Iowa Arts Data Project

***Due to COVID-19 Closures this has been postponed.

Coming April 1: Iowa Arts Education Data Project

The Iowa Arts Education Data Project will showcase Iowa’s arts education data through a user-friendly, interactive dashboard.

The dashboard is intended to promote meaningful dialogue around arts education across the state; and to encourage equitable and data-driven decisions by schools, districts, educators, community members, and policymakers that support a well-rounded education for all Iowa students.

The Iowa Arts Education Data Project will display high school course and enrollment data by fine arts discipline – dance, music, theatre, visual arts, and media arts/other – as well as by grade level, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Stakeholders can use the data to determine areas of strength as well as areas of need. By providing a variety of demographic lenses as well as various grain sizes by which to view the data – state, AEA region, district, and school – the dashboard provides compelling snapshots of fine arts education access and opportunities across Iowa.

The dashboard will be accessible through the Iowa Department of Education Fine Arts page and will go live on Wednesday, April 1st. Districts and schools will have an early viewing window from March 16th-31st. To learn more visit the Arts Education Data Project national website or contact Angela Matsuoka at angela.matsuoka@iowa.gov.

Angela Matsuoka
Fine Arts Consultant
Iowa Department of Education

Fine Arts Standards resources on Department of Education Website

Greetings Fine Arts Educators!
We have updated our Department of Education to reflect Iowa’s Fine Arts Standards, which were approved and adopted by the State Board of Education on November 15th. All standards are listed, as well as our guidance document and an unpacked standard example. Additional resources are forthcoming. Please visit:

https://educateiowa.gov/pk-12/instruction/fine-arts

Thank you!

Angela Matsuoka
Fine Arts Consultant
Iowa Department of Education
400 E. 14th StreetDes Moines, IA 50319
(515) 782-7296
angela.matsuoka@iowa.gov
www.educateiowa.gov

Private: In Memoriam – Frank Piersol 1911- 2010

We are all saddened to hear of Frank Piersol’s death on February 19, 2010. His long career and his jovial personality had a profound effect on so many band students throughout our state for decades. A full obituary for Frank will be in the Iowa City paper tomorrow, here is information that appeared in two articles today:

 

Frank Piersol earned his music degrees at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa. He was a high school band director at West Waterloo High and Osage High before moving on to the college level. He served as director of the Iowa State University Band for 19 years and director of the University of Iowa band for 13 years. He retired from the University of Iowa in 1980 and served as director of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band from 1971 to 1993.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, February 25, 2010, at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City with the Reverend Paul Akin officiating. Private family graveside services will be held at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m., Wednesday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in his memory to the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band. Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web at www.gayandciha.com.