MAEC-ing
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
A local group of passionate
advocates for the arts in schools
deserves a standing ovation.
In just one year, Manatee County’s
first arts education organization has
already achieved some ambitious
aims - spearheading new projects and
improving existing programs for students
and teachers in the School District of
Manatee County.
The Manatee Arts Education Council
launched July 1, 2018 under the umbrella
of the Manatee Education Foundation. Its
acronym MAEC is pronounced ‘make,’
according to the group’s co-founder
Julie Hebert, “to convey that MAEC is
actively supporting students in ‘making’
or creating art.”
“Whether it’s making music, creating
visual art, performing dance or theater,
students learn best when they are doing
the art,” Hebert said. “This is where the
inspiration for the name Manatee Arts
Education Council came from.”
MAEC’s mission is to ensure that every
district PreK-12 student, regardless of
his or her school assignment, has equal
access to high quality arts education. To
accomplish it, MAEC uses membership
dues and fundraisers to pay for things
like student scholarships, teacher grants,
cultural field trips, arts enrichment camps,
content-area professional development
for district arts teachers, all-county honors
performances and exhibits, plus dance,
music, theater, and visual art classroom
materials and resources.
In addition, MAEC advocates for more
arts staff and resources at the county
schools with the highest concentrations
of low-income students.
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