IACA Announces FY18 Arts & Foreign Language Grant Recipients

The Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA), in cooperation with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), is pleased to announce that it has awarded grants to 16 school districts across the state for arts and foreign language education. A joint project of the IACA and ISBE, the Arts and Foreign Language Education Grant Program (AFL) is designed to assist school districts and other eligible applicants with the development, maintenance, or enhancement of curricular programs in the arts or foreign language.

AFL was established in 2006 by section 2-3.65 of the school code (105 ILSC 5/2-3.65). It enables the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Illinois State Board of Education to provide grants to eligible applicants for the purpose of supporting arts and foreign language education in schools, with an emphasis on ensuring that these areas become part of the school’s core curriculum. Funding is available in each discipline for up to four years, with one year of planning and three years of implementation.

Planning Grants

The one-year planning grant is to develop district-based plans for initiating, strengthening, or expanding instruction in the arts or foreign language. Funding recommendations were made by a panel of practitioners familiar with arts and foreign language programming from across the state and region. Twelve districts are receiving planning grants totaling $286,895.

Implementation Grants

The three-year implementation grant is to introduce, strengthen, or expand instruction in the arts or foreign language and to develop means of perpetuating the funded program with local resources after the conclusion of the grant period. Four districts are receiving $184,460 for their 2nd and 3rd year of implementation.

For more information, contact:

Jerome Grand, Program Director

Email: jerome.grand@illinois.gov, Phone: (312) 814-6766