The Arts and Culture Council launched a new round of funding for arts education on Monday. This is the first time the program has added one round to the school year.
The grant, open for applications from mid-January, supports creative teaching methods by funding arts-related projects not supported by school budgets. The second round of openings, taking place over the next five weeks, will allow teachers who previously did not have the time, teachers who are new to teaching this year, and teachers who want to expand previous programming or introduce new projects in their classrooms to apply.
“Over the past few years, this program has enabled dozens of teachers to introduce new and exciting projects in their classrooms,” said COCA Arts Education Manager Sahara Lyon-Mundy. “The second round of our FY25 Arts Education Grants will enable teachers to further expand and implement innovative ideas that allow students to learn and grow.”
Previous recipients of arts education grants include Julie Childers of Tallahassee Classical School, Michael Scarpone, Hawks Rise Elementary School, Katie Aylward-Smith, Raa Middle School and others.
The Council on Culture and the Arts has awarded funding to many arts educators and organizations for the upcoming fiscal year 2025 grant cycle. In addition to the arts education grant program, COCA also has a cultural grant program and a cultural tourism marketing grant program.
During the upcoming fiscal year, the Cultural Grants Program will provide nearly $2 million in funding for arts and culture programming and marketing activities for more than 30 local arts organizations in Leon County to help increase tourism.
Grantees for the upcoming year include 621 Gallery, Southern Shakespeare Company, Tallahassee Ballet, LeMoyne Arts, Tallahassee Civic Choir, Opening Night and more.
For arts educators interested in applying for the second round of the Arts Education Grant Program, please contact Sahara Lyon-Mundy at sahara@tallahasseearts.org. For more information and details about COCA’s grant program and grantees, please contact COCA Grants Manager Summer Callahan at Summer@tallahasseearts.org.
This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee teachers can now apply for COCA’s arts education grant
