HARTFORD—Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by State Department of Education (SDE) Commissioner Stefan Pryor and Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith, today announced the recipients of a new Arts in Education grant program designed to strengthen arts instruction by facilitating partnerships between schools and artists and arts organizations.

Governor Malloy announced the grant program, making a total of $250,000 available with individual awards up to a maximum of $50,000, in August.

Newtown was one of eight communities that will receive a grant through the program.

The total of the announced grants comes to $239,962.18.

“This program expands the way the arts and humanities are taught in schools and school districts across Connecticut by giving our students access to a learning environment outside of the traditional academic setting,” said Governor Malloy. “By focusing on all aspects of a student’s educations, we can ensure our children gain the skills and knowledge to develop into successful young men and women.”

The Arts in Education grant program is part of a multi-agency partnership between SDE, DECD’s Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA), and the Connecticut Arts Council. Of the 82 schools and school districts that applied for the grant, eight schools will receive Arts in Education grants, according to a press release.

“The arts are an essential component of a well-rounded education,” Commissioner Pryor said. “The demand for these grants was high and we were thrilled to receive so many thoughtful applications. Through partnerships with local and statewide arts organizations and institutions, schools will be able to offer stronger arts programming that will enhance our youngsters’ learning experiences.”

“The arts are an integral part of creating – and sustaining – vibrant communities,” said Commissioner Smith. “These investments will energize students and connect them to partners in the arts community in new and exciting ways.”

 Newtown High School will receive $38,644 for a ninth to twelfth grade “Unified Theater at Newtown High School” program, which will work with Hartford’s Unified Theater program to start an extracurricular theater program next spring. Unified Theater will host a student performance for the Newtown community and parents, as well as an assembly at the high school.

Bridgeport’s  Classical Studies Magnet Academy will receive $49,952 for a “Artistically Reaching Teachers and Students” kindergarten through eighth grade program, which will employ artists for residencies, performances, or workshops for all students in grades kindergarten to eight, through a partnership with Arts for Learning Connecticut.

 Colchester’s  Jack Jackter Intermediate School receive $20,500 for a “Jazz and Poetry” program for third, fourth, and fifth grade, which will be a residency program that will integrate writing, reading, and music into the school through a partnership with the Bushnell.

 Coventry’s  Coventry Public Schools will receive $2,759 for a kindergarten through eighth grade program called “Who is Coventry?,” which will involve 30 students and families in Coventry. Through a partnership with the Wadsworth Atheneum, the stories of students and families will be depicted on ceramic tiles and go on display in a permanent art installation.

 Farmington’s  Farmington High School will receive $39,287.18 for an “Interactive Community Map: Intersection of Fine Arts, New Media and Engineering” program for grades kindergarten to fourth, eighth, and nine to twelfth. The program will have students and a local artist create an interactive artwork that will include community-based sound recordings, 3-D printing elements, paint, plywood, electronics, sensors, and custom software developed by the artist.

 Manchester’s Martin Elementary School will receive $22,740 for a kindergarten through fifth grade program called, “Learning through Arts with Intention: Music, Arts and Movement, which will include three teaching artists-in-residency— visual arts, movement and music— with each residency culminating in a final project that will showcase student learning and be shared with parents.

 Middlefield’s  John Lyman School will receive $16,080 for a third and fourth grade program called “Perpetual Interactive Murals,” which will, through a partnership with Wesleyan University, create student-painted murals that reflect the integration of the arts in the school community, focusing on curricular topics that will be decided each year.

 The Waterbury Public Schools will receive $50,000 for a third grade to seventh grade Arts Club, which will be a collaboration with the Mattatuck Museum. It will provide an arts integration program that will take shape as an after school “Art Club” for approximately 120 students, two days per week, at four Waterbury Elementary Schools: Bunker Hill, Carrington, Washington, and Wilson.

  On Thursday, December 18, the grant recipients attended the first of at least two required professional development sessions. Awardees will be required to share their work and best practices with a statewide audience at a second event taking place at the end of the school year.