Ball in the House a capella group has both virtual and in-person programs. Totally Vocally program teaches students about voice parts and harmony, sound system tech, use of rhythm, and the history of a capella singing.  And Now I See: Race, Racism and American Music program explores African American music, from Spirituals, Gospel, and Jazz to Soul, Hip-Hop, and R&B.

The Blue Project is an interactive live concert presented to student bodies at a level they can relate to allowing them to open up to practical life lessons through song.

Catskill Puppet Theater combines art, music, drama and American folk culture.  Their traveling puppet troupe brings high quality children’s theater to over 100,000 people a year.  Founded in 1979, they have seven original musical productions to choose from with full sets, and colorful scenery for their large puppets.  Workshops are also available to craft shadow puppets, rod puppets, giant puppets or marionettes.

Geva Theatre Center, Rochester’s leading professional theatre, has been at the cultural heart of the Genesee Valley for over 35 years. Offering the very best in live theatre, from fresh looks at classics and musicals, to lively comedies and powerful, thought-provoking dramas, Geva has something for everyone.

The mission of Helmer Nature Center is to utilize the natural world to provide practical, integrated learning opportunities, foster environmental awareness, and promote the concept of global stewardship and lifelong learning.  The facility offers a 45-acre outdoor classroom of woods and wetlands for groups of all ages to learn about and celebrate our natural heritage.

The Hill Brothers have turned their creative talents to the all-important issues of nutrition and wellness for this action-packed assembly program. Infectiously catchy new songs and plenty of fun activities inspire students to take great care of themselves with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. A drug-free message is included too, along with lots of friendly motivation to help kids combat today's "largest" problem -- obesity.

Jump with Jill is a music-based nutrition program (virtual or in-person) designed to get kids moving and learning.  The program has available an assembly, a movie, has Standards-matched lesson plans, emails with tips on how to integrate messages into the classroom, physical materials, and an optional six-week program with follow-up content.

Nazareth College Arts Center delivers engaging performing arts for students.  Since 1971, our School Series encourages inquiry, analysis, conceptual understanding, and exposure to a variety of cultures and perspectives.  The content-rich experiences augment classroom learning, satisfy state standards, and promote speaking and listening skills by some of the world's leading theatre companies.

PUSH brings people together. It’s eminently accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds while being profoundly transformational. Rochester-based and internationally acclaimed.  PUSH hits hard, emotionally, but retains great respect for the characters it portrays and its audience. 

The largest Youth Theatre in Upstate New York and one of the largest in the country, The Merry-Go-Round Youth Theatre reaches more than 125,000 students across the state through its curriculum based multi-discipline Sequential Dramatics Program.

Shakespeare & Company sends live performances, along with interactive workshops to your schools.  Since 1982, the Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare has had two productions available each year, currently at $2,300 per school.  The Tour runs from late January through mid-May, and features plays such as The Comedy of Errors and Macbeth.  Each visit includes a 90-minute production, 15-minute talkback, and your choice of a 45-minute workshop. 

Grant funding to help subsidize the cost for schools serving low-income communities may also be available.  For more information, contact education@shakespeare.org.

Teaching Artists ROC is a group of former Young Audiences of Rochester artists who have joined forces to reach Rochester-area schools and libraries. Their roster of artists had been vetted by YAR to serve our schools.  Online links to artists’ contact information is available to reach artists directly. To help schools find out who they want to book, a teaching artist showcase is held in  September, this year as part of the Fringe Festival.

The National Association for Music Education, among the world's largest arts education organizations, marked its centennial in 2007 as the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. Through membership of more than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers, and with 60,000 honor students and supporters, we serve millions of students nationwide through activities at all teaching levels, from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, NAfME has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. NAfME's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education. NAfME is located at the National Center for Music Education in Reston, VA.

The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement and promotion of high quality education in the art of dance. The NDEO believes that every American should have equal access and opportunity to quality dance education regardless of gender, age, ability, interest, socio-economic status or ethnicity. To that end, the organization provides professional development, leadership, support services, research and advocacy for artists, educators and administrators in dance education across all genres of dance.

A newly formed partnership of organizations and states will lead the revision the 1994 National Standards for Arts Education. The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) plans to complete its work and release new, national voluntary arts education standards in fall, 2012. The standards will describe what students should know and be able to do as a result of a quality curricular arts education program.

Central NY Arts has awarded grants for creative teaching partnerships between artists and schools across Central New York. With funds from the Arts Education Program of the New York State Council of the Arts, the grants support programs that enrich education in and through the arts.

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

This 21st Century Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, Battelle for Kids has issued this map for the core subject of the Arts.

One of the basic questions facing educators has always been "Where do we begin in seeking to improve human thinking?" (Houghton, 2004). Fortunately we do not have to begin from scratch in searching for answers to this complicated question. The Communities Resolving Our Problems (C.R.O.P.) recommends, "One place to begin is in defining the nature of thinking. Before we can make it better, we need to know more of what it is" (Houghton, 2004).