual arts on a scale of 300. Some 8,800 eighth graders from public and private schools across the country took part in the test, which was part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation's Report Card.