With direction and guidance provided by the Arts Education Advisory Council, Nassau BOCES Arts in Education Program offers services that are essential to the vitality of music, art, dance, theatre arts and creative writing curricula in Nassau County schools. The Arts in Education Program also supports interdisciplinary learning, which enhances all areas of the curriculum.

Under the rubric of "Artists in Schools", performances, workshops, residencies, professional development and individually tailored programs are offered in cooperation with artists and arts organizations representing many different disciplines. These experiences provide students and teachers with a lens through which they encounter a broad range of cultures, styles and ways of looking at the world.

In response to particular needs expressed by Nassau County schools, Nassau BOCES has also collaborated with arts organizations to design offerings for students and teachers, which have a specific focus.

Programs for students and teachers include:

• The Lincoln Center Aesthetic Education Institute in NYC;

• The Tilles School Partnerships at the Tilles Center Institute for Arts and Culture at LIU's C. W. Post Campus;

• Side-by-side master classes and performances in cooperation with the Long Island Philharmonic;

• ArtPartners in cooperation with the Nassau County Museum of Art;

• Chamber music residencies presented by The Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School and Weill Music Institute;

Nassau BOCES has also created programs which enable educators to develop special skills utilizing the arts. These include:

• Professional Development Workshop Series for Music Educators, offered in cooperation with the ' New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education (NYSCAME);

• Professional Development Workshop Series for Art Educators, offered in cooperation with the Art Supervisors Association (ASA);

Composed of administrators responsible for music and arts programs in their school districts, the Arts Education Advisory Council (AEAC) meets five times each year to examine issues of particular relevance to music, art, dance, theatre arts and creative writing curricula. Depending on need, subcommittees of the Council are created to address certain topics, to conduct research on behalf of the Council and/or to design special events sponsored by the AEAC.

The Arts Education Advisory Council is chaired by a member of the Council who works with the BOCES Arts in Education Supervisor to design and conduct the Council and subcommittee meetings. Areas of specific concern, need or interest are addressed and each agenda includes an opportunity for Council members to share information about arts resources.

Council meetings may be held at BOCES or in locations that have particular relevance for members. During the past few years, the Council has met at the Tilles Center, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, at Old Westbury Gardens, and in New York City, as well as in local school districts.