Connected Arts Networks (CAN)
A five-year grant initiative to create nationwide virtual Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with educators in visual arts, music, theater, dance and media arts.
The National Art Education Association, in partnership with the Educational Theater Association, the National Association for Music Education, the National Dance Education Organization, and the NYC Dept. of Education’s Arts Office launched Connected Arts Networks (CAN). CAN is a five-year grant initiative to create nationwide virtual Professional Learning Communities with educators in visual arts, music, theatre, dance and media arts.
CAN Mission
The purpose of CAN is to build a sustainable model of professional learning for arts educators in public schools and public charters to strengthen their pedagogy, instruction, and leadership skills in order to better serve students.
Teacher Participants
Find out more about the CAN Teacher Participants selected in 2024.
Questions
Questions about CAN can be directed to Amy Appleton, CAN Project Director at aappleton@arteducators.org.
CAN Goals
The objectives of CAN are to:
Reach and serve all students by developing highly effective arts educators through sustained, intensive professional learning.
Recruit a local and national cadre of arts educators, building their content knowledge and leadership skills in order to expand the impact of arts learning for students and school communities.
Design arts-based instructional materials, strategies, and toolkits to disseminate to arts educators nationwide, such as the CAN Action Research Model, which teachers will use to evaluate and improve their teaching practice.
Create a model for developing, deepening, and maintaining effective partnerships among school communities, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and national arts education associations.
Program activities for this project are fully funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistance for Arts Education Program for a total of five years.