The Chenango Arts Council is accepting applications for the Grants for Teachers Program, which provides grant funding up to $500 to Chenango County teachers to implement the arts into their regular curriculum. The Arts Council will also be administering the Golden Artist Gift Certificate Program, which awards $500 gift certificates to county art teachers to buy paints for art projects. (Submitted photo)

CHENANGO COUNTY — The Chenango Arts Council is now accepting applications for the 2024 season of the Grants for Teachers Program and Golden Artist Gift Certificate Program.

Grants for Teachers provides grants up to $500 to Chenango County educators to implement arts into their regular curriculum. The program is open to any pre-k through 12th grade teacher at a public or private school in Chenango County.

"It’s up to $500 for Chenango County educators for arts-related projects or events," said Chenango Arts Council Executive Director Alecia ONeill. "This does not have to be an art teacher. This can be a science teacher, a math teacher, an English teacher, but of course we would love to have arts and music [teachers] and theater directors receive this."

The program is a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) initiative, a derivative of the STEM program that includes the arts.

"It’s adding the arts basically to help kids retain information and get a little bit more passionate about learning through the arts," ONeill explained. "We’re looking for projects that find unique and creative ways to integrate the arts into their standard curriculum."

Applications for Grants for Teachers are available online at ChenangoArts.org/grants and on the Chenango Arts Council Facebook page. Applications are due by May 3 and can be submitted at the Chenango Arts Council, located at 27 West Main Street in Norwich; mailed to Chenango Arts Council, GFT Program, 27 West Main Street, Norwich, NY 13815; or emailed to Alecia.ONeill@ChenangoArts.org.

In addition to the application, ONeill said teachers who have received Grant for Teachers funding in the past must also submit a final report that describes the project, how it achieved its intended benefits, and how many students it impacted.

Teachers who are awarded funding in 2024 must implement their projects by December and complete and submit a final report by the end of January 2025.

Grants can be used for things like art supplies, in-school performances or workshops, field trips directly related to the arts, interactions with professional artists, and arts-related staff development. ONeill said "types of arts-related projects eligible for funding are limited only to your imagination, invention, and creativity."

The application packet provides in-depth examples of potential projects eligible for funding. These projects include "Soundtracking the Constitution," which explores how people expressed themselves and what was happening in the world with music throughout history, while also teaching students about the United States Constitution.

"Reading Identity," another project example, explores segregation, politics, and the experiences of African Americans beginning in the 1950s by analyzing the plays "Raisin in the Sun" and "Clybourne Park."

ONeill said integrating the arts into standard curriculum can help kids learn more easily, while also making learning more fun. Plus, she said the arts and fields like math and science are much more integrated than people may think.

"My favorite example of how the arts can help a student learn is that if there’s a student who’s having trouble with math but can play the guitar and read music, specifically if they’re having trouble with fractions, music is math, music is fractions. And the other way around, if you have a student that’s struggling with music, and they're interested in math, it kind of works both ways," she explained. "It’s basically just a way to grab the student’s attention and spark the connection and the passion, and retaining the information that they learn in a fun way."

The Chenango Arts Council will also be administering the Golden Artist Gift Certificate Program, funded by Golden Artist Colors. Chenango County art teachers in grades 8 through 12 can apply for a $500 gift certificate for paint to be used for arts-related projects.

Applications for the Golden Artist Gift Certificate Program are due by May 3 and can be submitted at the Chenango Arts Council, located at 27 West Main Street in Norwich; mailed to Chenango Arts Council, Golden Artist Gift Certificate Program, 27 West Main Street, Norwich, NY 13815; or emailed to Alecia.ONeill@ChenangoArts.org.

Grant funds must be used by December 2024, and a final report must be completed and submitted by the end of January 2025.

The Chenango Arts Council Grants for Teachers Program is made possible by corporate support and friends of the arts.

For assistance with Grants for Teachers and Golden Artist Gift Certificate Program applications, call the Chenango Arts Council at 607-336-2787.

More information on the programs and the Chenango Arts Council can be found at ChenangoArts.org and the Chenango Arts Council Facebook page.