Oklahoma: Arts in Alternative Education Grant

The Oklahoma Arts Council (OAC) supports arts programming in alternative high schools in an effort to help at-risk youth engage with their creativity and overcome the challenges they face. Through its Arts in Alternative Education Program—which had been dormant for several years due to budget constraints and was reactivated with funding from the Oklahoma State Department of Education—OAC awards project-grant funding of up to $5,000 per school year to high schools designated for alternative education. Grants may cover costs related to arts instruction in all disciplines, teaching resource materials and project supplies, but not equipment, software or student travel. Students enrolled in alternative schools are at risk of failing or leaving school due to academic difficulties, behavioral issues, excessive absences, teen pregnancy, juvenile justice involvement and other issues often related to the challenges of poverty, substance abuse, family dysfunction, or psychological or physical trauma. Funding from OAC helps these schools, which use innovative instructional techniques, integrate arts programming into their curricula and otherwise leverage arts education to help students graduate. For more information, contact OAC Arts Education Director Jennifer Allen-Barron.