South Dakota: Educator Grants

South Dakota is one of the most rural states in the country, ranking 46th in population density. This creates particular challenges for the South Dakota Arts Council (SDAC) in supporting arts education and arts experiences. Its new Educator Grant program is an innovative mechanism to overcome rural-state obstacles by seeding opportunities for creativity in both traditional classrooms as well as those of qualified home-schooled students. The $1,000 nonmatching grants may be used for arts supplies as well as other expenses supporting arts programming and learning, such as classroom technology, teaching artists fees, travel, curriculum planning and professional development. Because SDAC endeavors to facilitate interdisciplinary arts education, all teachers, not just those of the fine and performing arts, are eligible. Those interested apply directly, as schools and school districts are ineligible. As a result, Educator Grants efficiently enable teachers of any subject area to increase their knowledge of the arts and arts education and support their capacity to lead classroom arts activities and/or work with visiting artists. To learn more about the Educator Grant program, contact SDAC Assistant Director Rebecca Cruse.