CONNECT: Build friendships, share ideas, and be part of a supportive band family.

LEARN: High-quality sessions and reading bands you can take back to your students right away.

RECHARGE: Relaxed atmosphere, great food, pool time, and time to breathe before the new school year.

Daily continental breakfast
Two dinners & finale brunch
Outstanding Clinicians
Reading sessions & concerts
Exhibit Hall & door prizes
Family & social activities
Connections that last a lifetime

Learn more and register here.

Join 1,500+ K–12 educators for the only national in-person event focused on real classroom strategies that integrate the arts and STEAM—backed by research, built for collaboration, and designed to help you reach every student.

At a time when teaching feels exhausting and students are checked out, this National Conference gives you the strategies, community, and hands-on learning to make classroom experiences meaningful, creative, and effective again.

This can't-miss event is perfect for:

• K–12 Classroom Teachers

• Arts Specialists and STEM/STEAM Educators

• Instructional Coaches and School Leaders

• Teaching Artists and PD Coordinators

Learn more and register here.

Seven Honor Choirs, Nationally-renown clinicians, Sessions spanning the choral experience, Welcoming membership, Versatile meal plan, and more!!

Open Access Day (Friday - FREE!)

Student & New Teacher Academy

Learn more and register here.

Dates: July 15th and 16th (you can attend as much or as little of this event as you’d like)

Where: Springfield, MO – Central High School

What: 8 presentations from local/regional teachers, teaching artists, and museum educators.

Presentations integrate the following artforms – Theatre, Film, Music, Visual Art

Presentations include the following non- arts subject matter/skills: ELA (writing, poetry, literacy, storytelling), Science, Social Studies

Presentations cover the following essential skills: Creativity, Critical Thinking, expression, etc.

Who should attend: Anyone that already embeds art integration or art enhancement strategies into their classroom or would like to learn more about it. Anyone looking for fresh ideas. All educators Pre-K-12 are welcome, but some of the content will be more geared to K-8 audiences.

Those interested are encouraged to attend – most educators find they can walk away with something to apply after attending. 

To register email Jessica Wagner – jlwagner@spsmail.org

KS/MO Partners in Education Arts Integration Symposium
8:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 22, 2026 | Zhou B Art Center (1801 E 18th St KCMO 64127)
Free; pre-reservation required.

Join us for an inspiring day exploring the power of the arts in engaging students, strengthening comprehension, and bringing content areas to life.  The KS/MO Kennedy Center Partners in Education, comprised of the Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College, Shawnee Mission School District, and Liberty Public Schools, provides free arts integration professional development and support for teachers. The arts integration topics presented at the symposium show teachers how to connect an art form with curriculum to enhance student engagement and deepen understanding.

Learn more and register here.

MoASTA is proud to announce our 2nd Annual Summer String Workshop on Saturday,  August 1, 2026, at Capitol City High School (located at 1650 Cavalier Dr, Jefferson City, MO 65109). We will offer a variety of string-specific professional development sessions, a reading session, and opportunities for string teachers from across the state to meet and socialize. Attendees interested in serving as adjudicators for MSHSAA music events will have the opportunity to complete the mandated MSHSAA Adjudicator Training.

Learn more and register here.

"Teaching Multimedia 101"

June 22 - 26, 2026

A $750 value! Course Intro Video

This FREE online course, with free curriculum, software and textbook, is for Gr. 6 - 12 public school teachers of all experience levels and backgrounds. This fast-paced, hands-on course provides foundational knowledge, curricula and tools for teaching multimedia production across AI, photo, imaging, graphics, animation, sound, video, code, and media literacy. We will practice easy to implement lessons and projects that support student creativity, broad production skills, and aesthetic analysis. The course provides a full year’s worth of standards-aligned curriculum, free software and other resources, and a textbook that guides instruction, with invaluable insights from a veteran media arts educator. A major aspect of the course will be interdisciplinary integration and alignments across all subject areas and the arts, as well as developing a sustainable, thriving program. 

Space Suits in Progress: Sewable Electronics!

July 20 - 24, 2026 

Facilitator: Barbara Liedahl, BJLfeltclaymaker LLC

Discover the Intersection of Fashion, Technology, and Space Exploration!

   Did you know every astronaut's space suit combines sewing with cutting-edge technology? These incredible suits—designed for lunar missions, spacewalks, and beyond—combine the art of sewing, fashion, and textile design with electrical engineering, coding, and hardware skills. In this immersive 40-hour course, you'll explore the exciting world of sewable electronics and unlock endless possibilities for creating e-textiles, smart garments, and innovative fashion designs.

   This course dives deep into the history of NASA’s space suits and the talented seamstresses who created them. You’ll design your own mission patch inspired by NASA’s iconic designs and learn hands-on how to integrate technology using Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express. 

