The Artists in Schools Grant, administered by the Florida Keys Council of the Arts (FKCA), supports creative partnerships between teaching artists and educators in Monroe County, Florida. Designed to integrate the arts into classroom instruction and youth programming, the grant enables collaboration between artists and teachers or other child-serving organizations to enhance educational experiences through performing, visual, literary, or historical arts.
This grant is available to all Monroe County public and private schools, as well as other organizations serving children aged 5 to 18. The purpose is to use artistic engagement as a vehicle to enrich students’ learning of academic concepts, introduce them to new experiences, and provide exposure to working artists as professional role models. Goals include increasing artistic knowledge, boosting student self-confidence and communication skills, and enhancing students’ creative and perceptual capacities.
Funding for each project is available up to $2,000. Grants are disbursed on a reimbursement basis and cover the artist’s time and materials upon submission of an approved final report documenting the project’s outcomes. Projects may align with either the fall or spring academic semesters, and the grant is meant to supplement existing curricula or offer entirely new learning content using the arts.
Application deadlines are semi-annual: June 30 for fall semester projects and November 30 for spring semester projects. Applications must be submitted online by 5:00 p.m. on the respective due date. Grantees are required to include the FKCA and its supporting entities in all publicity materials. Funding for the Artists in Schools program comes from the FKCA in partnership with the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and private donors.
Applicants are encouraged to fill out the online form through the FKCA website and are expected to design projects that emphasize innovation and collaboration as key components of a transformative educational experience.
