Executive Director’s Column: Fall 2023

As we move into the 2023–2024 school year, the Association also enters the 4th year of our 5-year Strategic Vision. Supported by five pillars, mission and vision statements, and a set of organizational values, the Strategic Vision is the North Star to guide our collective work. At the July 2024 NAEA Board Meeting, our Board members gathered to conduct the business of the Association, as well as to reflect on our strategic progress on the pillars thus far. Together, the Board accomplished a lot on behalf of NAEA members and the field at large, working collaboratively to elevate important issues, to provide governance, and to approve updated policies. Please see the summary of Board actions:

• Advocacy and Policy Pillar:
  • Policy Manual Updates: Approved four policy items (Commissions, Publications, Professional Materials Committee [PMC], and Part II C and Part III A]) honoring the Policy Review Committee’s 18 months of work and their recommendations. The updated Policy Manual will be accessible behind the member wall on the NAEA website by September 4, 2023.
  • New Regional Advocacy Liaisons: Approved establishing a committee to develop a plan for a new Regional Advocacy Liaisons program, spearheaded by the Regional VP-Elects.
• Community Vibrancy Pillar:
  • Awards: Established a charge to review and update an initial portion of the NAEA Awards criteria, vita, and rubrics to make them more accessible.
  • Fiscal Impact Committee: Identified members of the upcoming Fiscal Impact Committee and its charge to research membership benefits, dues, and comparable organizations’ offerings in the year ahead.
• Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (ED&I) and Research & Knowledge Pillars:
  • Increased Alignment: Requested that the ED&I and Research Commissions exercise greater alignment between their Division representatives and the NAEA Division Directors on the Board.
  • Making the Case: Requested that the Research Commission have greater involvement and support of NAEA strategic initiatives, including providing relevant research and data to support the Art Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force, as well as research and data to support making the case for arts education to decision makers in the current environment.
  • Position Statements: Approved a new Social Art position statement, with an update Social Justice statement in the works for April 2024 review.
• Learning Pillar:
  • Charged the Association with identifying a broad array of supports and tools to navigate the current education landscape. As a first step, the staff will share resources developed by Teacher Leaders in the Connected Arts Networks (CAN) Grant more broadly.

In addition to the items mentioned above, the remainder of Board’s mid-plan review of the 2021–2025 Strategic Vision identified areas to prioritize in the year ahead, including membership growth strategies; state-by-state policy and advocacy supports; additional tools for state leaders; and doubling down efforts on the Art Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Overall, NAEA has made strong strides in advancing the goals and objectives of the Strategic Vision, and in the year ahead we look forward to continuing to provide necessary supports to members, like the launch of a new ED&I Hub; an increased focus on activating our learners through NAHS and NJAHS as well as preservice members; and evolving our webinars and virtual offerings to meet present-day classroom needs.

Column by:

Mario R. Rossero, NAEA Executive Director
NAEA, 901 Prince St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Email: mrossero@arteducators.org