AEMS believes that arts education is a civil and human right and we take a holistic and dynamic approach to advocacy so that we are always centering the needs of our constituents. We advocate through policy and legislation, influencing decision makers, participating in special initiatives, and by sharing resources with community members to support them in their own advocacy journeys.
To learn more about how YOU can advocate, visit the pages of our Advocacy Center!
Advocacy Framework
AEMS asks the following questions when designing initiatives or considering collaborative efforts to join:
- Does this issue affect one of our constituency bases (arts organizations, students, families, teaching artists, teachers, fine arts supervisors)?
- Does this issue directly impact access to arts education?
- Does this issue impact access to a holistic education?
- Does this help inform constituents about the importance of arts education?
- Does this help equip/train constituents to articulate the needs of their students or arts education?
- Does this help constituents take action/advocate for arts education?
- Does this help students thrive in a healthy society?
- Does this provide opportunities for the most marginalized?
Learn more about some of our recent advocacy initiatives below!
Maryland Education Coalition’s Letter to the Maryland State Department of Education Superintendent
MEC-Letter-July-2020A Letter to the State Department of Education from AEMS & Arts Ed. Professional Associations
Letter_MSDE_FineArts-1AEMS’s letter to the Kirwan Commission
Kirwan-Letter-for-11.12.19-AEMS-1AEMS’s Letter to Maryland’s Local School System Superintendents
Superintendent-LetterAEMS’s Testimony to the General Assembly
Kirwan-Letter-2.17.20National Arts in Education Week 2020
Conversations with Maryland Educators
September 13-19, 2020 was National Arts in Education Week 2020. In celebration of YOUR Arts Educators, AEMS hosted live conversations featuring educators from different disciplines who shared their stories, their experiences teaching virtually, and their thoughts on arts education in the time of the pandemic. These were inspiring, thought-provoking, and powerful conversations – and you can experience them all through the embedded videos below!