Collaborative Fellow accepted into Pilot Cultural Competency in Teaching and Leadership Certificate Program

aIn parallel with her work as a Collaborative Innovation Fellow, New Hampshire elementary art teacher Kimberly Olson was recently accepted as Elementary Division representative for the National Art Education Association’s (NAEA) Cultural Competency in Teaching and Leadership Certificate Program. This pilot program was developed in conjunction with NAEA’s dedicated focus on examining and supporting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (E,D, & I) in all contexts of art education. It gives participants the opportunity to articulate and address their own experience, understanding, and capacity in the broad and deeply embedded areas of E,D, & I.
 
Through scholar-led meetings and conversations, research, readings, and videos, participants cultivate their position in order to “expand the capacity of visual art educators to be effective in the areas of cultural competency, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility,” (NAEA, 2020). Structured similarly to NAEA’s School for Art Leaders (of which Olson is a 2018 alumna), members examine systemic inequities; share personal narratives related to E,D, & I; explore research; and define existing and desired leadership traits. Cohort members design leadership experiments based on professionally and personally relevant goals and areas of interest, wonder, and need. One of these experiments ultimately leads to the capstone project to be shared and archived as a membership resource.
 
Olson is currently working on experiments in the areas of evaluating and developing diversity within the art and art history collection at her school library and her town’s public library. She also is connecting to her recent thesis for her post-Master’s advanced certification in Curriculum & Instruction Leadership: learning environment evaluation and design as representative and supportive of settings for culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and learning.
 
Members also develop methods to leverage their experience and strengths to promote equity within each individual member’s particular context. Through affinity group reflection, collaboration, and support, members look beyond the end of the program for ways to extend and sustain this work as advocates and “equity leaders” moving forward, providing spark to flame.
 
NAEA Chief Learning Officer Dennis Inhulsen and Kathi R. Levin, NAEA Project Manager, serve as planners and co-directors of the project. Ms. Levin serves as Treasurer of the Innovation Collaborative.

​This project is funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Art Education Foundation.

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