Application eligibilty
Seminar dates
Applying for the award; criteria, definitions
Specialist teacher questions
Generalist teacher questions
School questions

ELIGIBILITY

Only one nomination from an individual school is allowed, regardless of category. The nomination may be from any ONE of the three categories. BRAVO Award nominees or finalists considered in previous years are eligible to reapply, but must resubmit a complete application. Past winners are not eligible.

Category #1: Generalist Teacher BRAVO Award - Eligible nominees include classroom teachers whose primary responsibility is not the arts, but who consistently utilize the arts within the core curriculum in an exemplary way during the regular school day. This teacher must hold a four year degree and teach regular, continuation or special education in grades K–12 at least five hours per day and five days per week.

Category #2: Arts Specialist Teacher BRAVO Award - Eligible nominees include classroom teachers whose primary responsibility is teaching one or more arts discipline(s) during the regular instructional school day. This teacher must hold a four year degree and teach regular, continuation or special education in grades K–12 at least five hours per day and five days per week.

Category #3: School BRAVO Award - Eligible schools must be regular, continuation or special education in grades K–12. A school within a school (e.g. arts academy) will be considered only as part of the entire school. The entire school will be evaluated.

SEMINAR DATES

Three Free Application Seminars are available to applicants

Monday, June 30th, 2008 – 2:00 PM- 4 PM

Thursday, August 14th, 2008- 10:00 AM- Noon

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008- 4:00-6:00 PM

Click here to download the seminar information.

The awards ceremony will take place at Walt Disney Concert Hall on March 10th, 2009. All applicants will be brought on stage to be recognized.

APPLYING FOR THE BRAVO AWARD

Criteria For Applying

General Education Teacher and Arts Specialist Teacher Nominees should demonstrate the following:

• Outstanding leadership and creativity in promoting standards-based comprehensive and sequential arts education in the classroom, school and community at large.
• Excellence in using effective standards-based teaching strategies to enhance the quality of education in one or more of the arts.
• The ability to motivate students and other teachers toward positive attitudes and involvement in the arts.

School Nominees should demonstrate the following:

• A well-articulated and sequential arts program at the elementary school level. A broad sequence of arts courses at the middle and high school levels.
• Outstanding administrative leadership that furthers the arts program.
• Strong evidence of student achievement of arts standards.
• Discrete arts instruction as well as integrating art with other subject areas.
• The development or acquisition of written curriculum with assessment tools and corresponding teacher training.

Definitions For All Candidates

• Art Disciplines: Dance, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Video, Multimedia
• Other Core Curriculum Subjects: Mathematics, Science, English, History, Social Studies, etc.
• California Visual and Performing Arts Content Standard Strands: Artistic Perception, Creative Expression, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing, Connections, Applications and Relationships
• Arts Curriculum: A sequential body of written content. For suggestions on arts curriculum texts visit the BRAVO website.
• Assessment of student learning: Assessment can be Formative, Summative, or Self-Assessment. Go to the web site for further explanation.

Please Include With Your Application

• A completed "Application Cover Page" (from this application) attached to the TOP of your application
• A letter of recommendation describing the merits of your program and your leadership role in the arts
• Your résumé
• Application questions for your category; Generalist, Specialist or School
• If selected for a site visit you will be asked to provide additional supporting materials
• Applications should be postmarked no later than October 21st, 2008

SPECIALIST TEACHER APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1. Please describe your arts program and all its distinguishing characteristics in complete detail. Your responses to questions #2 – #6 should support and clarify the program you have just described in question #1.

2. Help us understand your arts program by including three lesson plans from one unit of study for one grade level/art discipline. List expected student outcomes and summative assessment tools for the unit. If you use published curriculum, please include both the title and any training you may have received to use it. If you don’t use published curriculum, how do you address each of the VAPA standard strands?

3. Please describe your school environment, the challenges it presents, and how you make the best use of the physical and financial resources available to you. Refer to financial, parental, and/or administrative support, working space, traveling schedule, etc. How do you overcome obstacles in these areas?

4. Describe any professional development or professional activities you have participated in within the last three years that augment your teaching of the arts, and any training you have received about arts education, including use of specific curriculum. How have you incorporated these experiences into your teaching practices?

5. List opportunities that you provide to your students to perform/exhibit the arts in their school and community. In addition to your classroom work, what other contributions do you make to your school, district or community?

Please refer to Applying For The BRAVO Award before submitting your application.

USE THIS CHECK LIST:

• Use an 8 ½” X 11” three ring binder.
• Number your answers to correspond to the questions.
• Label EVERY PAGE with your name and school in the upper right hand corner.
• NUMBER your pages.
• Do not insert pages into plastic sleeves or use section dividers or tabs.
• Do not use staples or paper clips. THE APPLICATION MUST BE EASY TO PHOTOCOPY.
• Photos should be scanned or digitally input and printed directly onto the paper. Do not tape or glue anything onto the pages.
• Programs or additional materials that cannot be three-hole punched should be put in an inside pocket and clearly labeled.

