First Online With Fran: The First 100 Stories Campaign
National Arts in Education Week
September 9-15, 2012
In July 2010, Congress designated the second week of September as National Arts In Education Week to promote and showcase the immense role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, and college and career-ready students. To that end, First Online with Fran is launching The First 100 Stories Campaign.
The Arts continue to be cut from school curriculums across the nation. Despite arts advocacy groups’ efforts to prevent the decline of arts inclusion, the budgetary solution remains to be that the arts are perceived as extra-curricular and disposable. In Chris Cleave’s novel Little Bee, the central character decided to right a wrong by collecting stories: “One story makes you weak. But as soon as we have one-hundred stories, you will be strong.” Similarly, we can do the same for the Arts. Here’s how:
Let’s hear it from you: Teachers! Students! Graduates! Parents! Artists!
Fill out the following form to submit your testimonial!
Interviews & Testimonials
  First Online With Fran: The First 100 Stories Campaign National Arts in Education Week, September 9-15th, 2012 The Arts continue to be cut from school curriculums across the nation. Despite arts advocacy groups’ efforts to prevent the decline of arts inclusion, the budgetary solution remains to be that the arts are perceived as extra-curricular and disposable. In Chris Cleave’s novel Little Bee, the central character decided to right a wrong by collecting stories: “One story makes you weak. But as soon as we have one-hundred stories, you will be strong.” Similarly, we can do the same for the Arts. The collection of testimonials will be forwarded to Arts Education Partnership who will serve as a national hub for information on how the arts are going strong in our nation’s communities and schools and strategies for getting involved in arts education and supporting the arts in your community. |
First Online with Fran 
Whatever really moved u to publish “National Arts in Education Week First Online
with Fran”? I personallyhonestly enjoyed it! Regards -Lela
I just finished reading Chris Cleave’s novel LITTLE BEE. I was feeling low after losing my job due to slashing of funding to the arts. The book inspired me to fight back: tell my story and make my voice heard! As a k-12 English & Theater teacher I witnessed firsthand the transformative powers of The Arts and I knew a lot of my students shared that sentiment; thus, I launched The First 100 Stories as my first website campaign to advocate for the arts. That was August 2011! I then learned that the federal government instituted the second week of September as Arts Education Week. My goal is to gather 100 stories by September 2013 using the novel’s message as the source of my inspirationi: change can happen one story at a time. Can I count on yours?