This article provides an initial look at Race to the Top as it relates to professional development for arts educators. Topics include the philosophy of Race to the Top education reform, data informed professional development, performance pay, and how these changes may affect arts educators.

The purpose of this article is to examine the fundamentals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and its impact on music educators. Topics include: (a) zero reject, (b) non-discriminatory evaluations, (c) free appropriate public education, (d) least restrictive environment, (e) procedural due process, (f) parental involvement, and (g)…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), signed into law on January 8, 2002, states that its primary purpose is "to close the achievement gap through accountability, research-based instruction, flexibility and options for parents, so that no child is left behind." The goals of NCLB, according to the U.S. Department of Education, include improving the…

Arts educators need specific professional development. Generic professional development alone will not work for arts teachers. Arts teachers also need more than one type of professional development as the narratives in the stories in this article make clear. The first music teacher provides narrative support for Bowles's research finding that…