Selma Provides Leadership for Arts Education in Alabama by Dr. Rosemary Johnson Teachers, administrators and artists in Selma, Alabama, are suc-cessfully working together to change the face of arts education in a rural, economically deprived community through innovative, creative partnerships. Key players include the Selma City Schools, the Selma Arts Council and Wallace Community College Selma. The results of their colla-borative efforts have had, and are continuing to have, a statewide impact. Effective DBAE implementation requires a collaboration of trained classroom teachers, arts specialists and administrators.
Artists add a unique and valuable resource to the partnership.
In addition, the college was selected in 1998 by Chamber Music America to be a host organization for the Chamber Music America Rural Residen-cies Program. The quartet received DBAE training at the AIEA 1999 Summer Institute, and is working closely with classroom teachers and arts specialists. When the Southeast Center began to exceed its enrollment capacity, the Getty Education Institute for the Arts asked the Selma City Schools and the St. James School if they would be interested in developing a satellite center. Discipline-based arts education is one approach to achieving arts literacy for students. According to the Getty Institute, the roots of DBAE are national in scope.