This NAHS section is meant to provide ideas and resources--not a "one-size-fits-all" approach... This is for YOU... a potential or an active NAHS Sponsor. Please visit each link to the left to view a framework for sponsorship--and provide enrichment suggestions and corrections to artlauren@hotmail.com OFFICIAL NAHS Website: through the National Art Education Association http://www.arteducators.org/olc/pub/NAEA/community/community_page_10.html ____________________________________________________________________________________ The State of NAHS in TEXAS Resources compiled by Mary Caldwell, Shelly Hye, and Lauren Kolesar-Eatinger ______________________________________________________________ According to Hope Irvine, “we [art educators] teach our students to explore their hearts and minds and to build skills to communicate their ideas and feelings visually to others” (1997, p.1). Through visual arts programs, art specialists seek to accomplish this goal every year. There are a variety of resources available to assist in further developing the overall art experience for students. Specialists may attend state and national conferences, participate in professional organizations, read journals and publications, and attend district recommended training. A resource that is sorely underused by art specialists is the National Art Honor Society, or NAHS. This organization allows young artists to grow and promotes strong art programs across the nation. Too few art specialists are aware of the opportunities available to them and their students through NAHS. To celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the inception of the National Art Honor Society, we start by looking back to 1978 when NAEA established the program for high school students. NAHS was established for “the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art.” Additionally, the organization’s mission seeks to encourage students and art specialists to reach their highest potential and foster an appreciation of art within the community (NAHS website). The goals of NAHS speak directly to Irvine’s (1997) suggestions for promoting school art programs. She recommends publicizing events through print media, student participation in contests, and exhibiting student work, which are all activities promoted by NAHS. In May 2009, Mary Caldwell, Shelly Hye, and Lauren Kolesar-Eatinger worked on an advocacy plan that will focus our efforts on increasing participation in NAHS in the state of Texas. Our vehicle of communication will be the Texas Art Education Association, or TAEA. High School/Senior High membership is 1,215 members as of March 2009, and Middle School/ Junior High membership number is 622. At the annual TAEA Fall 2009 Conference, we will present a user friendly guide for implementation of an NAHS chapter to two audiences. In our first presentation, we will target pre-service specialists, keeping in mind that TAEA Student Membership is 169 members as of March 2009. Our second TAEA presentation will be geared toward networking High School and Middle School TAEA members who may or may not have existing chapters on their campus, offering support to the membership of 1,837 potential or existing sponsors. Of the 1,704 public high schools in the state of Texas, 125 have existing NAHS chapters. With this advocacy effort, we seek to increase the number of NAHS chapters in the state by at least 50. With the competitive nature of the college admissions programs, it is important for high school students to have the opportunity to participate in leadership organizations like NAHS that cater to their artistic skills. Promoting the growth of NAHS involvement in the state of Texas will inevitably provide more resources to student members and art specialists. NAHS chapters are initiated by sponsors who are active members of NAEA. Current reasons for low participation of art specialists sponsoring an NAHS chapter are numerous. By surveying potential sponsors we surmised the lack of participation is due in part to the concerns about additional work load of sponsorship, lack of information about the program, and previous misconceptions. Generally speaking, some art specialists perceive that implementing a chapter will involve more time than they are willing to volunteer. However, the actual time investment is determined by the individual art specialist. We suggest that by forming a cohesive bond between students in an NAHS chapter, the art specialist’s workload will shift to the student officers, as they are responsible for running the organization. A lack of knowledge or misinformation about the NAHS program is pervasive among art specialists. For the most part, acquiring information about the program involves either attending a conference workshop on the topic or intentionally seeking the program information by way of the NAEA web site. By providing specialists with user-friendly information about NAHS, we hope to avoid the continuation of misconceptions about sponsoring a chapter. Why should an art specialist pursue the development of an NAHS chapter at their campus? Overall benefits include participation in a professional organization, grant program eligibility, and possible award recognition. Immediate opportunities of sponsorship are to connect with and lead students outside of the school day and to build positive administrative and community support of the art program. As a member of NAEA, one receives multiple NAEA publications throughout the year providing information about professional involvement in a variety of divisions. With the additional participation in NAEA through NAHS sponsorship, more opportunities become available via grants and award applications. Overall, we see strengthening one’s student relations and increasing the awareness of one’s program within the district and community as the most valuable personal benefits of sponsoring a chapter. For high school NAHS members, the benefits are numerous. Students will build teamwork skills, improve artistically, apply for scholarships, donate their time to the community, and improve their college admissions opportunities. Through a variety of activities scheduled by the student officers and the sponsor, student members may work on large scale group art projects, individual activities, community service, school initiatives, or any other number of pursuits. As students approach their junior and senior high school years, they focus heavily on the college application process. While their academic record is a priority, students must also compete in the area of extracurricular involvement. By participating in a well-recognized program like NAHS, student members increase their eligibility for scholarships and admission to their desired university program. Another area of benefit to student members is in self-esteem and school pride development. By participating in these activities as well as submitting articles to NAHS News, students are able to publicize their chapter activities. Nationwide, 32,000 student members receive NAHS News, so this publication is one way to highlight a school art program.
