On May 11 and 12, the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADEA) held a meeting of the National Arts Education Task Force to discuss the creation of common core standards in the arts. The meeting took place at the offices of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in Washington, DC.
MENC was represented by President-Elect Scott C. Shuler, Executive Director Michael Butera, Sr. Deputy Executive Director Mike Blakeslee, and Ruth Brittin of the University of the Pacific (editor of MENC’s journal Update: Applications of Research in Music Education).
The group discussed what has changed in arts education since the national standards were released in 1994 and began developing an action plan to support the inclusion of the arts in the creation of the common core standards.
Common Core Standards Initiative
State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education
SEADAE’s National Expectations for Learning in Arts Education
Council of Chief State School Officers

Mike Blakeslee leads a discussion at the SEADEA meeting. Photo by Scott Shuler.
—Elizabeth Lasko, May 14, 2010. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education