Arts Core Curriculum
Here are the main sites for the Iowa Core and Iowa Core and Arts Education in Iowa
Download The K-8 General Music Iowa Core Alignment.pdf
Iowa Core and the Arts: An Update
Leon Kuehner, IAAE Board Member
On October 7, 2009, a meeting was held at the Grimes State Office Building in Des Moines with Kevin Fangman, head of K-12 Public Instruction and Rita Martens, Iowa Core Consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. The meeting was facilitated by Rosanne Malek, Fine Arts Consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. Leaders of all the Iowa professional fine arts organizations as well as college/university teachers were in attendance. This was a follow-up of a similar meeting, which was held in November of 2008, to update Iowa arts educators on the place of the arts in the Iowa Core Curriculum.
After much discussion, it was decided that the fine arts organizations will begin the process of identifying essential skills and concepts in the arts in relation to 21st Century skills and the Universal Constructs of Critical Thinking, Effective Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, Flexibility-Adaptability, and Productivity/Accountability. Each of the professional arts organizations in the state will choose a team who will identify these essential skills and concepts for their particular area (vocal, instrumental, general music, art). The timeline for completion of the state organization input is April 2010. Once that process is completed, representatives from each team and additional statewide stakeholders will meet to compile a document of fine arts essential skills and concepts to be used as a guide for Iowa Core Curriculum implementation in our state. The final acceptance will be determined through a vetting process that includes the Director of the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Core leadership.
The fine arts are currently represented on the ICC Unit Writing and ICC Professional Development Teams. This collaboration is the result of the commitment of the Iowa Department of Education to the Fine Arts and many dedicated Iowa arts educators to the students of our state.