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Fine Arts Education Act (FAEA) 2026-2027

Our core mission within K through 12 dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts and the Fine Arts Education Act (FAEA) is to:

  • promote access to excellence in education for all students in and through the arts, humanities, literacy, math and sciences,
  • foster a rich cultural life for all New Mexicans, and
  • boost learning and achievement.

These programs contribute to the richness and strengths of our communities and economy. An FAEA vision: Access to excellence in education for all students and respect for culture elevates the quality of life in all our communities and drives arts education growth across the creative economy. These programs embrace and are responsive to New Mexico’s rich multicultural heritage; these programs empower a new generation through creative youth development and education.

The K through 12 arts in education and FAEA have a focus on: advancing access to excellence in education for all students, enriching communities through arts curriculum, growing the creative economy, and empowering a creative generation. The arts will build individualized capacity in every school.

FAEA Application for K-6 Funding

Due by May 31, 2026

Need help completing the Fine Arts Education Act (FAEA) application for the 2026-2027 school year? Severo Martinez, Director of Literacy & Humanities, and Erica Wheeler, Humanities Specialist, will show you where to find the application, how to complete it, deadlines, and more.

FAEA Application for K-6 Funding Webinar Recording
FAEA Webinar Recording

Questions: Contact Erica Wheeler at 505-551-2179 or erica.wheeler@ped.nm.gov

Archived Community of Practice (CoP) Resources

Is Democracy in Decline? Featuring a Civil Conversation

Which are stronger: the signs of decline or the signs of hope for democracy? Learn how to use Civil Conversation in the classroom to engage students in this crucial question. In this session, using the theme of Civics and Democracy, teachers learn to use the Civil Conversation strategy to help students develop the requisite knowledge, skills, and dispositions of informed and engaged participants in democracy itself.

FAEA 23-24 Application Support, 3/14/2023

This Community of Practice provides updates and extra support for applicants completing the FAEA application for the 23-24 school year. The deadline to complete the application is Friday, May 26th, 2023. The application and accompanying forms are available under the FAEA section at the top of this page.

Preparing for CLSD Site Visits, 2/16/2023

The CLSD Team presented information about clarifications, revisions, and updates for the SY 22-23 Spring Site Visit.

Arts Grant Opportunities through CTE, 1/26/2023

In this Community of Practice, Dr. Susan Chaudoir, grants administrator in the College and Career Readiness Bureau, shares ways that educators can use Career and Technical Education funds to support Arts, Communications, and A/V Technology programs. Co-presenters Lizeth Gomez and Liz Kriegel from Deming Public Schools share their successes of how they have creatively and passionately opened the college/career pathway for their film, journalism, and media arts students, thanks in part to annual CTE funding. This serves as an example of how CTE grants have the potential to support the arts, A/V, and communications programs in any district, charter or tribal school across the state.

    Utilizing Best Practices in Discourse to Discuss Difficult Topics, 1/19/2023

    Oftentimes, social studies standards and curriculum include topics that some might find difficult to discuss. This Community of Practice session will provide an overview of how to create safe spaces in your classroom in order to discuss these topics and summarizes what components of high-quality conversations on these topics look like. Participants will engage in the following outcomes as a result of this COP session:

    • Identify tools that can be used to create safe spaces to discuss difficult topics.
    • Identify open versus settled issues.
    • Analyze components of high-quality conversations around difficult topics.
    • Reflect on how to promote positive discourse in your own classroom.

    OurWorlds XR History Curriculum: The Role of Native Americans in WW1, 12/09/2022

    OurWorlds is a communication platform using extended reality to transform public and private spaces into interactive environments. The project is activating content in select cities and locations around the world. OurWorlds showcased a selection of contributors and performances, beginning with a series dedicated to Native Americans.

    OurWorlds believes the field of mixed reality offers a transformative new approach for contributors (artists, educators, historians and storytellers) to share their content with the public. The technology in the platform provides a compelling and immersive sensory experiences for the audience. Individuals come away from these experiences with a unique connection to the Native American experience and land.

    As a Native American-founded entity, OurWorlds hopes that this technology will be one of the ways that communities and contributors from all backgrounds will tell their stories and take control of their own historical narratives in the most modern way possible. The flagship project, highlighted in this session, seeks to help the public arrive at a greater understanding and truth about the Native American experience. OurWorlds seeks to move beyond traditional textbooks and empower communities and individual contributors to speak their own histories in a modern experiential realm for future generations to enjoy.

      Bringing Digital Tools into the Art Classroom Using Adobe, 11/10/2022

      Digital Citizenship is a rapidly growing area of need for our students, and Adobe tools can be used to evaluate students’ understanding of Digital Citizenship. There are lesson plans for every grade level that are easily and quickly implemented in the classroom. Each lesson comes with all the assets (often including templates) for PK-5 educators, 6-8 educators, 9-12 educators, CTE educators, and EdTech professionals.

