"This day will be a wonderful opportunity for people who love the arts and who love children to discover ways they can work together to educate and to empower young people through the arts," said Arts Based Community Development Director Beth Batton.

Batton also said that participants will have opportunities to learn about block booking and funding opportunities, to network with other arts leaders, to choose from 14 different arts workshops, and to see a performance by the fabulous PerksDanceMusicTheatre from New York.

"The network of arts councils across Mississippi provides the backbone for our state's arts industry," said Executive Director Tim Hedgepeth. "Like so many of our schools, these organizations are often the unsung heroes of keeping the arts alive and thriving in communities across Mississippi. Bringing the members of arts councils together with artists and educators in the midst of the Whole Schools Institute will hopefully further enhance the good work being accomplished as well as strengthen cultural and educational partnerships."

Arts Councils wanting to attend the free event should RSVP by Friday, July 18, to Batton, 601-359-6546 or bbatton@arts.state.ms.us. An agenda for the Arts Council Day is below. For directions to the event, go to www.arts.state.ms.usand click on the Whole Schools logo.

Arts Council Day Agenda
9 a.m. Coffee and registration
9:30 a.m. Welcome
9:45 a.m. Keynote Address
10 a.m. The ABC's of Community Arts: Recognizing Our Resources
11:15 a.m. Effective Strategies for Community and School Partnerships
12 p.m. Working Lunch with Question and Answer Session
12:30 p.m. Get on the MAP!: Block Booking and Grant Opportunities
2 p.m.-4 p.m. Arts Workshops
4 p.m.-7 p.m. Free time and dinner on your own
7 p.m. Perks Dance Music Theatre Performance
9 p.m. Coffee and dessert

The Whole Schools Summer Institute, hosted by the Mississippi Arts Commission and themed "Finding Our Voice, Feeding Our Spirit," will convene approximately 200 teachers, artists and education administrators from more than 30 schools.

The Whole Schools Initiative, which is open to grades kindergarten through 12th, works toward comprehensive school reform using the arts and is founded on effective research-based methods and strategies. All members of the school community play an important role in this Initiative: the superintendent, the principal, arts and classroom teachers, students, parents, community organizations and businesses.

In addition to the Summer Institute training, participating schools receive up to $10,000 a year in grant support, several retreat opportunities during the school year, plus a field advisor to offer assistance, support, advice and training.

In return, the WSI expects schools to increase and integrate the arts thoughtfully into existing school curricula and reform initiatives. The integration initiative is intended to do more than merely add to current school arts efforts. The integration initiative is intended to use the arts to enhance and enrich students' opportunities to acquire, process and demonstrate new knowledge and skills in core academic subjects. Currently 23 schools are a part of the WSI network. Other schools within Mississippi and as far away as New Mexico have expressed an interest in implementing the model.

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds, the U.S. Department of Education and other public and private sources.

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Editor's note: All media is welcome to attend the Whole Schools Institute and any of the corresponding arts events at Delta State University. For more information or for a full agenda, contact Mississippi Arts Commission Public Relations Director Shelley Powers, 601-359-6031 or spowers@arts.state.ms.us.