COCA accepting applications for second round of arts education grants

The Council on Culture & Arts opened a new round of the Arts Education Grant Program on Monday. This is the first time an additional round for the program has been offered within one academic year.

Open to apply through mid-January, this grant supports creative instructional approaches by funding arts-related projects not supported by school budgets. Open for the next five weeks, this second round will allow teachers to apply who did not have time previously, who are new to teaching this year, and who are looking to expand previous programming or introduce new projects to the classroom.

"This program has enabled dozens of teachers in past years to introduce new and exciting projects in the classroom," said Sahara Lyon-Mundy, COCA's Arts Education Manager. "The second round of our FY25 Arts Education Grant will allow teachers to expand further and implement innovative ideas for their students to learn from and grow."

Previous grantees for the Arts Education grant include Julie Childers of Tallahassee Classical School, Michael Scarpone, Hawks Rise Elementary, Katie Aylward-Smith, Raa Middle School, and many others.

The Council on Culture & Arts has funded many arts educators and organizations for their upcoming FY25 Grant Cycle. In addition to its Arts Education Grant program, COCA has its Cultural Grant Program and Cultural Tourism Marketing Grant program.

This upcoming fiscal year will see both cultural grant programs funding nearly $2 million in arts & culture programming and marketing initiatives of over 30 local arts organizations in Leon County to help increase tourism.

Grantees for this upcoming year include 621 Gallery, Southern Shakespeare Company, Tallahassee Ballet, LeMoyne Arts, Tallahassee Civic Chorale, Opening Nights, and more.

For arts educators interested in applying for the second round of the Arts Education Grant program, contact Sahara Lyon-Mundy at sahara@tallahasseearts.org. For more information and details on COCA's grants programs and grantees, contact Summer Callahan, the Grants Manager for COCA, at summer@tallahasseearts.org.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee teachers can apply now for COCA's arts education grants