 MORE INFO AT WWW.MEDIAARTSEDU.ORG

Summer. Time to get out of your teacher gear (and into your summer school threads?). I hope you find respite in sunny mornings, poolside afternoons, and music-filled nights. Once you feel relaxed and rejuvenated, allow yourself to dream big for your students and the 26-27 school year:

-Take a field trip to the art museum?

-Bring in a performance for the whole school?

-Find a teaching artist in a specialty area to support your curriculum?

-And for high school educators, finally get Poetry Out Loud on campus?

MAC can help with that.

The Missouri Arts Council is committed to supporting arts education initiatives in schools through our arts exposure and arts learning grant programs.

Big Yellow School Bus: up to $500 per school for transportation to arts destinations

School Touring: up to $1,500 per school for touring performers to come to you

Artist in Residence: up to $4,000 to support a guest artist for special projects that enhance the curriculum

Poetry Out Loud (9-12 educators only): school coordinators earn $200 to organize a contest, recruit and coach student participants, and send a school winner to the regionals (with big prizes for students at state and national contests)

Reach out to me for assistance anytime (my days of summer break are long gone):

Jenni Ryan, arts education program specialist

jenni.ryan@ltgov.mo.gov

314-340-6857

Summer, summer, summer…every time I hear that word, the High School Musical song starts playing in my head and memories of an 8th grade choir I directed who loved singing it and attempting choreography and stunts. Yes, I was brave but (always safe) and saw their growth not only in music, but in confidence of themselves. How can you encourage the students in your lives this summer to do arts? Singing games, rhythm clapping with songs on the radio, art projects, sidewalk chalk, summer theater camp, etc. It takes all of us.

• MFAA, the MO Fine Arts Academy, is inviting 130 students to attend the summer arts camp hosted on the MSU campus in early June. Students are from all over the state!

• I’m presenting 2 sessions with arts integration and civics at the elementary Social Studies Summit in Springfield in early June.

• Check out the DESE Art exhibit online or email me to schedule a tour in-person.

• MO Arts Data Project – We’re now tracking embedded content loads over time. Please do a click to the Data Project website (often) and click on a tab (even if you don’t explore…). This will help us in advocating for continued funding for it. The data project is an interactive dashboard with info of the status of art/music/theater/dance courses, student enrollment, number of teachers at school, district, county, and state levels. You can explore your own school as well as others all over the state. LET’S ALL GO TO THE MO ARTS DATA PROJECT NOW!! 

Missouri - Arts Education Data Project

-Kendra Franks

Visit DESE’s Virtual Art Gallery here, which features creations this month from Liberty High School (art teacher Sydney Carr) and Marion C Early District (art teachers Kendra Efker and Tabitha Stewart)! For more information about how your school can participate in the art exhibit, please contact Dr. Kendra Franks, DESE’s Fine Arts Curriculum Director at Kendra.Franks@dese.mo.gov.

Artwork is on display in the Jefferson Building 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Monday-Friday (except for state holidays). Please contact Kendra Franks, Arts Education Director before visiting.

Started in 2004, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has invited public schools throughout Missouri to submit samples of their students' artwork. The art is displayed in the Department's main office in Jefferson City and in the room where the State Board of Education holds its regular monthly meetings. Artwork from each featured school is showcased for a month. The same artwork is now featured here. For privacy reasons, the full names of the student artists will not be published here.

Schools that will be featured in the Virtual Art Gallery are already scheduled for several months in advance. Please do not submit unsolicited artwork. For more information, contact:

Kendra Franks, Ph.D.
Director of Fine Arts Education
573-751-9610
Kendra.Franks@dese.mo.gov

Image Credit: Ashari - Liberty High School

Hello Missouri Educators,

I’m reaching out to share an exciting opportunity for your school: America’s Field Trip: Virtual Artist Residencies with Focus 5, made possible by Crystal Bridges celebrating America’s 250th anniversary through the arts. These residencies are FREE/NO COST for schools and bring high-quality, arts-integrated learning directly to your classroom—virtually.

To learn more about these Free Virtual Artist Residencies please go to: https://tinyurl.com/CrystalBridgesResidencies.

Taking place January - December 2026

While you are there, be sure to check out my virtual residency: Warhol’s Wild Adaptations (Grade 3- 5).

In this three-day high-engagement residency, students investigate how Warhol adapted and abstracted images in his animal series—and ask: How do animals adapt to survive, and how can we abstract that idea into movement? Studying the two strategies of adaptation and abstraction, they create original movement phrases that embody real animal adaptations. The result is pop-art thinking meets life-science insight—students don’t tell you what an adaptation or abstraction is; they show you.

Participation requires a minimum of 4 classes to take part. If you don’t have 4 classes, we can pair you with another school.

If you’d like to secure a spot, you can register here:

• Register: https://tinyurl.com/WarholAdapt 

You can also learn more about Focus 5 arts integration at www.Focus5ArtsIntegration.com

If you have questions I’m happy to help.
- Harlan Brownlee

Contact Harlan via email here.