STS Application Opens August 11 with Virtual Programming
By Ann Brown, Associate Director of Grants –
The Student Ticket Subsidy (STS) grant application opens Tuesday, August 11, 2020, to Tennessee K-12 public schools. STS provides funds for artist fees, tickets, and transportation for students from Tennessee public schools to experience a broad variety of cultural opportunities, artistic disciplines, and artists. Teachers are encouraged to apply for grants to take their students on exposure-based field trips to art museums and performing arts performances or to bring teaching artists into their schools to implement in-depth artist residencies or school-wide arts assemblies.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TN Arts Commission is allowing applicant schools to carry out virtual projects, activities, and performances with artists and organizations on the Teaching Artist Roster through the STS grant program during the 2020-2021 academic year. The virtual projects, activities, and performances must include an online interactive and/or hands-on component, such as a Q&A session with a musician following a recorded or streamed viewing of a performance or a guided hands-on visual arts lesson completed remotely. To search for artists and organizations offering virtual/remote options, applicant schools select “Virtual Programming” on the right-hand side in the roster filter and look for sample programs that have “Available Virtually” in the sample program title.
Funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, by demand, and per-student capita in all 95 Tennessee counties. Each school is eligible to apply for up to $3,000, and schools may submit multiple applications for different arts education projects to reach the $3,000 maximum. Schools must partner with approved individual artists and organizations listed on the Commission’s Teaching Artist Roster. These artists and organizations offer a range of arts and cultural experiences aligned with curriculum standards in the arts and other content areas. Many of these artists are trained to collaborate with licensed arts specialists and classroom teachers within the school to carry out dynamic residencies resulting in increased skills and knowledge of a particular art form.
The Student Ticket Subsidy Grant Application opens in the Online Grants System on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. Ahead of the August 11th date, teachers should make sure to have their login information ready or to register in the system if they are first-time applicants. For more information on how to apply and what will be required in the user-friendly and accessible grant application, view the FY2021 STS Application Guidelines.