GENERALIST TEACHER APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1. Please describe your arts program and all its distinguishing characteristics in complete detail. How the arts are an essential component in your teaching. Are the arts integrated into several subject areas and/or taught as discrete subjects?

2. Help us understand your program by presenting one arts integrated unit. Include three lesson plans from that unit which illustrate your use of the arts. Clearly demonstrate how you integrate the arts into other core subject areas and if you teach the arts as discrete subjects. List expected student outcomes and summative assessment tools for the unit. If you use published curriculum, please include both the title and any training you may have received to use it. If you don’t use published curriculum, how do you address each of the VAPA standard strands? If you teach in a private school, please describe the standards you employ and give specific examples. (Content Standards can be found at www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp.)

3. Please describe your school environment, the challenges it presents, and how you make the best use of the physical and financial resources available to you. Refer to financial, parental, and/or administrative support, working space, traveling schedule, etc. How do you overcome obstacles in these areas?

4. Describe any professional development or professional activities you have participated in within the last three years that augment your teaching of the arts, and any training you have received about arts education, including use of specific curriculum. How have you incorporated these experiences into your teaching practices?

5. List opportunities that you provide to your students to perform/exhibit the arts in their school and community. In addition to your classroom work, what other contributions do you make to your school, district or community?

Please refer to Applying For The BRAVO Award before submitting your application.

USE THIS CHECK LIST:

• Use an 8 ½” X 11” three ring binder.
• Number your answers to correspond to the questions.
• Label EVERY PAGE with your name and school in the upper right hand corner.
• NUMBER your pages.
• Do not insert pages into plastic sleeves or use section dividers or tabs.
• Do not use staples or paper clips. THE APPLICATION MUST BE EASY TO PHOTOCOPY.
• Photos should be scanned or digitally input and printed directly onto the paper. Do not tape or glue anything onto the pages.
• Programs or additional materials that cannot be three-hole punched should be put in an inside pocket and clearly labeled.

SCHOOL APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1. Briefly describe your school’s demographics and environment.

2. Please describe the arts program at your school and all its distinguishing characteristics in full detail.

• Be specific in describing each of your arts programs: dance, music, theatre and visual arts programs in this section.
• Your responses to questions #3 – #9 should support and clarify the program you have just described in question #2.
• If you have a school (or schools) within your school, describe the arts program across the entire campus.

3. Are each of the four art disciplines taught as discrete subjects, or integrated into several subject areas or both? Please describe. If applicable, show how your school integrates the arts with other core curriculum subjects.

4. Include three sequential examples that illustrate the teaching of one arts discipline at a specific grade level.

• Describe expected student outcomes
• Describe your methods of assessment for these examples in reference to the state standards.
• If published curriculum is used, please include both the titles for these examples and any training your teachers may have received to use it.

5. Please describe any professional development in arts education in the last three years in which your teachers participated. If the teacher training was for specific arts curriculum, please identify that curriculum.

6. Does your school use professional artists in your arts program and/or make use of arts facilities in your community (i.e., through assemblies, workshops in classrooms, artists-in-residence, field trips and/or museum programs)? If so, describe how, how often and who receives these services. How do the teachers participate? How do these activities support the curriculum?

7. Please describe the challenges your school faces, and how you make the best use of the physical and financial resources available to you to support your arts program. Include community support, partnerships, financial grants, etc. . How do you overcome obstacles in these areas?

8. Describe your school's arts program five years ago and the changes you have made to reach your current arts program. (If your program is less than five years old, describe it since its inception.) What are the goals for each of your school’s dance, music, theatre and visual arts programs for the next five years? Where are you in the process of achieving those goals?

9. How do you help students achieve their grade level standards in California’s Visual and Performing Arts content standards? Please give specific examples. If this is a private school, please describe the standards you employ and give specific examples. (Content Standards can be found at www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp.)

USE THIS CHECK LIST:

• Use an 8 ½” X 11” three ring binder.
• Number your answers to correspond to the questions.
• Label EVERY PAGE with your name and school in the upper right hand corner.
• NUMBER your pages.
• Do not insert pages into plastic sleeves or use section dividers or tabs.
• Do not use staples or paper clips. THE APPLICATION MUST BE EASY TO PHOTOCOPY.
• Photos should be scanned or digitally input and printed directly onto the paper. Do not tape or glue anything onto the pages.
• Programs or additional materials that cannot be three-hole punched should be put in an inside pocket and clearly labeled.