      The Power of Question Formulation for Lifelong Learning, 11/03/22

      This presentation was from The Right Question Institute who works to build a more just and equitable democracy. Their goal is to strengthen people’s ability to ask questions and participate in decisions that affect them. Educators were guided through a research-based process to learn to ask the right questions, which builds a sense of agency, confidence, and power. The presenter demonstrated the process and share hundreds of free resources that can be added to any K-12 teacher toolbox.

      Intersections in Art and Computer Science, 10/20/2022

      Art educators learned how computers and software have opened entirely new worlds for the creation of art. This gives students different means for expressing themselves creatively through digital tools. This CoP also helped educators create and animate their own digital pixel art through the coding website Scratch.

        Using National History Day and Primary Sources in Conjunction with the New Social Studies Standards, 10/13/2022

        National History Day is a yearlong academic program focused on historical research, interpretation, and creative expression. The project and support educators receive throughout the year helps model and promote project-based learning. This program is available to middle and high school students. They are taught to create compelling questions, gather and evaluate sources, develop claims, present arguments and present conclusions. Educators and students are supported with a wide array of information, examples, guidance and support.

        Benefits of Belonging to the New Mexico Art Education Association, 9/20/2022

        Participants learned about the benefits of being a New Mexico Art Association (NMAEA) member, including community supports, leadership opportunities and training, awards programs, and professional learning. NMAEA also provided information on their upcoming 2022 Fall Conference: Re-imagine, Recommit, Reconnect, and Renew, which is in person this year at the University of New Mexico November 4-6. Participants learned about how NMAEA membership can benefit your school district or charter school, your learning, and how the national organization provides support on a wide variety of topics such as STEAM, critical pedagogy, and how to advocate for your program and your students.

        Thinking About Student Engagement in a 360 Model, 9/15/2022

        This CoP highlighted the My School Votes curriculum from When We All Vote, a national, nonpartisan nonprofit launched by Michelle Obama in 2018. My School Votes builds student-led voter registration clubs in high schools across the country. They will give you the training and resources you need to ensure every eligible student in your school is registered and ready to vote each year, every year. Together, we will develop leadership skills, advocate for local issues, create exceptional voter registration campaigns, and launch young people into cycles of life-long civic engagement.

          Strategies to Engage Parents, Families, and Community Members with the New Social Studies Standards, 9/15/2022

          This session focused on sharing the research behind high-quality social studies standards and how it relates to the new NM social studies standards. Presenters also focused on strategies on how to engage parents, families, and community members in understanding the content and purpose of the new standards. Resources like the new grade-level parent and family guides were shared as tools to authentically engage parents, families, and community members. There was time for participants to engage with the resources and materials and to share successful strategies with their peers.

          Teaching Financial Literacy Through Desmos, 8/11/2022

          This session utilized Desmos, the powerful, visual, and free online tool to help students engage with the financial literacy standards of how investments grow, the power of compounding, and understanding loans and credit cards. No prior experience with the software is expected, and the session is appliable to teachers of social studies and math or science teachers who want to add a great tool and activities to their curriculum.

          Create New Mexico: Driving Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum, 5/19/2022

          Educators will learn about Adobe Creative Cloud apps and lesson plans created for Fine Arts teachers at this FAEA CoP, as well as how to opt in for Create New Mexico, which provides students with more than 20 industry-standard apps for design, photography, video, and web at no charge.

            Meeting the Moment: Addressing Racism Through Recognition and Response, 5/18/2022

            Like the Hispanic Education Act and the Indian Education Act, the Black Education Act empowers teachers with culturally relevant knowledge that represents the students they serve. This CoP provided information about the Black Education Act as well as training and practical supports available to our classroom heroes.

            Integrating Primary Sources Into Your Instruction: Accessible Resources From the National Archives, 5/12/2022

            This session modeled how to teach with the holdings of the National Archives with a focus on text analysis, collaborative examination of primary sources, and using dialogue to make connections between sources and big ideas. Participants received access to lesson plans and other online materials.

            New Mexico Musueum Of Art Humanities Project, 4/21/2022

            The New Mexico Museum of Art presented on its Digital Exploration of Humanities Through the Arts project, which will encourage educators to creatively explore the close relationships between art and traditional humanities (i.e. anthropology, archaeology, history, ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, and religion). This online platform will reimagine the museum’s extensive and rich collection to foster greater understanding of the contextual connections between art and the humanities, while nurturing visual literacy, broadening the museums outreach and inclusively, and improving access to its collections.

              Completing the Fine Arts Education Act (FAEA) Application for the 2022-2023 School Year, 3/18/2022

              This CoP taught participants how to complete the newly digitized FAEA application for next school year, which is due June 1, 2022.

              Filmmaking and the Use of Film in Teaching Art, 2/24/2022

              This CoP focused on student filmmaking and the use of film in teaching art. The CoP featured a presentation from Silver Bullet Productions, a New Mexico nonprofit focused on supporting education by using filmmaking and films as a vehicle for relevant learning.