This episode is part of the former Art Class Curator episode and is targeted specifically for art teachers. 

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I am so excited about today’s guest! Today, I talked to Mario Rossero, the Executive Director of the National Arts Education Association (NAEA). He had an exciting journey as an art teacher before joining the NAEA in January 2020, just before the world exploded. In this episode, we discuss his journey and experiences, but, most importantly, we discuss the direction of the NAEA and its priority as an organization. 

02:08 - Mario talks about himself, his background, how he got into art education, his experience coordinating curriculum building for arts education, and teaching leadership through arts.

05:09 - Finding a role in art supervision and administration.

09:47 - Coordinating an arts program at the Central Office.

11:38 - Mario’s experience working in Chicago.

18:02 - Mario talks about his work with neighborhood art communities as the vice president for education at Kennedy Center.

20:55 -  How Mario got into the NAEA.

23:20 - The biggest challenge in art education.

27:55 - How strategy and welcoming decision-makers aid art education.

29:40 - How teachers can show the positive value proposition of art education.

32:40 - Resources for art teachers to learn art leadership.

34:22 - The challenge of policy and budget.

38:00 - How the events in 2020 affected Mario’s original vision for NAEA.

44:43 - The NAEA’s equity, diversity, and inclusion policy.

48:14 - Incorporating the ED&I framework into the continuous learning process.

50:37 - How to make space for inclusion and diversity.

52:40 - How a diverse approach to art learning improves art education.

55:20 - How the NAEA team responds to criticisms of the ED&I policy.

56:59 - What part of work is Mario currently excited about.

58:28 - The role of art-making in Mario’s life.

60:18 - Mario’s wall of art and drawing inspiration from them.

61:10 - The artwork that changed Mario’s life and how it aided a second-grade art class.

Transcript at https://artclasscurator.com/82-state-of-art-education-mario-rossero/

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